Cheap Fencing Options in the Garden

Fencing in a garden is vital. Without it rabbits, dogs, cats and other critters can eat your new sprouts, dig up your freshly planted seeds, or gnaw established plants to the ground. If you have a very large garden though, fencing can be a dauntingly expensive prospect. Here are a few options for fencing only the vulnerable plants to help save money on fencing.

If a fence for the entire perimeter of your garden is out of the question, try fencing only those plants that are particularly at risk. In general, onions and garlic, hot peppers and shallots are not the plants likely to be consumed by pests. Identify your at risk plants, and make plans to protect them. For me, the plants most at risk for being lost to rabbits are lettuces, spinach, pea and bean sprouts, and young trees. These are things that are tender and appealing to rabbits or are available in the winter when there's not a lot of other bunny food around.

There are different strategies that can be taken for each plant, and they can be used in a mix and match fashion as well. Last fall, to protect the lettuces, I planted marigolds, garlic, and onions around a between the sections of loose leaf lettuce. I also followed advice my dad had given me, and planted enough for my annoying bunny friends as well, in case the other precautions didn't work.

For the peas, I used a dog kennel pen that wasn't in use for anything else, and planted snap peas along the inner perimeter. The kennel is like a movable fence that will keep the rabbits away from the new sprouts and also provides plenty of support and room for the climbing pea plants.

Small trees can be protected by rabbits by setting a 6-8 inch diameter cylinder of chicken wire or rabbit fencing in the hole when planting the tree. They can also be covered in the winter by buckets if they are short enough and the buckets are staked or weighed down. It's important to uncover them in late winter so they can respond to the lengthening days and prepare for spring. Tiny, one-plant fences can be used in the garden the same way.

Another tricked that worked well for me last summer was to plant my bush beans in different places around the yard. I had a few patches of beans in various beds that did really well. One bed was discovered by the rabbits, and was eaten down, but the others escaped their notice and I was able to harvest plenty of green beans despite the backyard critters.

Cheap fencing options abound, and protecting plants with fences or with cunning is entirely possible without breaking the bank.