How to Gopher Proof your Raised Bed Garden with Hardware Cloth

John from http://www.growingyourgreens.com/ goes on a field trip to the hardware store to shares with you the best material use to prevent gophers and other creatures from digging into your raised bed garden and eating your vegetables.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• gophers
• gopher
• wire
• mole
• vermin
• pests
• raised
• bed
• garden
• edible
• vegetable
• tomato
• prevention
• proof

[MrRyangaga1997]

Hey John, I have not found rock dust anywhere do you know of anything that I can use as a substitute?

[growingyourgreens]

Try a local rock / stone quarry and get their "rock dust" or SMALLEST particle size screened material they offer.

[JarheadPatriot0311]

I guess I'm a little dense and did not get the illustration. Do you mean to overlap the wire at the very top of each side? 

[growingyourgreens]

Yes. Overlap onto the bottom, and then use fender washers and screws to affix it to the wood. Basically, you can think of it as making a "bottom" for your raised bed with hardware cloth.

[saucey2427]

Thanks for another great video, John. Another way to secure the mesh to the bottom of the wood frame is with staples on about 1-inch spacing. It has been effective for us for two seasons now and it's less expensive than using screws+washers. You HAVE to pull the cloth very tight regardless.

[southrncalifgirl1]

@BillyAteMySoul By country, i mean wild lands without people. I haven't dumped gophers in other peoples neighborhoods or even pastures where gophers can dig holes that cause hoof, fetlock, fore and aft limb problems. I appreciate your point.

[BillyAteMySoul]

@southrncalifgirl1

I'd just like to point out if you took a gopher out to the country, the odds that people out there are gardening for their own food, or to make a living, is a lot higher, and the probablility of the gopher seriously harming someone by destroying the food they need to eat, or sell to make a living, goes up.

Dumping animals in the country is NOT a kind thing to do, to the people who live in the country.

[wolfsfire1]

I haven't tried making a raised bed, I generally dig out my gardens and learned the hard way last year that gophers are completely unforgiving when it comes to any roots not in the nightshade family which is the only thing they did not destroy in my yard, This year I completely protected my veggy rows with hardware cloth and two months in they have not messed with them so far, although the raised mounds around them suggests they have tried. Now I just need to protect them from my dog's urine.

[wslandry]

Great video John however my biggest problems in my garden is cats in the neighborhood. Can you recommend company's that sell something that I can slip over the bed to keep cats out? Thanks again for all your great videos.

[JarheadPatriot0311]

@growingyourgreens Got it! Have a great weekend.

[southrncalifgirl1]

John! Gophers are NOT VERMIN. They are actually VERY cute little guys and girls who just want to eat yummy stuff. BUT, that said, blocking them is cool. Poisoning them is TORTURE and AGONY for them. I caught mine, took him (or her) out to the countryside where there was water and greenery. I hope he or she's living a happy life. I would not EVER put a gopher where there's hooved animals, though. Gopher holes can break legs.