How does her garden grow: in a box

Sunset, Sept, 1994 by Lynn Ocone

A reader uses a homemade design to get the most out of her small garden

THERE'S RARELY A bare spot in Evani Lupinek's compact, 100-square-foot vegetabl garden at her home near San Luis Obispo, California. "I've got to have somethin to eat from the garden every night," says Lupinek. "Besides, I hate the look of bare dirt." To get the most from her precious space, and to keep things perpetually green, she has designed several simple grow boxes of various sizes, complete with pest barriers and irrigation systems. Her intensive gardening techniques and the enabling mild coastal climate result in an abundant year-round supply of organic vegetables.

BUILDING THE BOX

Lupinek gardens in a narrow 10-foot-wide side yard bordering a wild canyon. Though insect pests are few, deer, gophers, raccoons, rabbits, cats, and birds pose quite a challenge. Her boxes, which resemble raised beds once in place, ar made of 2-by-12s anchored in the soil; sheets of 1/2-inch wire mesh stapled to the bottom of the boxes keep burrowing critters out. A framework of 2-by-2s ove the boxes supports bird netting that keeps grazers and diggers at bay.

Having built three boxes out of different kinds of lumber and of various dimensions, Lupinek has determined that the optimal box would be 3 by 6 feet an constructed from redwood or cedar (although she still uses her first box, which is roughly 4 by 10 feet). Plants in a 3- by 6-foot box are easy to reach from all sides. The 12-inch depth of the box allows room for root crops to develop without hitting the wire mesh; deep-rooted plants simply send out roots through the holes in the wire mesh.

The framework above the base is 3 feet high, leaving enough space for fairly large plants; the netting draped over the framework can be removed as plants mature and are less vulnerable. A horizontal 2-by-2 beam runs lengthwise over the center of each bed, giving the structure added strength. This beam also keeps netting from sagging and holds irrigation tubing in place. Lupinek uses a row of micro-spray emitters, spaced 24 inches apart and attached to the beam's underside. A drip-irrigation line on the surface of each bed supplements the spray system.

The final element in the large box is a 70-inch-high trellis made of 2-by-2s an 1-by-1s. It runs the length of the box and sits 6 inches in from the edge. Within the trellis, Lupinek used two techniques to support her plants. In the center of the trellis, she strung heavy-gauge fishing line up and down for climbing plants such as beans. For easy assembly, Lupinek strung her line through 1-by-1s that were predrilled (the holes are 3 inches apart) and then nailed to the inside top and bottom of the trellis.

On the sides of the trellis, she stapled nylon netting to 1-by-1s before attaching them to the inside surfaces of the 2-by-2s. The netting, with its vertical and horizontal lines, works well for plants such as cucumbers.