How Northern Wisconsin Resident Keeps His Garden Afloat

With the early winter arrival, Paul Kuehn of Boulder Junction longs for spring and his unconventional garden.

He was having trouble establishing a garden among all the trees and wildlife of north central Wisconsin. So he got creative and converted his 10-by-10-foot swim raft into a container garden filled with tomatoes, basil and squash.

“I can anchor it beyond the reach of the deer and rabbits,” Kuehn said. “Water is really available and the ambient water temperature provides a greenhouse quality for raising plants. I can control the hours of sunshine by my anchorage position. There is no need for added fertilizer as the lake water is nutrient rich.”

The garden flourished and provided a bountiful harvest very late into the fall. And, as air temps approached freezing, the lake was still in the fifties and added weeks to his season.