Setting Up the Anti-Critter Garden

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Living on the edge of a nature preserve, there is no end to the critters we see. And so, to protect half the garden from these creatures I did two things: (1) stapled hardware cloth to the bottom of the raised beds, and (2) critter-proofed the perimeter. In this post I'm documenting what I did to keep the critters at bay. Hopefully it works for a long time!

In the autumn, I take the deer netting down so the deer don't get tempted to learn how to jump over it. The netting is nice because it's low profile, allowing me to still see the veggies growing from afar.

1. Dig a ~6" wide, 12" deep ditch around the perimeter of the garden
   
2. Sink T-posts into the corners, wrapchicken wire around with 8" above, and at least 6" bent horizontally
   
3. You'll need to cut a line at the corners to wrap around
   
4. Fill ditch back in with dirt
   
5. Zip-tie 7' sturdy stakes into the t-posts
   
6. Attach deer netting to top of sturdy stakes with zip ties. Secure deer netting to chicken wire with zip ties, and to the ground with landscape pins
   
7. Done!