I have what the British call a "fruit cage" that I built around my blueberry patch. I used PVC Pipes to build a frame (painted it black to make it disappear since my bushes are in the front of the house) and then covered the entire thing with bird netting. I used PVC T-connectors so that the frame snaps together without glue. I drove 18 inch sections of a larger diameter pipe into the ground and then the upright posts of the cage drop down into those. The pieces in the ground are permanent, though they are merely driven in. The "roof" is covered with the netting too. I was primarily working to keep out birds. The netting allows insects to get in for pollination. The netting comes all the way down to the ground and I lay pieces of wood or stones on it to weight it down. Once the fruit is picked, I take it down and store it in our basement. If you are trying to keep out critter like deer or coons, you would need to use something heavier like maybe some kind of metal screening. I'm not exactly sure this is what you have in mind, but maybe? Territorial Seed Catalog has pre-fab fruit cages listed, but they are pretty expensive.

There seems to be a persistant myth that mulches made of vegetative materials will attract voles and other vermine. There is no evidence that thpse wee critters are more active in mulched versus unmulched gardens. if there is food available they will move in there whether any mulches are present or not. Since these wee buggers want to eat some of us have found that cages around the plants they like to eat, made from 1/4 or 1/2 inch mesh hardware cloth, is effective. This link may help dispell some of the myths. Here is a link that might be useful: Mulches and rodents

Hi, I'm new here. I have been using the square foot gardening method for the most part the last two years. I started out with four 4'x4' raised beds just off the back patio, then the next year, four 3'x8' beds arranged along the back fence where there was more sun. However, like many of you here, between the rabbits and my son's Jack Russell Terrorist (I mean terrier lol) it was a mess. I tried wrapping 3' high rabbit wire around the beds but the bindweed and everything loved to climb it on the outside, and it was too tall for me to reach over, and not very convenient to remove. I found myself not weeding or harvesting as much because it was such a pain, and that was counterproductive. The next year I drove T posts in each corner and wrapped 2' rabbit fencing around each bed so the fencing started at the top of the raised bed. That solved the problem of weeds climbing up the fencing and made it much easier to trim around the beds, but I still had trouble reaching over. Finally, this year I decided to completely fence in a 12'x16'corner of my yard. I came up with a potager-style design with 2' wide beds all around the perimeter, and a 4'x8' bed in the center. There will be an entrance/gate at one end and a bench at the opposite end, and a walkway all the way around the center bed. The rabbit fencing wraps around the entire garden, supported by 2"x2"s in the corners of the outer raised beds. I'm going to hang cattle panels along the inside of my 6' privacy fence, which forms two sides of my potager, and use that for trellising. Eventually I would like to build an arch over the entrance and an arbor over the bench to provide even more trellising opportunities and make it look more attractive. Even though this new layout is not yet complete, it is already working SO much better! The dog can't get in at all, and neither can the rabbits. Once I get the gate installed, access will be easy and convenient. The bench is a nice place to sit with a glass of iced tea and admire my accomplishments lol! I wish I had done this to start with. Here's a picture - its not finished yet, and the gate is not installed yet, but it will give you some idea. I am still using the square foot gardening method, its just in a different configuration. Shelley Here is a link that might be useful:

Thanks! Yes - @Dawson, definitely have critters in the neighborhood, the neighbors non-fenced gardens were hit pretty bad last year. Squirrels, chipmunks, voles, and occasionally deer. Strangely enough, haven't ever seen a rabbit, but it seems likely they'd be around. I think we'll build a raised bed in the back, but i'll try the melon and maybe the squash in both places and see how it goes. Have seen a couple articles on trellising melons & squash, maybe that would be a more attractive way to incorporate them into the front. Not sure that will deter the critters, but at least they'll have to climb for it! :)