Slugs are the bane of Northwest gardeners, especially in the strawberry patch. We solved that this year though discovered a few other issues with raising our strawberry bed six feet of the ground.
Our rabbit hutch happens to be next to a squirrel highway.
This idea from last year’s Garden Show, though at the time Pops joining us was still a hazy, unformed plan. Pops is a big rabbit with the important job of providing high-quality manure and looking cute. There’s no way a standard hutch would work for him nor withstand the demanding cute factor we have here at Gardnovsky Gardens.
With a bit of salvage, a hand from a pal, and a rough plan, I started working on his hutch. It took until the late Spring to add the strawberries, as I was very concerned with membranes and soil type. In the end, the revelation was this: plastic garbage bags are as much as a membrane one probably needs on a building you only expect to last 5-10 years.
Here’s what I did:
1. The roof is constructed on 1 inch plywood
2. It has 1 x 4 decking cedar as the tray, which leaves about 3 1/4 planting depth.
3. I lined the whole thing with heavy gauge black plastic.
4. The roof slopes both from back to front and left to right, so that the bottom right corner is the lowest point and has a drain hole cut in it.
5. I filled it with a mix of light cactus soil and potting soil
6. Planted strawberries
7. Covered with red mulch which is supposed keep soil moist while promoting strawberry growth
8 Netted and waited.
Simple.
But not so successful.
First, the toughest thing is not letting the plants dry out. Thinking I needed to worry about lightness, I went with a mix of potting and cactus soil, so it dried out too quickly. I finally replaced most of this with regular top soil, though being shallow, they need water every day on hot days.
Second, the drainage system does not work despite my efforts in putting in a “french drain” at the bottom, adding a strainer etc. The water just cascades over the mulch and gives Pops quite the show if I am not careful watering.
Finally, it is tough to harvest the berries in the back and to care for the plants. We need a step ladder to get the plants in the back.
This year’s harvest? Definitely the best strawberries I’ve every grown. This bed gets plenty of sun, is warm and has no pest problems. Next year, I’ll replace the red mulch with the more traditional straw which I hope will keep the bed moister, allow the runners to root, while of course, making Pops Rabbit Palace look like an English picture book. Unless we loose some in winter, the strawberries are heading into fall in great shape.
We’re going to add chickens to our urban homestead next Spring and they too will definitely have an edible roof, though we’ll see what we plant there as they might have more afternoon shade. Maybe it would be fun to try a bed of mixed salad greens.
June 2, 2010: Here’s an updated shot with straw on the roof and the strawberries growing quite happily!
14 Comments
Thats a nice setup. I have a hutch like that but i do not have all the surrouding atmosphere that makes it great for the bunny. If you dont mind i think i am going to copy your rabbit cage setup. Thanks for the info.
It was nice to walk by and see Pops grand abode. nice digs.look forward to seeing next years addition! way to go Knox!
Great idea. Looking forward to hearing how it goes with the straw bed next year.
does anyone know where i can find the plans for this hutch and top garden or ones similar? sorry if its right on the page and i just can’t see it. If you can just give me a little more direction it would be greatly appreciated.
thanks so much
No real plans for this, I just designed it and made it myself. I’d be happy to send you a few other pictures of it or some measurements. Just drop me a note and an email.
I am not very handy but im gonna attempt a hutch like this one. If you dont have any real planes would you mond sending me so more pictures. any tips, advice you can give would also be very appreciated.
thanks so much,
Hannah
Hi Hannah!
I don’t really have any additional photos handy, but I could send you the measurements.
Are you in Seattle area? If so, you’d be welcome to stop by and take a look at it!
I love the design. I have 10 acres to play with so space isn’t an issue but I love the cooling affect (for Pops) the planted roof provides. Any additional photos you can provide would be great.
This is a great hutch! Would love to have the measurements and maybe if you wouldn’t mine the materials you used for the sides and the solid door…I can’t really tell from the picture. I love the charm of this hutch….
Brenda
Well, the materials are 1 inch plywood, tight and heavy cage wire and then what ever scraps I could find around the house. The door is an old cabinet door I found at a salvage yard where I also got some cute pulls. As it sits right in the middle of what we call our “French Garden” and I can look at it while I am doing dishes, it was really important to me that it be high on cute factor.
What a great idea! I love the garden top. I can see that it could be done even on a store bought hutch. I think I will try it.
Is the bottom of the hutch wire with hay over top?. Where does the bunny waste go?. This is a great bunny hutch.:)
Half the bottom of the hutch is wire (the open half), the bit with the “room” for him to hide in has a plywood bottom with bedding. The truth is that he generally pooped in the bit where I thought he’d hid (making it necessary to clean about a once a week)…and yes, I’d put down hay or rice mats over parts of the wire and I also had a kitty litter box in there that he liked to sit in.
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