In the back of our house we have a garden that's about 16'x8'. We are within a few miles of the Potomac River in Virginia, and while definitely suburban, there is plenty of wildlife around. We have fox, at least one family of deer, possums (a momma actually died on our patio with babies still at the nipple one year), chipmunks, squirrels, lots of woodpeckers, and various other birds.
We've been relatively successful at starting to grow veggies and some fruit. Our problem for two years running has been that we get enough wildlife through our yard that the garden is a welcome treat for all the critters. My wife had pretty much given up on having a successful garden. I didn't want to spread any of the anti-animal chemicals because I want our kids to see & experience nature. I proposed building a garden fence of sorts.
The materials (total cost: ~$147):
18 - 1" wide x 2" deep x 8' tall pieces of wood
2 - 1" x 2" x 8" long pieces of wood (for the door lock)
2 - 1" x 2" x4" long pieces of wood to (to attach to the crossbar that the trellis hangs from)
1.5" drywall screws to hold everything together
Nylon trellis
2 - peppermint plants (because deer hate the taste of peppermint)
4 - plastic planters (we plan on splitting the peppermint plants so we have four total)
1 million (exaggerated) T50 5/16" staples
1 - 7'x100' of "deer block" protective mesh
1 - cordless electric staple gun by Arrow (this was definitely worth $70!)
The plan:
- Cut each 8' vertical into a point using a circular saw so it goes into the ground easier
- Start at the door & hammer two verticals four feet apart from one another (this gives a nice wide door opening)
- Cut two pieces of wood to be 4' long (these will become the horizontal pieces for the door frame)
- Cut two pieces of wood to be 5' long (these will become the vertical pieces for the door frame)
- Wrap the netting around the horizontal door frame pieces, staple into place. Staple the netting all around the frame.
- Pre-drill holes for drywall screws to ensure they don't split the wood. Screw wood together to make the door frame
- Test the fit of the door & adjust the positioning of the outside verticals.
- Hammer the remaining vertical pieces, each one 8' apart.
- Wrap the deer netting around each horizontal piece & staple into place.
- Attach each horizontal piece 5' above the ground & screw into place.
- Taking into consideration the average height of most North American deer (being about 4' at the shoulder), we assume they will be sufficiently deterred by a 5' tall fence with little landing area. They may have something to teach us though.
- Attach 8' long horizontal across the middle of the garden as a support for another 8' segment that will allow the tomato trellis to hang.
- Cut 4" long segments & attach to the horizontal in the above step so the trellis horizontal has something to hang off of. See the pictures below for more info.
- Hang the trellis.
- Cut 8" long pieces of wood. Drill them with a slightly larger bit than the drywall screws so the screws won't bit into the wood. Pre-drill the verticals on either side of the door where you want the locks to be located. Screw the pieces of wood into the verticals. See the picture below for an example.
- Staple netting allllllllllll around the structure, being sure to leave as little unsecured as possible. Chipmunks & squirrels are resourceful little creatures, and raccoons will use any leverage they can get to rip something apart. Granted, chipmunks & squirrels will just climb the structure & go in, but they might have a hard time getting it back out again.
- Finally, and probably most importantly, stand back and marvel at what you've just created. Give yourself a pat on the back.
The center mesh is for tomatoes