Plants in a cage

I put this idea in "tips for awkward spots", because every spot is an awkward spot if you have dogs.
There is one that likes to dig up things, especially things that I just planted. Apparently he can't be contained, so my plants had to go into a cage instead :)
So I bought one of these critter runs and I made the mesh on top (took me way too long but it looks pretty!), and now I think it's a great idea not just because of dogs.
First I put wet cardboard underneath, and covered it with soil. The garden hose went under accidentally, but it was useful to have it buried there.



I sowed sweet peas, lettuce, kale and marigolds, and I put a thorny blackberry around just in case...



And they grew beautifully! The mesh was giving some more shade and it was protected not just from dogs.



Today I removed the cage to make a new bed elsewhere. They spread!



I'm making a garden bed in a shower cabin next...

That net top is very pretty with the varying colours. My dogs like to 'help' me with gardening too. I end up fencing them out, like deer or sheep! Your cage will stop stray cats in the bed or birds digging up the seeds too - great idea!

Just wondering why is it colored is there any reason for it or just likes to ? just wondering because i have animals outside eating my stuff and looking for ideas

The homemade shade cloth is really cool. I use 1/2" hardware cloth around all of my high value beds. I just wore tie them to rebar or sticks for support. Keeps the dog and cat from digging.  No top on mine, but I've noticed the slugs don't seem to get in those beds as much either.

John Kava wrote:Just wondering why is it colored is there any reason for it or just likes to ?

I just had these coloured strings which were useless for anything else.
Also, I thought if I had quail I could put them there to clean up the patch, like a quail tractor. Not this year but maybe next - an idea for small gardens too.

This is the new bed made with this cage. I covered it with elderberry leaves and there is a confused male actinidia in the middle (the female is outside, to the right). In this one I'll grow cucumbers, nasturtiums, columbine, evening stock, peas, pyrethrum, leafy goosefoot, beetroot, onion (which is chaos gardening of whatever seeds I still have left). And corn around for a future fence!

My chickens like to dig dirt away from my potatoes to eat worms. My dogs like to to pee on the asparagus. My cats like to chew on the leaves of berry bushes. None of that is particularly harmful.

Deer will eat all of my lettuce, and eat all of the leaves off of my plum, apple, and maple trees. If the 6 foot high fence that I'm building doesn't keep them out, may god have mercy on their souls.

That looks like a function art project.

That was a good use for you excess colored string.

And your garden turned out pretty, too.

Flora, in years past I've had your problem with digging dogs as well as cats, each of which were sure I had dug that nice soft soil for their own personal use.

Unpleasant to work by hand later on.


Peace

I like the ribbons for increased visibility.
In Tennessee we had many groundhogs deers and raccoons eating our melons. The only cantaloupe we were able to save ironicly happened to be on the part of the vine that was growing through the  closed racoon trap cage.
Your project is great. Thank you for sharing.

For several years my entire garden was in a cage made of chain-link panels wrapped in chicken wire and hardware cloth to keep the desert critters out.



Everything was grown in containers. Some plants got really big in there.
(I'm 5'-8" tall and the peak of the cage was about 9 feet tall)