How to Build A Cheap Fence Around Your Garden

A wire fence works well for a garden.

A garden without a fence is vulnerable to all kinds of problems, including hungry animals and careless children. To protect your garden, a simple fence can be erected that will keep out all but the most determined invaders. If you want to protect your plants but don't want to spend a lot of money, rolled wire is an easy, affordable solution for putting a cheap fence around your garden. Metal posts are recommended, but you can make fence posts out of branches and saplings on your property if you want to save even more money.

Things You'll Need

• T-posts, metal, 6-feet long, 5 per corner, 6 for the gate plus 1 for every 15 feet of fence
• T-post corner kit, 1 kit per corner
• Sledge hammer or post driver
• Field fence, 48-inch tall
• Fence stretcher
• Fence clips for T-posts
• Wire cutters
• Gate with T-post hangars

Instructions

1. Pound a metal T-post at each corner of the garden. Also place one on either side of the gate area. Usually a 4-foot-tall fence is adequate for fencing a garden, but you can use longer posts if you want a taller fence. T-posts are relatively inexpensive and last a long time.

2. Create corner supports at each corner and on both sides of the gate. Pound in a second T-post on each side of the corner posts, for a total of three at each corner, one at the corner and one on each side, forming a right angle. Place them at the distance specified by the corner kit you selected, usually about 4 feet from the main corner post. Pound in a second T-post on each side of the gate posts, in a straight line with the gate, for a total of four T-posts where the gate will be.

3. Attach a corner kit to each T-post by placing the double bracket on the corner post and a single bracket on each of the support posts, according to the kit instructions. Place a horizontal T-post as a brace on each side of the corner for support by running a T-post from the support bracket to the corner post bracket on each side. Support the gate in the same way, using single brackets on each gate and support post, with a T-post placed horizontally between the brackets. This gives extra strength to critical points of your fence. Adjust the height of the brackets as necessary for a good fit.

4. Hammer in a T-post every 15 feet along the fence line. If you have very uneven terrain or large animals you are trying to keep out of the garden you will need to decrease the distance to every 8 to 10 feet, to give the fence more strength. Keep all the T-posts turned the same direction, with the post "bumps" faced away from the garden.

5. Place the roll of fencing on one side of the gate, on the outside of the garden. Place a stone or other weight on the end of the fence and unroll it along the fence line, until you reach the corner.

6. Stand the fence up and clip it securely to the first T-post. Secure the fence stretcher to a tree or vehicle and pull the fence tight from the gate to the corner. Clip the fence to each post with three to five clips per post.

7. Unroll the fence along the next side of the garden, and repeat the process of stretching and clipping the fence. Do this on all sides of the garden until you come back to the gate. Cut the fence so as not to cover the gate and clip it securely to the gate post.

8. Hang the gate by attaching the hangers to the T-post on one side of the gate opening, then set the gate onto the hanger pins. This completes the fence installation.

Tips & Warnings

• Use fence with graduated wires to keep out small animals such as rabbits and dogs.

• Use caution when installing the fence so you don't get pinched or hit with the hammer. Do not overstretch the fence or you could damage it.

References

• The Mother Earth News: Fence In, Fence Out; Jim Fairfield; September/October 1975
• "Fences, Gates, and Bridges: And How to Build Them"; George A. Martin; 1999