Fencing for Raised Beds

[quelindo]

We have a VERY small lot, but I managed to put in four 4x8-foot raised beds last fall. They look great, but the problem is that we have tons of bunnies in our yard. I don't think deer would be a problem, just bunnies and possibly other small critters.

I know we need to put some kind of fence around it, but I don't want to fence in the whole garden area. I'd rather put some kind of fence around each individual raised bed. Does anyone have a set-up like this? I'm not super handy but I'd love to see what others have done.

[Owen'nZoe]

I have a few wire cages I've built to cover sections of the garden (because usually the bun-buns only touch the new plants, and pass by the mature ones.). They work great! A friend of mine has also placed metal posts in the corners of her raised beds and run chicken wire around the beds. She staples the chicken wire to the side of the bed, so the bun buns can't sneak under them.

[brooks97]

I have always wanted raised beds!

I agree with PP. How wrapping chicken wire around the bed? 2-3 foot tall fence should prevent the rabbits from coming in, and low enough for you to be able to harvest or weed easily.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by brooks97

2-3 foot tall fence should prevent the rabbits from coming in, and low enough for you to be able to harvest or weed easily.

Really? I'm having the same problem, but didn't really want to put chicken wire around the outside because it seemed like it would make it really HARD to weed and stuff.

My problem is that anything that effectively keeps the bunny out also keeps me out. At the suggestion of someone at our local nursery, I put some cloth row cover over the beds... hahahaha. The bunnies just sat on top of it and chewed through, completely eating my plants through the cloth.

I am thinking about making some wire cages, but I'm wondering- where do you store them during the winter (or when the plants outgrow them)?

[quelindo]

I did actually make a wire cage for my previous raised bed, which was 3x3-foot. But my new beds are 4x8-foot so much too big for the cages. I was *thinking* maybe I could make fencing with chicken wire that are in four-foot panels and make the two in front hinged so they can open so I can get to the plants. Does that make sense? I think it would work, but it seems like a LOT of work upfront.

[quelindo]

Oh, and I'd be able to store the panels in our garage -- we're lucky to have a huge garage with rafters.

[ms.shell]

we fenced our beds with 2'x8' sections of wooden trellissing. DP put gates, but the trellis is short enough that usually i just step over instead of messing with the gate latches. I was worried about shade and stuff, but it actually looks very nice and doesnt give too much shade and we have thus far been very happy with this.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by ms.shell

we fenced our beds with 2'x8' sections of wooden trellissing. DP put gates, but the trellis is short enough that usually i just step over instead of messing with the gate latches. I was worried about shade and stuff, but it actually looks very nice and doesnt give too much shade and we have thus far been very happy with this.

I'm really confused how you have this set up. Obviously, it's not right up against your raised bed, right? Otherwise you'd be stepping IN the garden if you climbed over. Do you have in set back a ways from the sides of the bed?

[gothnurse3]

I did two 10x10 beds with a 3 foot space....not perfect but it was all I had to work with. I did have a 4 foot fence I bought at a garage sale. I put the fence around the beds a a unit and used an old fence gate from my DH's (now deceased) grandparent's abandoned chicken yard. It's kinda quaint.

[ms.shell]

I'm really confused how you have this set up. Obviously, it's not right up against your raised bed, right? Otherwise you'd be stepping IN the garden if you climbed over. Do you have in set back a ways from the sides of the bed?

yes, its right against the raised beds and i have stepping stones in the garden that i stand on.

[DirtRoadMama]

Hey, I just did this!

I put a long rebar post at the outside of each 4x4 corner. Then I took a section of chicken wire, wrapped it around the posts, and overlapped the ends by about 1.5 feet each way (this was to measure it), then cut the length.

Then, on all four posts, I started sliding down the chicken wire. You have to put it on a little bit at a time, going between all four posts, otherwise it will get saggy if you try to put it all on one post at a time (this will make sense as you do it).

Now, you should have three sides with chicken wire taunt. One corner will have a 1.5 foot loose end, and the other corner will have 5.5 foot loose end. To close the box, just pull the 5.5 foot piece over the unfenced side, and wrap the loose wires into the other side's taunt wire. Finally, take that 1.5 foot overhang that you just wrapped over, and bend some of those loose wires into the part you just covered it with.

That doesn't make much sense when it's written out, but it's very simple and cheap to do. It gives you a little "fake door" to get at your center 4 squares, and you can easily reach over the chicken wire to weed the squares at the perimeter.

[WeasleyMum]

I just did this in my garden! I have raised beds along two edges of the back yard, where I also have chickens. Although they have their own little portable run, I like to let them out for an hour or two every day, so I needed to do something to protect my newly planted gardens.

I put up a 24"-high fence made of chicken wire. Instead of running the fence as far as I could without stopping, I cut it every 8 feet or so, and started another section, and instead of tying to the supports using wire, I just loosely tied it on with twine. This way I *should* be able to remove just one section at a time pretty easily, to get in there for weeding and etc. I don't know yet how that will work out since I just did the fence last week. It does keep the chickens out, though.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...7/DSCF0882.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...7/DSCF0883.jpg

It's the inner little fence, in the second picture you can see the twine.