building fully enclosed garden

15 years ago

Can anyone tell me which timber is best for constructing the frame of a fully enclosed garden with roof to keep rats and other animals out. The rats are bad this year and have eaten all my attempts at getting seedlings raised. I have been advised to build in treated pine but am wondering about the toxicity and potential leaching of of the toxins into the soil and consequently my food/veg. Please let me know what timber to use and if it's not treated pine, what method to possibly use for preservation of the timbers to stop them rotting. Thankyou for your advice.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

garyfla_gw
15 years ago
Hi
Have built several structures over the years and the runaway best choice has been extruded aluminum. A shadehouse is going on 20 years and still almost looks new.
At the time it was more expensive than wood but I doubt that now.
Woods that don't rot such as cedar and redwood are incredibly expensive at least here.
With the aluminum there's no worry about strength or decay .
I keep birds in the large shadehouse so know about rats lol. I use an aluminum frame with 1/4 inch mesh . Rats , so far (knock on wood) have been unable to get inside, Have had them actually gnaw through wood. gary
birdwidow
15 years ago
With the latest in chemical treatments that eliminated poisons and as an added protection for both the wood and anything that might come in contact with it; a good coat of penetrating oil stain sealer, I really believe the concern over treated wood and soils or what grows in them is really unwarranted.

However, if you construct beds with treated wood, lining them with heavy plastic should also be good insurance, although I also believe the plastic encourages rot, as it traps moisture. I line my treated timber walled beds with weed blocker fabric, which keeps the soil from sifting through any joints and allows drainage and haven't been been downed by a home grown strawberry yet.

Nevertheless, if you construct a space that will be walled and want to keep out rats, you will also need to prevent them from digging under to get to your garden and for that, nothing will beat 1/2 hardware cloth laid just under the foundation timbers all around the perimiter to about 18 - 24 inches out from it, with the outer permiter edge of the wire firmly held down to prevent any rats from finding a place to crawl under it.

They always try to dig in right at the base of the structure and we have yet to have any predator or pest smart enough to think to back off to find the outer perimiter and tunnel under it to breach the walls, like furry sappers.

That line of ground defence has been defeating the desires of our local weasels, mice, foxes and coyotes to enter our poultry yard for over 40 years, and Wiley Coyote is a lot smarter than any rat.
Related Discussions
Converting dog run into enclosed private garden
Q
Comments (24)
If you use native plants for your hedge you'll have an easier time establishing & maintaining it. I favor a mixed hedge, so you can have an assortment of plants you enjoy throughout the seasons and in the future if one dies you can replace it with whatever you desire at the time. Plus the natives attract birds and they add another dimension to your peaceful space. A visitor commented one Friday evening about 6pm, "It is like you recorded all the bird sounds." I could only laugh because we just built a habitat that they like & they came to us. I'm not an expert, but we enjoy our backyard patio immensely late spring through fall as we're located outside the Seattle area with a long rainy season like you. In the rainy season I look out at the patio from my kitchen sink window & enjoy the view. We have portable fountains that attract birds including hummingbirds and provide enough white noise to drown out sounds. Our backyard is much shadier and we've replaced thin grass & moss with many curving wood chip paths. We have a small dog who enjoys running on the paths more than the yard. We also have other pets such as chickens, ducks, doves, & rabbits, so the backyard space includes them, too. You might want to include a climbing plant on a trellis or berm up the soil for the hedge to provide the privacy you need. I share our pics to inspire you that a novice can create a useful & beautiful space. view of patio displaying fuchsia starts ready for transplanting, Masterwort Shaggy in front left patio view toward back of yard bench with fuchsia and blooming Lamium Aurea, Hosta & Filipendula ulmaria in bloom view from path toward chicken coop with Astilbe Visions in Pink Here is a link that might be useful: native plants at Portland Nursery
...See More
New build. New gardener. Need advice please.
Q
Comments (11)
First of all, I'm not a landscaping pro or any type of expert, just a homeowner who likes maps and plans. So I'm wondering about the actual usable amount of space in your front yard. I see a distance of 24'6" (maybe 24'8"?) from the front of the lot to the corner of the window on the right. Is the front property line the location of the curb? Will there be a sidewalk along the street in front of the house? Will it be right along the street, or will there be a parking strip (grass area) between the street and sidewalk? One of the lines in the front yard is labelled "ACHD easement." That's your county's Highway Division. It's 8' from the front property line, so it's 16'6" from the front of the house. My county doesn't allow trees -- or even tallish shrubs -- in the easement, so ask before you plant. The other line -- 12' from the property line, so only 12' 6" from the corner of the window on the right -- is the utility easement. That's another area where planting large shrubs or trees might be restricted, if power lines/pipes are underground. And hopefully they won't put any unsightly boxes in front of the house. But in any case, there may be significantly less space in front of the house where you're free to landscape as you wish, than you expect. Boise's snowfall averages only 19" per year, but you might want to ask the neighbors how much of the street snow will be dumped in your yard.
...See More
Enclosed Mini-gardens outside of windows?
Q
Comments (3)
Thanks, bahia. Now that you mention it, I remember seeing similar gardens at a condo--each unit had a fenced in patio with a door to a common lawn. Does this contemporary style of miniature enclosed gardens have a name? Does anyone know of any good books on this style of gardening? Thanks again, Bill
...See More
Building cool things for the Garden
Q
Comments (17)
We have built a small apple tree and blueberry garden from a terraced area and dh built an arbor for me at the top of the steps into it. The roses are very young so aren't visible yet. There are also roses planted behind the small apple trees, and I hope this winter to clean out some more of the ferns and underbrush and put in a wire and post fence to plant some ramblers along. Not so much built as rebuilt from an old junk shop door and a $5 window from Lowe's, I'm trying to build a garden around the backside of our old garage so it looks like an entry garden. It still looks fake and sure hasn't fooled the UPS man yet. Maybe when the plants grow larger it will look more "natural" or "real." There's a small black paper cat and a curtain of some plastic fabric in the window, along with some shutters made from old boards. It has Christmas lights and a wreath right now on the door and the path is made from old concrete pavers dug out from an old patio. Gean
...See More

building fully enclosed garden

Comments (2)

garyfla_gw

birdwidow

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US