Asked on May 02, 2012
Raised bed over chicken wire?
by Rikki
+15
I have 2 dogs and a fence that is wire over rail and does not quite reach to the ground. we just bought this house but we will only be here for a couple of years so we don't want to put much money into it. I was thinking to keep the dogs from digging out I would bury chicken wire around the perimeter. I also thought that I could maybe put a raised garden bed over the chicken wire so it isn't so ugly, and plant pole beans, corn, sunflowers around the edge to hide the wire fence. Thoughts?
Ugly fence
18 answers
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a number of years ago when I had my Siberian Husky she would want to dig. I was concerned that any wire might pose an injury risk to her paws. I lined the bottom edge of the "dog pen's" fence with concrete paving stones. I had to excavate a bit of dirt to set these flush but it worked like a charm. a row of sunflowers on the opposite side of were the dogs are would look nice. Just be sure to get those of the proper height...I have seen "dwarf" sunflowers at 2 feet or so...and also some that topped out over 8 feet.
![KMS Woodworks]()
KMS Woodworks
on May 02, 2012
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Rikki, I never thought of paving stones that KMS suggested. To stop my 2 big dogs I had concrete poured into the ground and the fence installed. Either way will work but I think the KMS idea is excellent.
![Sherrie S]()
Sherrie S
on May 02, 2012
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Stepping stones is good, to plant you could go with honeysuckle, it grows fast gives good coverage and smells great when it blooms.
![Sandra R]()
Sandra R
on May 02, 2012
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I think your idea of pole beans, corn and sunflowers is great. You could try scarlet runner beans which have beautiful orange flowers and are edilbe too. Easy solution to use these plants and quick results.
![Erica Glasener]()
Erica Glasener
on May 02, 2012
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Erica G, no plant will stop dogs who dig. I know, I have 2 Big ones. After you stop the dogs with some type of cement/cement product then you can have pretty plants that cover the fence.
![Sherrie S]()
Sherrie S
on May 02, 2012
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Sherrie - the chicken wire on the ground will keep them from being able to dig. I was just looking for other options. I really don't want concrete around my yard. The dogs do not dig unless they are unsupervised which they rarely are - I do have a 15 year old who sometimes lets them out then forgets about them, so I need to make sure they cannot escape the yard. We have lived here for 2 months with no problems or digging, I just need an insurance policy.
![Rikki]()
Rikki
on May 02, 2012
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Rikki, I would be afraid of chicken wire because if they do try to dig they could be injured - Perhaps I may be too protective. The raised garden designed to cover the bottom of the fence sounds better and prettier, too.
![Sherrie S]()
Sherrie S
on May 02, 2012
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i have heard there is a product that keeps dogs off the lawn so maybe it would work there they say it is nontoxic
![Deb B]()
Deb B
on May 03, 2012
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I too steered away from the wire for fear of injury. The concrete pavers I mentioned before could be set a couple inches below grade and then some bark mulch of other such cover could be used on top for "cosmetic concerns" .
![KMS Woodworks]()
KMS Woodworks
on May 03, 2012
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Would plastic edging work?
![Erica G]()
Erica G
on May 03, 2012
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Have you considered using some straw bales with plants in them? Check out my straw bale garden pics, and those others have posted here.
![Ken H]()
Ken H
on May 03, 2012
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KMS, how about ugly, cheap cement blocks instead of nice pavers installed below grade?
![Sherrie S]()
Sherrie S
on May 03, 2012
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I know this sounds gross, but I have tried it and it works: pick up their poop (dried) and grind it up and spread it where you don't want them. They can't stand it on their paws.
![Cheryl S]()
Cheryl S
on May 03, 2012
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What the picture shows looks like 2x4 welded wire probably galvanized or vinal coated. it wont hurt it to cover the bottom with dirt. land scape timbers or stake it down. Tension wire is another option.
![Midway Fence & Decks]()
Midway Fence & Decks
on May 03, 2012
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Sherrie ...cinder blocks would really well as they would be hard to "dig up"...more work to install though.
![KMS Woodworks]()
KMS Woodworks
on May 04, 2012
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Nail or lag bolt 2x6 Treated along the bottom., you can sink into gound a bit if needed. Then you can staple or use U-Nails to secure the fence to the back of the 2x6. The 2x6's can be cut so the joints line up on a post.
![Clay B]()
Clay B
on May 04, 2012
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I did that once Clay, my Husky dug right under it, of course he also chewed the wire.
![Sandra R]()
Sandra R
on May 04, 2012
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Yes you can plant raised beds atop the chicken wire. I recently built some raised garden beds and laid down some diamond mesh underneath. It's s normally used for plaster & concrete projects. It's comes 27"X96" , and only costs about $9, which I bought at Lowes. I used it to keep out burrowing animals. I poured the dirt right over it into the raised beds. Works like a charm. My veggies are doing very well. Sounds like you have a good idea. Hope this helps.
![Linda]()
Linda
on May 05, 2012
KMS Woodworks
on May 02, 2012
Sherrie S
on May 02, 2012
Erica Glasener
on May 02, 2012
Rikki
on May 02, 2012
Deb B
on May 03, 2012
Erica G
on May 03, 2012
Ken H
on May 03, 2012
Cheryl S
on May 03, 2012
Midway Fence & Decks
on May 03, 2012
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