A fence around a garden, complete with a gate, adds a note of neatness to your spread. And it serves practical purposes too. Cucumbers, peas and other vegetables will grow on it, and it will halt dogs, roving children and whatever wild animals are sharing your produce with you.
If it’s to be decorative, you have your choice of many materials, from split rails to—but don’t select it—plastic. If it’s woodchucks you’re trying to keep out, pick four-foot chickenwire, and bury the bottom a few inches, for those woodchucks will try digging underneath. If it’s squirrels, use two strands of electric fencing, one near the outer side and a few inches from the ground, the other an inch or two above the top. And if you’re trying to stop coons, forget it. They’ll find their way into the First National Bank vault if there’s sweet corn locked in there.
Putting up a fence is a lot of work but any extra effort you invest pays off in the years ahead, as the fence stands straight and solid. If you use wooden posts, try for cedar ones, then peel them and soak them in preservative to increase their longevity. Get them fence-high plus two feet, so they can be deep and firm in the ground. A 10-foot span between fence posts is a good average. Pick solid posts for the corners, and anchor them well. Do the same for the posts that will support the gate.
Think before building that gate. What’s the largest equipment you will be moving in and out? A wheelbarrow, a tiller or maybe a garden cart? Whichever it is, measure it, and give yourself at least six extra inches of maneuvering room. And plan the best location for that gate. Handy to the path between house and garden. But don’t have it lead into the strawberry patch or the asparagus bed. It should lead to a path that provides access to the rest of the garden. A poor location can be an irritating nuisance.
Remember those wild visitors. If you have animal problems, make certain the gate is tight, without squeezing room either on the sides or the bottom. At the bottom, it may be necessary to have the gate swing out of the garden, and, when it is closed, butt against a low rock step.
There’s a construction law to obey when building that gate. A rectangle with its four sides is unstable, but a triangle is firm. That’s the reason for including a diagonal brace in your design. With a light gate you may get the same stiffness using a wire diagonal tightened with a turnbuckle, such as you may have on your screen door.
Canada Department of Agriculture points out that fence posts will last longer if the tops are cut at an angle and the bases are cut at right angles.