Good fences, good gardens

Published: Friday, Jan. 10, 2014, 8:57p.m. Updated 12 hours ago

Vegetable gardens and groundhogs do not mix. These vegetarian mammals can turn even the most peaceable gardener into a vigilante, as the groundhogs take a single bite out of each ripe tomato and chomp lettuce and broccoli plants down to the nub.

As agile climbers and proficient diggers, groundhogs are able to scale a fence just as swiftly as they can burrow beneath one; readily foiling any attempt to keep them out of the veggie patch.

Excluding groundhogs from the garden without resorting to bullets or traps does require a bit of finesse, but it's perfectly doable. If you are looking for a late-winter project to thwart groundhogs during the coming garden season, here's a fencing solution tested by the Humane Society of America and determined to be the most effective groundhog-resistant option. I know several gardeners who have used it, and they all confirm that it works like a charm.

Start with enough 6-foot-tall PVC-coated welded wire fencing (with 1-inch-by-2-inch or 2-inch-by-4-inch openings), or galvanized PVC-coated hexagonal wire mesh, to surround your garden, plus 3 extra feet to construct the gate base.

Hammer a 4-foot-tall studded metal fence post also called a T-stake or T-post every 6 feet around the garden's perimeter, positioning a pair 3 feet apart to flank the gate opening. Be sure the wing-shaped metal bracket on each post is fully underground and the fence clips are facing the garden's exterior. Three feet of each fence post should remain aboveground.

Attach one end of the fence to one of the gate posts by pressing it into the post clips or using plastic zipties; allow 18 inches of the fencing to extend out from the bottom and another 18 inches above the top of the posts. Continue securing the wire mesh by moving from post to post.

Bend the excess lower fencing to form an L against the ground (the base of the L should be to the outside of the garden). Use landscape pins to firmly secure this on-ground portion every 1 or 2 feet. This thwarts the groundhog's excavating endeavors.

Then, bend the surplus top fencing very slightly toward the outside of the garden, essentially creating a sideways U with the opening aimed away from the garden. As the groundhog climbs, his weight folds the U and he drops to the ground outside the fence.

To craft the gate, use a wire cutter to remove the bottom 18 inches of the fence and size the gate's width so it overlaps the opposite post by a few inches. The gate can be held closed by a double-ended snap clip at the top and the bottom. Cut a separate piece of 3-foot-by-3-foot fencing and use landscape pins to secure it flush to the ground under the fence.

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Good fences, good gardens