This is not a recent photograph. It's about two years old and the beds were probably installed just a couple years before that. There was a little bit of work involved in getting them to this stage.

We have tried growing a little bit of everything here. The things that grew best were weeds but there was an extensive production of chard and jalapeños as well. I had let it grow dormant for some reason. The gardens are never as high a priority as the critters so it probably had to do with making a goat pen or a chicken house. When it came time to start on the garden I took care of the weeds first. That's because it was easiest. Make a small opening on the end and let the chickens weed it for you.
Then the chickens took over until I evicted them. Dust baths in soft dirt are just the things to make a flock happy and I would see 5-6 chickens at a time in this small plot. I am told that I can put a couple chickens in this with a garden growing and they will go after the weeds. Not sure how much faith I put in that. They sure like to eat the buds on my Rose of Sharon bush and Patio Lemon Trees.

This is the same plot after weeding. Now it was time to pull some of the rotten wood and you can do that like pulling a baby tooth with string, a doorknob, and a fast opening door. I never actually pulled a tooth like that but I did put a chain around this post and pull it out with my truck.

Then it looked like this. I had installed some new timbers and thought it would be good for ten years.Todays timbers probably make the EPA happy but they rot so fast I intend to find alternatives. It took about two years to turn these new timbers into the mess you see in some of the following pictures.
The garden is probably half planted here and I remember it as taking off and growing like weeds. Then the rains came, the plants were broken down, and nothing grew. After living with drought for two years, East Texas was suddenly wet. The aquifers were probably happy but my plants were pretty much dead.
I'm sure that we didn't have the goats yet when all this transpired so I think that lack of gardening right after this was because of more than resignation. I could well be the worst gardener in Texas but I do love my critters so I intend to claim that I just worked with them for a while. The only one who knows if that's all true isn't telling.
The garden is probably half planted here and I remember it as taking off and growing like weeds. Then the rains came, the plants were broken down, and nothing grew. After living with drought for two years, East Texas was suddenly wet. The aquifers were probably happy but my plants were pretty much dead.
I'm sure that we didn't have the goats yet when all this transpired so I think that lack of gardening right after this was because of more than resignation. I could well be the worst gardener in Texas but I do love my critters so I intend to claim that I just worked with them for a while. The only one who knows if that's all true isn't telling.

Most of the time I'm pretty much an optimist. I read about a guy that did this with a five gallon bucket. He drilled holes in the bottom and placed the bottom of the bucket a few inches below the surface. These had holes already and the smaller one is over five gallons.
Then he drilled a second ring of holes a few inches up. When he dumped a five gallon bucket of water into the sunken bucket he watered the ground on the surface. In our climate that does not last. When the bucket drained below the top level of holes he continued watering under the surface. That should hold for a much longer time. He says that he waters twice a week unless the weather is extreme.
I have plans to improve on this. I will let the tomatoes root first. Chicken manure works very well as a fertilizer and I have some that has been percolating for a spell. I will add that with the water through the bucket. Then I will add a piece of PVC pipe to carry water to the rocks and fill with rich dirt to within six inches of the top. The top of the pot can then be used for other plants that require good drainage. I have an almost endless supply of this fertilizer. If you live in the area, I can share.
I think that this type of thought process may allow me to maximize my garden space. It isn't that we don't have enough ground. I love my trees which means lots of shade. I love the birds and that means you need to fence carefully. And so it goes.
That pretty well covers the plans. Now we will see how long it takes me to kill it all and go back to doing fence or some other menial chore. Drudgery helps me forget my brown thumb.
Then he drilled a second ring of holes a few inches up. When he dumped a five gallon bucket of water into the sunken bucket he watered the ground on the surface. In our climate that does not last. When the bucket drained below the top level of holes he continued watering under the surface. That should hold for a much longer time. He says that he waters twice a week unless the weather is extreme.
I have plans to improve on this. I will let the tomatoes root first. Chicken manure works very well as a fertilizer and I have some that has been percolating for a spell. I will add that with the water through the bucket. Then I will add a piece of PVC pipe to carry water to the rocks and fill with rich dirt to within six inches of the top. The top of the pot can then be used for other plants that require good drainage. I have an almost endless supply of this fertilizer. If you live in the area, I can share.
I think that this type of thought process may allow me to maximize my garden space. It isn't that we don't have enough ground. I love my trees which means lots of shade. I love the birds and that means you need to fence carefully. And so it goes.
That pretty well covers the plans. Now we will see how long it takes me to kill it all and go back to doing fence or some other menial chore. Drudgery helps me forget my brown thumb.

My first hint that I wasn’t in charge was when Bob decided to help me dig. At first he was right with me and most definitely in the way. I moved him and he just kept digging. I guess he developed his own agenda and was planning on a restful afternoon in a newly dug "very favorite" spot. Beau had something to say about that.

These young fellows are named Beau and Jack. They are conviced that they are not individuals and are named Beaujack. They reside on the other side of this fence. They are twins but not identical. The biggest difference is the horns. Jack’s horns were polled when he was very young and they grew back looking different. If you didn't notice him I can understand. He is standing with his head in the lower left part of the picture. Should have been back a couple feet more when I snapped this.
When we moved them to this pasture Beau felt the need to explore and kept getting free. His brother Jack has been content from the start. After a bit of an arms race Beau decided that he would be happy in his pasture. I make sure to keep food there so that he doesn’t get restless and it generally works out very well.
When we moved them to this pasture Beau felt the need to explore and kept getting free. His brother Jack has been content from the start. After a bit of an arms race Beau decided that he would be happy in his pasture. I make sure to keep food there so that he doesn’t get restless and it generally works out very well.

Well, most of the time. The garden is about five feet from his fence. Seeing me working there made him curious (I suppose) and the tomato plant may just have been the icing on the cake. That’s obviously a guess but one thing I do know. I was busily working when he greeted me with his customary bleat and announced that he was happy to be with me.
I grabbed his collar with one hand and proceeded to repair fence with the other. That doesn’t work very well unless all the planets are perfectly aligned. Obviously Venus or Mars was out of alignment so I took him down to the main gate and put him back in the pasture.
Before I could get back to the hole to repair it he had escaped again. With that, I just tied him up and it was about then that Sally called me to lunch. Over lunch I thought about putting the tomatoes higher and hanging them upside down in buckets. A little food helped me regain my composure and perspective as well as my confidence that I could outsmart a goat.
When I repaired the fence he just stayed inside and bleated at me while I worked.
I grabbed his collar with one hand and proceeded to repair fence with the other. That doesn’t work very well unless all the planets are perfectly aligned. Obviously Venus or Mars was out of alignment so I took him down to the main gate and put him back in the pasture.
Before I could get back to the hole to repair it he had escaped again. With that, I just tied him up and it was about then that Sally called me to lunch. Over lunch I thought about putting the tomatoes higher and hanging them upside down in buckets. A little food helped me regain my composure and perspective as well as my confidence that I could outsmart a goat.
When I repaired the fence he just stayed inside and bleated at me while I worked.

I bought four potted tomato plants at a garden center. They are hybrid and are supposed to produce until they freeze. I think I can make a small greenhouse over them and, with any luck, I can avoid that freeze. That should get more than a year's production.
I learned the hard way that if you want potted plants to survive being transplanted, you need a long blade to run between the dirt and the pot. It also helps if the pot is larger at the top than the bottom. I almost killed two potted lemon trees by letting them fall apart on me. This time they transplanted without incident.
I learned the hard way that if you want potted plants to survive being transplanted, you need a long blade to run between the dirt and the pot. It also helps if the pot is larger at the top than the bottom. I almost killed two potted lemon trees by letting them fall apart on me. This time they transplanted without incident.

I put two pots in the ground because I planned to make this the first of many steps. After reading an article on growing potatoes I changed the second pot to an old tire. I stopped when the rains came so it still needs to be leveled. Will add a little more gravel as well. The first tire needs to be well anchored but I'm getting ahead of myself. I will update as things change.
I surrounded them with range fence and you will notice that the small openings are at the bottom to keep the birds out (I hope). If the plants grow well, I can reach in through the top to retrieve my bounty.
I surrounded them with range fence and you will notice that the small openings are at the bottom to keep the birds out (I hope). If the plants grow well, I can reach in through the top to retrieve my bounty.

Then I added poultry netting. The chickens and ducks did not attempt to gain entry with 36 inch poultry netting when we used it before. I hope that letting them weed the garden did not give them a new perspective on their relationship with the plot.

The damp ground you see here is over a day old. The weather has been mild but expect that watering this way will last two days in the summer. With good luck the next week will put it past the danger point for heavy rain. This time if it knocks it down I will wire it to something to keep it out of the dirt. Won’t be long till it’s chance of survival is good.