Keeping out the Pups

Hello All

My garden is just finishing up, and I think it's time to figure out how to keep the puppies from digging it up. We put in raised beds behind a stone retaining wall, I have a 50' x 2' flowed be across the back of the yard, with corner beds that lead into 10 (5 on each side of the yard) 6x3 foot veggie beds... (I'm very proud of the work my boyfriend did).

However... The dogs are good about not playing in the dirt when we're outside with them, but the second my back is turned little Jasper belly flops himself right over the wall and goes to town. It's quite the site, and if I can ever get a picture of him doing it I'll have to share. I had read in a few places about people using chicken wire fence to build a little wall around the garden, but I don't want to block myself out of the garden at the same time. I was going to try to staple the chicken wire to my square foot grids when I make them. The idea I have is to 'float' the wire an inch or two above the soil. Any veggies or flowers should still be able to sprout right through it without any problem, I should still be able to garden without trying to navigate a maze, and the dogs shouldn't like the wire on their paws.

Has anyone ever tried something like this? How did it work out? Was there anything that you would have done differently if you built it again?

Thank you

Here's what I've done:



Now, I don't know how rambunctious your pups are or if they are jumpers/how big etc. But this has worked pretty well for me for keeping unwanteds out of the beds...for the most part. My concern isn't dogs, but cats and they can absolutely still get in and I anticipated that, but it does deter them most of the time. If they are really wanting something in the garden, well they just jump right over but for the most part it's worked really well. I also made it low enough so that I can reach in and get to anything in the beds. Granted the back squares are a stretch and a bit of and inconvenience, but I tried to plant things in those areas I dont have to get to often.
Just a simple idea.

My dogs would and have run right through beds empty or planted to get at cats in my garden area, if I leave the gate open.

I have my garden in the Northeast corner of my back yard. There is a wooden fence around all the yards around here so two sides have a wooden fence. We have cattle panels attached to T posts but at the Southwest corner and both sides of the gate we have wood posts. My husband made me a cute picket fence gate which is attached to wood posts that I go in and out of.

Triciasgarden wrote:My dogs would and have run right through beds empty or planted to get at cats in my garden area, if I leave the gate open.

I have my garden in the Northeast corner of my back yard. There is a wooden fence around all the yards around here so two sides have a wooden fence. We have cattle panels attached to T posts but at the Southwest corner and both sides of the gate we have wood posts. My husband made me a cute picket fence gate which is attached to wood posts that I go in and out of.

Can you take a pic of the fencing your husband put around your gardens (my husband is rolling his eyes because I want to do the same thing)
Renee

Renee I have the pictures taken but am having problems uploading them. I will get them posted ASAP. Sorry for taking so long getting back to you!

Triciasgarden wrote:Renee I have the pictures taken but am having problems uploading them. I will get them posted ASAP. Sorry for taking so long getting back to you!

Oh..no problem! I'm not going anywhere. Can I help you with the upload process?

My Mr. Growley, all 7.5 pounds of him, LOVES manure and I used it extensively in my garden. I first put up a little 12" barrier fence, but he went right through it. Then I wove gutterguard all through it, so he went over it. It really drove me nuts. The second my back was turned, he'd be searching for tasty nuggets.

It was the squirrels that solved it for me. We had to put up an 18" barrier fence around the garden and attach electric wires to it. Now everything is contained inside the garden fence, and Mr. Growley stays out; he and my other dog both got zapped by the fence when we electrified it, and they steer clear now (the fence pulses and the shock is about the same as rubbing your feet on the carpet and touching a doorknob). I just step over the whole thing; at 5'2" I have about a 27" inseam so there's still plenty of clearance and I have yet to trip over it. And not having the headache of having any critters, be they wild or domestic, in the garden has been a huge relief. I haven't lost a single plant or veggie since we put it up 3 weeks ago, and before the fence I was losing seedlings just about every day (they ate some plants right down to the stems).

The fence isn't exactly a pro job but you can see it here: https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t12917-after-a-lot-of-work. We had to pound the stakes into our VERY rocky soil with a sledgehammer, so they're every which way. That's 1/2" plastic hardware cloth, so it'll keep rodents out as well as larger things. They can't chew through it without getting shocked.