organic flutterby - if you locate that bed on the north side of the house, it's gonna have to be pretty far away from it - maybe 30-50 feet.
Go with mel's mix, or lots of compost. Both will work fine.

EG

I wondered the same thing last year. We have a lot of rabbits here. My beds are a little taller (15" +/-) and I was trying to figure out a way to fence them in without looking bad and getting in my way (I didn't want to have to reach in over a fence). Planting time came and I still didn't have a solution so I decided to take my chances with the bunnies. I actually never had a problem with them. I did notice fewer rabbit sightings in summer than in winter which surprised me. One of my new beds is lower to the ground than all the others and I think I'll have to fence that one in this year.

This was just my experience from last year. I'm hoping for the same this year but there is no guarantee. Your rabbits may be much more persistant than mine. If they ever discovered my garden, they never did any damage that I noticed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tales of a Transplanted Gardener

I bought a roll of chicken wire, and use that to keep my cats and dog out of my 2 ft x 6 ft beds.... I just lay it over, hooking it on screws I use to put my grids on

I don't want to talk about it.

:)

My dogs have dug up my beds on numerous occasions. At least the mix doesn't stick to them and now that seedlings I'd planted are coming up I get to have some adventure figuring out what in the world some of these seedlings are!!

@ ribbit - heh.

EG

Dan, I like that idea. I could put up a fence that could be removed when I want to, and wouldn't be expensive. (plus I think the neighbor has some rebar in a scrap pile...)

Has anyone here used this raised bed garden cover? I have two fellow gardening friends that have and they swear by it so I got 2 for my beds last year (you can buy them from this store without the beds if you already have your own) and I finally got to eat my own strawberries last year! :) There's an optional pest netting that has larger holes to keep animals out, but not overheat your garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: Raised Garden Bed Cover

2 things I have found to help with rabbits is a non toxic spray but also Irish spring soap. I placed slices around the beds and they left them alone. I also hung bars from my fence. Even after rain the scent keeps the rabbits away.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening by the Seat of my Pants

I've used bloodmeal and it works well. There are downsides to it. It is very high in nitrogen so be careful where you use it. When it gets wet it tends to smell a bit. Also the dogs actually like it and you have to reapply after it rains. I have heard of a product called Liquid Fence but I've never used it. People I know who have say it works very well.It is quite costly but after using it for awhile you get the critters trained and you use it less often. Myself I have a couple of pointers and a hound that chase anything that moves, thus no critter problems.

No rabbits at my house, but the squirrels dig up everything! Here's what I did this year.
{{gwi:46848}}

It's covered with bird netting and when the plants that need the trellis come thru I'll just move the first "wicket" back behind them. Hopefully I'll keep the rodents out until the plants can fend for themselves. I also put big tufts of dog hair from the groomer around. It seems to work, but the garden does tend to look like it has been invaded by hampsters. :)

I'm joining the SFG club this year!

Mixing my soil this weekend but am working out how to keep the stray cats and squirrels out of my beds.

The bird netting looks like it would be easy to use; where do you find it?

I got it at Ace Hardware. It's really light weight and I think it was 14 x 14 feet in size and I cut it down.

Thought I'd let you know, that even with the net, the squirrels got in and dug up the bed. The plants all made it, there were some pea casualties and the square I JUST planted with spinach seed was torn all to heck! Somehow, the carrot square was untouched and pristine. They found (or made) a hole in a corner where the mesh wasn't quite tucked in tightly enough.

I've redone the net, this time edging the whole thing with those edging blocks you see in the photo, scavenged from a flower bed. If they get past the new fortifications, I guess they deserve to eat - or die!

I got my 4x4 bed built, used Mel's mix, planted the seeds on March 15th and yesterday went out to water and my Lab puppy had it all dug up. Now what to do?? I removed all of the seeds that I could find, but should I start again from seeds or go with store bought plants so that I can tell when something comes up that does not belong. What a mess!!

I had to cover my tomato plants with bird netting last year because there were little beak holes in a lot of my first ones. Turkeys nibbled on my zucchini too. The squirrels miraculously didn't touch anything. Maybe because I feed them their own food. But this year I'm going to construct something to cover the beds with netting. I have a feeling with the variety of things I'm planting this time around, the squirrels my decide they'd like to upgrade from peanuts.

I have a dog about 1.5 yrs old who has been using my backyard beds to bury stuff all winter...he actually goes out of his way to do whatever he wants...it's his religion I think.

So to avoid the coming disaster...I used some cheapo galvanized 4" high fence material...cut it into 2" high sections...screwed some cedar boards on the 4 corners of the 2 4x4 beds and stapled this fencing to them. Can still get in to plant and weed...dog has stayed out so far. He could jump in but even he realizes that his existence could be in question if he does. ;-) I hope....

Chicken wire could be used if you have rabbits. Since the dog is in the yard...cats ..squirrels...rabbits stay away.

I am wondering why no one is using the 12-inch wire cubes that Mel suggests in his book. Has anyone tried it? They seem very practical since they cover the top as well as the sides, and are quite cheap to make.

I planted a ton of seeds on Saturday evening, and when I got up on Sunday the squirrels had already made a mess of everything. I had enough bird netting to cover one bed, and put down some lightweight fabric on the other one until I get more netting. I can't wait to see where the seedlings pop up. I might need to start a "What the heck is this plant?" thread soon so you can help me identify and relocate things back to their original spots. I love my squirrels, I really do. I was hoping that feeding them "the good stuff" would appeal to their good consciences and they'd leave my beds alone. I keep posing the question to them: "Don't you respect me enough to stay on your own side of the yard and be content to eat the lovely gourmet meals I put out for you?" Something tells me they just don't understand the concept of sharing space.

Posting that story made me decide to put up a new blog entry, even though I'm at work and don't have any pictures for accompaniment.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gumshoe Gardener

I have to use nylon bird netting. We have everything in our yard... skunks, racoons, roof rats, squirrels, and about a thousand varieties of birds including the scrub blue jays.

I use 2x2s that I screw into all 4 corners of each box. To thi, I attach a fixed piece of bird netting to the top, then use hooks and nails to attach removable panels of netting to be able to open when i need to. At first I used to think my gardens look like little prisons, but I'd rather this than lose it all to the wildlife.

-k

What do you do when the plants reach the height of the netting? Do the animals not care about them at that point?

Here is a link that might be useful: Gumshoe Gardener

Peel - This is my first year using the netting, but I do find that once the plants are big enough to hold their own, the squirrels don't do that much damage. I've never lost a whole plant to them, just seeds. So I plan on moving my net back behind the peas when they get big enough to need the trellis and then will probably uncover the brussels sprouts, which I hear get huge,when they need it. Once the bed is all too big, I'll uncover everything. But really, since mine is planted tallest by trellis and shortest at the other end, I could just keep moving it back when stuff outgrows it. I haven't decided yet.

Zuni, I thought of making the cover, but first, the net/pvc is easier, requiring no tools at all, and second, I thought the net would be more flexible, allowing me to move it away from the trellis.

So far, my fortifications are holding. The bed looks just like it did in the pic above...but instead of boards holding it down now the entire thing is edged in bricks. It would be funny if it wasn't so infuriating.

I used plastic chicken wire to keep the cats from using my two raised bed. This stuff is tougher than I thought it would be. I put a series of nails along the long sides as hooks, then ran three strings (2 along the long sides and 1 down the middle) about a foot above the bed. The chicken wire is 48" wide so I needed three pieces for my beds. Cut it to length then hook and drape over the strings. Support the middle of the strings if they are too long.

Having the netting in 3 sections is nice. If the plants get over a foot then I remove that section, if they don't, then the netting stays.

I use mel's chicken wire covering suggested in his book. It works great until you add a trellis into the mixture, then you can't use it.

This is what I ended up doing. Our main concern here is rabbits. We don't have too many squirrels, zero deer or anything else. I just built some 2ftx4ft frames out of 1x2's and nailed some chicken wire to it. Then it's just tied at the corners around the beds. I can still reach over to do most things, and the panels can be untied fairly easily to really get in there when necessary. Might not be the most elegant solution, but it was quick, easy, and most importantly -- cheap.

If we decide to expand the garden next year, we may fence in the whole area, but that's not an option this year for a variety of reasons. We can probably reuse these fence sections as well if we reconfigure things.

Here is a link that might be useful: My fence

That looks great, Luke!

Oh, I really like that....you can easily take it apart, and everything. Very creative!

EG

I feel for one and all with critter problems. This has been my worst year by far.
We have been in serious drought for the past few years but this year, rain is helping ... but it washes any type of spray off rather frequently so a mixed blessing :(
Rabbits chewed through plastic fence, deer reach/jump over metal. Squirrels climb over anything and dig up whatever.
It is sad! In the past I have lost the occasional item here and there but this year is crazy! 52 broccoli plants set out before a 3 day rain ... all replaced by deer tracks.
I have never seen it nor heard of it before but something is even eating my onion greens to the ground???
Trying to stay light-hearted about it as the wife and kids are now comparing me and the garden to Caddy Shack but shah dang! LOL, this ain't really all that funny ....
I think that it must end this week, at least in one sector ;) Is there such a thing as Garden Knox?

@christyboulter - I am building one of Mel's wire coverings sometime this week but have a idea why not cut holes in the roof of the covering when the plants get near the top? It might be tricky for tomatoes but still possible.

I will put a fence around my larger beds but I think this will help. Additional wood going vertical might be needed to add some support but it might work. I plan on putting peppers in the 4x4 bed with the cover so probably wonÂt have to cut it but if I plant corn instead cutting the roof out will hopefully keep them safe from the critters.

hello all,

i'm wondering for those who have used bird netting if it's been very effective at keeping squirrels at bay? i was at the hardware store recently and nearly walked out with a 100 ft. roll of bird/deer netting, but i was able to tear one of the squares with very minimal force...it didn't bode well for the persistent squirrels in my yard.

i built a raised bed for the first time (previously i was living in places where i could only do container gardening on a deck). i decided to get some rolls of chicken wire instead, but am kind of at a loss or how to attach it to the raised bed so that it covers all four sides and the top...with an opening for me to get inside. any tips would be greatly appreciated!

-clare

clare, I built a chicken wire "cage" to go over my entire 4x4 strawberry bed. I can simply lift it off to access the bed whenever I want, but it keeps the critters (and most importantly birds) out. I used 4' chicken wire, lathe strips (though 1x1 would have been sturdier, and zip ties.
Here's a picture (which I hope works):

Correction: my chicken wire is 2' tall, not 4'.
And I like Luke's version of this a LOT better than mine ;) May have to go buy some little pieces of wood today and remake this. If I get real fancy I might even hinge a top onto the whole thing.

I've read in a few places how folks put dog or cat hair into the garden to repel the varmints. I may try that just to see what happens. I have had no critter damage as of yet however.

I made the chicken wire cage from the Square Foot Gardening book last year. That was a pain to build but easy to use. This year its over my 4x4 of strawberries...and the rest of the garden is currently fenceless. I'm living on the edge!

Since this thread has been revived, I would just like to update my bunny status. Year one, no problem with the bunnies. Year two, I had a couple diggers but strangely enough, they didn't eat anything (seriously, they dug up 2 inch tall bean sprouts and left them there.) Year three is still unknown.

I do need to build a cage for the strawberries though, last year the birds stole more than I got...

Here is a link that might be useful: Tales of a Transplanted Gardener

My damage was from cats I think and I didn't plan a protection method. Had picked up some kind of netting free at a garage sale but wasn't enough for both beds. In a panic I grabbed some used lattice and nailed it to the sides. Will work until the plants are bigger.

I have a (really, really big) dog, but he respects boundaries. I've been using those inexpensive poke-in-the-ground pea trellises and garden fences you can get, and they've been working well. I like that I can easily remove a panel (I separate them into individual sections) to weed, plant, or harvest, and put it back. Wouldn't work for a dog who didn't observe boundaries.

As for shade, FWIW, I have been told that if your garden is going to be partly shaded, it's better to have morning sun and afternoon shade.

Last year my garden got eaten alive by four legged critters. About the time my Black Krim or Cherokee Purple tomatoes would get ripe enough to pick, I'd go out and find two or three bites out of them (assuming squirrels). I had a small cantaloupe and eggplants disappear off vine (assuming raccoons). My pepper plants got nibbled off to the ground (assuming rabbits).

This year I was determined not to lose my investment by feeding the local fauna. We went hardcore and installed a hotwire around our garden. (Hubby's grandpa and uncle have a hotwire around their gardens in the boonies, and it seems to work best to keep out forest creatures big and small.) The first night after we put it up the next day I was discouraged to find something had dug in the garden, but since then I've seen no apparent signs of critter activity.

I've got some pics on my blog of the spacing we used on the t-posts.

Here is a link that might be useful: LookMaNoWeeds

Thank you all for the great ideas. I'm completely doing yard/property from scratch (new house, with yard mostly bare after construction), and doing it on a very limited budget. The first thing I want is a front yard circular large raised flower garden, but know I need to start with wire on bottom! Any recommendations for way to build it circular other and critter tight (so can't just use rocks, though I love them) other than an old tire or kiddie pool? Thanks!

Hi, I'm new here. I have been using the square foot gardening method for the most part the last two years. I started out with four 4'x4' raised beds just off the back patio, then the next year, four 3'x8' beds arranged along the back fence where there was more sun. However, like many of you here, between the rabbits and my son's Jack Russell Terrorist (I mean terrier lol) it was a mess. I tried wrapping 3' high rabbit wire around the beds but the bindweed and everything loved to climb it on the outside, and it was too tall for me to reach over, and not very convenient to remove. I found myself not weeding or harvesting as much because it was such a pain, and that was counterproductive. The next year I drove T posts in each corner and wrapped 2' rabbit fencing around each bed so the fencing started at the top of the raised bed. That solved the problem of weeds climbing up the fencing and made it much easier to trim around the beds, but I still had trouble reaching over.

Finally, this year I decided to completely fence in a 12'x16'corner of my yard. I came up with a potager-style design with 2' wide beds all around the perimeter, and a 4'x8' bed in the center. There will be an entrance/gate at one end and a bench at the opposite end, and a walkway all the way around the center bed. The rabbit fencing wraps around the entire garden, supported by 2"x2"s in the corners of the outer raised beds. I'm going to hang cattle panels along the inside of my 6' privacy fence, which forms two sides of my potager, and use that for trellising. Eventually I would like to build an arch over the entrance and an arbor over the bench to provide even more trellising opportunities and make it look more attractive.

Even though this new layout is not yet complete, it is already working SO much better! The dog can't get in at all, and neither can the rabbits. Once I get the gate installed, access will be easy and convenient. The bench is a nice place to sit with a glass of iced tea and admire my accomplishments lol! I wish I had done this to start with.

Here's a picture - its not finished yet, and the gate is not installed yet, but it will give you some idea. I am still using the square foot gardening method, its just in a different configuration.

Shelley

Here is a link that might be useful:

Try the garden commander cages. They really do work on raised beds and traditional rows. Www.gardencommander.com