building an inexpensive fense for a vegatable garden.

This is what I am wanting to do build a fense to keep the dogs out for my vegatable garden. I want to put it in the back yard but I have two dogs that would wreck it unless I put a fense with a gate.Just want something primative like chicken wire and metal post but not sure how to make a gate.If anyone can help please give me some advice.The yard is fenced in so noone elses dogs or animals would bother the garden.

You could do a simple gate by running a pole through the last set of chicken wire loops from top to bottom.

Place a loop of wire on the post where the gate will close at the bottom and another at the top.

To close, set the botttom of the pole in the bottom loop, stretch the top of the pole to where you can slip the top loop on.

I have seen many such gates made of barbed wire, but would work with chicken wire, too.

personally, I would reinforce the top and bottom of the piece of CW you are using for the gate with some galvanized wire. Depending on how often the gate is used, the CW will fatigue and break eventually.

We enclosed ours with welded wire, keeps out all dogs . And it is a lot less exspensive .Wwith dogs in the yard ,you probably won't have much trouble with rabbits and other critters.

I had the same problem with my daughter's dogs. Got in my veggie garden and made a mess. We got some of those 6' tall green-painted metal poles from Lowe's and some 4' dog wire (2'x4' holes). We used a post driver to put the poles in about 15-20 feet apart. Worth every penny of the $20.00 it cost. There are clips that come with the posts, and we used them to attach the wire. I don't think the clips were necessary but they were free with the poles. For a gate I put the last two poles "gate size" apart. I use pieces of rope to tie it shut, then untie it when I want to go in there, and tie it shut behind me. Works fine.

However, Bubba's suggestion would work, too. For the end-gate pole clip or tie a 2x2 wooden pole and put it through top and bottom loops as suggested. My grandma always used this method to close her barbed-wire pasture gates.

I found chicken wire too flimsy and soft. The dogs would jump up on the wire and mash it down. They could also mash it up from the bottom.

Karen

LOL,Glenda, thats the same wire I suggested, but we call it 'welded wire' it has 2x4 inch holes .

Isn't it interesting how the same thing is called by a different name in different locales. In CA it's called sheep wire, and the stuff with 4x4 holes is called hog wire. I don't know what the fencing with 4x4 holes is called here.

Karen

I put up a small battery-powered electric fence to keep my dogs out. It was easy, and it has worked well. There are a couple of pictures of it over on the beginning gardening forum under the message "Fencing vs very large herbivores" http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/815894/

David

If you have any weeds or tall grass 'like we do' electric grounds itself and our dogs can smell the stuff and run right under it . If no tall weeds or grass touch it though, it's great .

I like the wire of 'many names' myself ,the 2x4in. stuff.Then gain I am one who usualy needs advice not gives it,haha.

thanks everyone your advice is great and I am still deciding where I can put it.I live in an association run neighborhood and we have alot of rules.I found a fense on line but it seems awfully short and I am wondering if it is too late to start a veggie garden now? Maybe have to get it ready for fall stuff?

I made a real beauty of a fence this season, should be good enough to even keep out the deer unless they get REALLY hungry. I came up with a rather clever solution for the gate. I used the regular green stakes around the entire garden to hold the fence. At the entrance, I buried to 4 inch diameter 18 inch long PVC pipes in the ground. I then used two more of the stakes, with a piece of fence attached to each of the stakes, and two small aluminum rods as cross members to each stake to make it solid, as the fence itself would cause the gate to be floppy. I then just set the stakes into the PVC pipes that were dug into the ground. This creates a gate that just lifts in and out and covers your opening perfectly. Its kind of hard to explain, so let me know if I lost anyone there.