Yet another garden layout question

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

I'm hoping you can tell me whether I'll be sorry with part of my planned raised bed garden layout.

I have an 8ft tall cattle panel fence protecting my new veggie garden from the local deer hordes. I'm trying to figure out the most efficient raised bed layout to work comfortably and maximize my growing area.

Would I regret putting one side of each raised bed box right up against the fence? I can gain 48 extra square feet of planting area (bigger boxes) if one side of each box touches the fence versus being able to walk all the way around them. I am 6ft tall with long arms and no width to reach across would be over 3ft. I would have 3ft of walking space around the other 3 sides of each box.

Drawbacks I can think of:

1) Plants along the touching edges could be nibbled through the 4" fence holes

2) Weeds could squeeze in between the fence and the boxes and be hard to remove

The extra 48 square feet is very tempting, but building the boxes is fairly permanent and I don't want to make a mistake. Given your experience which would you choose: the extra planting space or 360 degree, no fence touching bed access?

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Comments (2)

christineindamascus
10 years ago
I'd build the bed right up against the cattle panels. That way you can use the panels to trellis things like tomatoes, squash, and pole beans.
digdirt2
10 years ago
An additional 48 sq feet is tempting and could be done IF you do 2 things first - (1) change or add to the fencing so the deer can't nibble through the fence (much smaller openings needed), and (2) clear a /grass weed free space on the outside of the fence like a 1' wide band of pea gravel on top of thick plastic. Some do this with weed killer but that has to be done before any crops are planted and it doesn't last all season.

Otherwise, from my experience I can attest that both of your concerns are valid ones - they do eat through the fence and weeds will sprout and be difficult to eliminate between the fence and the beds.

Dave
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