First, the posts are all 8' 4x4. Once sank 2' deep you have 6' above ground. We spaced the 4x4 posts 8'1" apart and built framed panels which are to be removed when we want to till. The frames are made from pretreated 2x4's, I went #2 grade to save money and just picked through whatever they had when I went to Home Depot every time I went (we are remodeling our house and are there very often anyway).

We split the 2x4s on a table saw about 1/3 of the way into the board. I took the 2/3's chunk of the 2x4 and built the actual rectangular frame with center support, put it in place added the fencing and screwed the 1/3 side of the board facing on. Then I had a finished sandwich panel.

I used a deer fencing with a 1" hex. I keeps the bunnies out and also keeps the groundhogs from reaching in and grabbing anything near the edges of the garden like the used to with the old green fencing.

Now, we happen to have tons of these concrete slabs around in the old abandoned greenhouses that used to be my husbands grandfather's. They used to line the walkways. Unfortunately they weigh about 100lbs each. We put them in between the posts to keep the groundhogs out and let us mow around the garden. I am sure the same would work for pavers of any sort, these just happened to be free for us (minus the manual labor of digging them out and moving them).

The groundhogs could still dig under if they wanted to so to add a bit of extra protection I took the old garden fence and cut it into thirds. Before we re-laid the sod back down I tucked the old garden fence under the concrete slabs. Our hope is if they start digging, they will hit fence and will not be able to go any further. (insert evil laugh).

My final step was to add wire around the top to bring the full height to 6'. Obviously I added strips of fabric to be sure the deer see it. I don't want to string a deer up, only keep them out.

Thanks to all the GW folks who gave me advice. I know this fence is more than most people would have done, but hubby and I are in the house we are staying in forever. We are not going anywhere and are in the process of redoing the entire house, so we figured why not a nicer garden too, especially if it keeps me a bit more sane, I am sick of yelling at woodland creatures.

Corner waiting for grass to grow back.

Panels removed for tilling.

Easy mowing!

It looks great! It is well thought out and nice looking. You will get a lot of enjoyment from your garden.

Jim

A LOT of work! But as you say it is your forever house, so might as well do it right!
Where are you located with all of those critters? Nancy

I am in MD Nancy. Northern Baltimore County in a very rural location. I spent the last 7 years feeding the critters and scavenging for us, or so it felt anyway.

The fence wasn't that hard, it took a couple of days of my hubby helping me and about 2 weeks of me working on my own a few hours a day (not bad with 3 and 4 year old helpers).

The hard part of this fence was actually what was in the middle of where the garden was going. It was a concrete pad where my husband's parent used to park their planes way back in the day. It was cracked and broken and needed to be removed anyway, we were just procrastinating. We thought it would be easy, break up the concrete, rent a dumpster, move all the gravel underneath to the long country driveway, voila, done.... sooo wrong, the gravel pit went down about 9 inches, we kept moving gravel, moving gravel, moving gravel, it didn't stop. We had friends come over and take truck loads to their driveways and still we had gravel. If not for that I would have been done in May ;-(

And it's LEVEL! That's what most impresses me ;-) Seriously, good job, enjoy.

Looks really good! Reminds me a lot of our new veg garden fence which is 7 ft. high of 4x4s with a horizontal rail of 2x4s at 3 ft. high, and the fencing is black welded wire with 2"x4" openings. We used separate rolls of 3 ft. high fencing and left a gap (not deer-size, we hope) above the railing for our view when we take a break and sit down in cheap plastic chairs. And double gates at opposite sides, so we can take the wheelbarrow of weeds out to the compost heap downhill.

We don't have groundhogs but do have deers and rabbits. So I fastened a foot of chickenwire all along the bottom, including the gates.

We had the ground de-sodded before the fence went up and we wheeled in lots and LOTS of manure and dug it in by hand. No rototilling for us, just hand digging from now on. The paths are made of layers of cardboard covered by pine bark nuggets.

We found a gate kit at HD, of steel triangles for the corners and hinges and a latch. Then the gates were made of 2x4s. Where are your gates?

Carol

Very nice - thanks for posting. I am about to start a similar fence myself, and this helps clarify a few things I was considering.

Very nice - thanks for posting. I am about to start a similar fence myself, and this helps clarify a few things I was considering.

Best investment for a garden that is in the middle of various critters. You are only beating your head against a wall trying to keep them out without a fence.

Very nice job.

Thanks for the compliments everyone.

Carol. The gate is in the center middle, to the left of the orange bucket I was too lazy to move out of the shot. It is a double swinging gate which opens to the full 8' so 4' either side. It is made out of 2x4, but we did not split them for stability sake. I added the fencing to the interior (not the easiest part of this job I was covered in tiny little cuts all over my arms and legs trying to wrestle it in) and covered the edging with another piece of 1x2 pretreated to make it look very similar to the rest of the fence.

I saw the kits at Home Depot with the triangle reinforcement corners, wire, and turn bolts to pull the gate corner up, unfortunately the kit only has 90" wire so I had to make up the kit from parts found at HD and get longer wire. I also used heavy industrial strength hinges and the lightest (driest) pretreated wood I could find. The gate halves also have a 6' piece that stick up where they come together so the wire can be run between them also to keep the deer from jumping.

The other plan was going to be ad another 2 4x4 posts and make it a single 4' gate with 2' panels on the sides however that not only raised the cost as the 4x4 were the most expensive cost, but it also made it impossible for us to use our 1x4 concrete slabs.

You should post pics of your garden here Carol. I know the reason I am posting is that I was having a very hard time planing my garden and had yet to see anything like this out there. I found similar wooden fences, but none that dealt with the burrowers problem.

Now THAT is a fence. Makes other fences look almost paltry. Great job!

--McKenzie

Kali, I can't seem to figure out how to get iPad photos into Gardenweb. But I'll send some pix directly to your email. Later today. Happy 4th!

Carol

This looks great!! Hope you have a successful season!

I am very jealous lol! Have a good season!