I am building a raised bed garden and would like to know how tall a fence to use to keep out stinking gophers?
Image by Chiot’s Run
I built 6 raised beds in the back of our lot for edible gardening. It used to be a driveway so I was unable to amend the soil, so I built up. We used some oak barn boards that were left in the back of the lot. They’re fantastic.
Question by Snoopy: I am building a raised bed garden and would like to know how tall a fence to use to keep out stinking gophers?
Sorry, folks, I meant to say groundhogs, not gophers. My current garden has a 2 foot fence around it and the groundhog climbed over it. Not once but many times.
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4 Responses to I am building a raised bed garden and would like to know how tall a fence to use to keep out stinking gophers?
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Gophers travel in tunnels under the ground, so a fence would not work for you.
pondlady
February 6, 2012 at 8:45 am
Pondlady is correct…….gophers burrow. If you are building a raised bed with legs, then make it high enough so it won’t hurt your back when you are tending the box. If you are building a raised bed from the ground and using 2×12 or similar side wood, lay 2 layers of gopher wire on the bottom and staple or attach it to the side of the bottom pieces. Make sure there are no gaps in the wire cause those little buggers will find that hole!
chefowen21
February 6, 2012 at 9:31 am
A three to four foot mesh (chicken wire) fence with the top foot or so unsecured is recommended for keeping the pests out. It will be an unfinished looking fence but even if a particularly agile critter manages to climb it the unsecured top will bend outward and and he will find himself upside down. Ground hogs also will tunnel under a fence once they learn there is food on the other side, so bury the wire a foot deep with about a foot of L facing out from the garden to prevent that. Some folks even string an electric wire about four inches high outside the fence to further discourage the pests.
Hondu
February 6, 2012 at 10:18 am
Check out this site for building a raised bed garden
http://www.ufseeds.com/How-to-Make-a-Raised-Bed-Garden1.html
noah h
February 6, 2012 at 10:28 am