The Garden by: Ukrainian Bear
How I started?
Big Bear was streaming, doing his thing, and said Bears need to start growing food. Vox Day would later follow up with his livestream and say that the future belongs to those who show up for it. This resonated with me to my core as someone whose grandparents still grow and can their own food till this day. I looked around Babylon and recognized that growing your own food is the future.
I began searching for different designs, putting them together, and identifying the environment around me for predators, deer, birds, and squirrels.
The design
I knew I wanted a raised bed garden that would grow with me, designing it in such a way that it may later be turned into a greenhouse (grand solar minimum in mind).
Prevention is easier than killing all the squirrels. So, I built a fence. No space could be wasted, as it was limited, so I integrated a raised bed design into the fence. I used 4×4 as posts and two sets of 2×12 stacked on top of each other put into a 6 inch trench as the outer wall. The garden grew one panel set at a time into a 30×40 foot raised bed garden. I went big. The trench and height of beds is for keeping moles out.
I built the raised bed garden with its eventual deterioration in mind. Boxes are great in that parts can be easily replaced and new sections can be put in, like LEGO pieces.
What I learned
I learned a lot from YouTube, but it only took me so far. “Get to know your neighbors” Owen would say. One of my neighbors is a carpenter. I asked for advice and he freely gave it. He would ask me to look after his animals and wanted to pay me for it. Rather than pay me, I asked him to help me with my projects when I asked for the assistance. The little details like squaring, making more accurate cuts are details that I understood only in practice and not via video.
What to do differently?
If I could make changes I would use small sections of 2×4 in all four corners of the beds to reinforce the boxes. Otherwise, you’ll get more twisting and bending of wood as the temperature eventually changes. For the longer 10 foot sections I would use multiple small 2×4 to further reinforce those longer beds. The wood I used was pressure treated, but this is not necessary.
If I did not have as much finances available to me for all the wood and wanted to start right away, I would rent or borrow a good rototiller and till my field well to prepare the soil. Put posts in the ground and cover the outside with wiring to keep the unwanted animals out. Create nice rows to keep better track of your growing vegetables. You can also use a no dig method.
My motivation
I saw Babylon falling with the help of the Big Bear. Let’s just say my ancestral Ukrainian DNA told me to build and that I did. I have more things to accomplish on the small homestead. We have 8 laying hens and a rooster and I have secured several horizontal bee hive boxes by climbing and removing several trees for a carpenter friend of mine who will build them for me. The skill of climbing is something the Big Bear’s brother inspired me to do and it has paid off. I also plan on planting more fruit trees and bushes, as well as eventually building a root cellar, God willing.
The dream is to inspire others to grow and build so that we may be more independent from the beast, while also becoming more dependent upon one another. A community of growers, builders, and crushers.
-Ukrainian Bear @ukrainian_bear_ on Instagram
