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Re: sq ft cages

Square Foot Gardening List - http://myweb.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

I'll take a stab at explaining how I built my cages. I have 4x4 raised 
beds and I built my cages for a complete 4 foot by 1 ft row. You 
could use the same model and just build a 1x1 cage. I use these 
to cover the strawberries "full time" to keep the birds from eating 
my crop! and over a row of beans so the birds didn't eat the sprouts.

I expect these are sturdier than they need to be but I figured they'll 
last for several growing seasons to come.

Materials:

(1) 1x2x8ft (you only need 6 ft of this for a 1ftx4ft cage) $1.00
(1) 3x at least 6 ft (25 ft roll at Home Depot was < $4.00)
4-8 wood screws to build the base
some staples to fasten the chicken wire to the base
staple gun
(1) roll of 20 guage wire (about $0.50) if you forget to leave enough 
overlap.

1. Build a base out of 1x2 which is 1 foot wide by a little less than 
4 ft long (so it would fit snugly against the ends of my bed)

==============
[<--------4 ft --------->]  1 ft
==============

2. Using 3 ft wide roll of chicken wire, lay out a length that is 6 ft 
long. I used bricks to hold it down at the four corners. Using a 12 
inch ruler or other measuring device, snip out the 4 corners, 1 ft in 
from each corner. (Leave a little overlap of wire in each corner and 
you can use the chicken wire itself to fasten the corners together.)

3. I layed the frame built in step 1 in the middle of this 3x6 section 
of wire in order to create a "straight edge" to fold up the 4 sides, 
holding the corners in place with clothespins.

4. Finally, I worked one corner at a time using a pair of needle nose 
pliers to interlock the corner and twist together. I have also used 20 
guage wire as a means to tie together the corners.

5. Lay this "chicken wire box" over the base and fasten around all 
four sides using a staple gun.

Works for me.

Steve :)
> Square Foot Gardening List - http://myweb.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
> 
> Does anyone here build the small cages to go over the individual squares
> (to keep the critters out) - this idea being in the sfg book.  I got some
> chicken wire, and went at it.  Never having worked with chicken wire, I
> was intimidated by how flimsy it was.  I had these marshmellow sticks I
> had made from saplings earlier in the spring, and I cut them up to give a
> little support to the structure, sticking them a few inches into the
> ground.  Wish I had read that far in the book last year when I tried to
> grow corn!  I couldn't believe it one day when the crows got it all ...
> and it had gotten several inches tall, too ... didn't think they'd want
> it at that point!
> 
> I am curious as to whether anyone else is doing this (the cage thing),
> and if so what materials are you using?  I am sure that I am way behind
> you all ... being in upstate NY, and planting late at that!  I am very
> excited to see my pole beans coming up, and can't tell the other stuff
> ... if it is weeds I am seeing or the seedlings.  The pictures on the
> seed packages are rather useless to me.  I know the beets are up too.
> 
> Deb
> 
> Wife to Craig,  mom to Rebecca (11), Ricky (9), Robbie (3), Isaac (20
> mo.) and Bethany (23), mom-in-law to Josh (24), and Grandma to be.
> 
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