If you live in a suburban and/or rural area, perhaps you have dealt with rabbits or deers eating your lovely flowers and greens. I have substantially added several raised beds to my garden. However, some were being chomped up by the deers and a beautifully fed rabbit. I have tried every deer and rabbit repellent in the market, and also added blood meal around the garden. The stuff I was using worked, but I had to reapply. That was okay for my roses, but when it comes to my lettuce, chard, onions, garlic, asparagus, and others, I can’t see myself reapplying the stuff every day. I saw some beautiful crop coop on the gardeners.com website. However, I needed 3, and I needed specific sizes. Though they are beautiful, I need 3 -3×6 and 1- 3×3. I thought about making wooded frames and adding chicken wire just like the ones everyone is posting online. I found the gardener’s supply company aesthetically pleasing but, they are expensive, and as I said, the size is not compatible with what I needed. I started thinking about making a frame and then wrapping it with chicken wire, but I became frustrated, and I didn’t see it as cost-effective. Then, it came to me. What if I purchased some of those mini-greenhouses that you put together with those tubes and cover with plastic.
I purchased 3 of these 3×6, if you click on the link, it will take you to Amazon (non-affiliated link), I love this particular brand because they even came with the garden u-shape stakes. I purchased an additional one from another brand because it was cheap to reconstruct it into a 3×3, but that one did not come with the stakes. In addition to the greenhouse, I purchased chicken wire ($68.99 – at the time purchased at Amazon) and stainless steel zip ties ($13.99 – at the time purchased on Amazon).
This was all still worth it because I could make the perfect size for my raised beds.
So, here we go… easy peasy, assemble the frames and save the plastic to use for the winter months when you need a greenhouse.
Once, assembled it’s time to cut some chicken wire and start wrapping the frame-up. I used velcro plant ties to hold the wire in place. Once I got them even, then, I tied them down with the zip ties.
I worked on covering the ends first. Then, I used 2 pieces to drape over the other section.
I had some copper wire and decided to make some handles for easy lifting. I made 2- 3×6 fully covered and 1- 3×6 with some openings on top for my asparagus bed, and I made a 3×3 for my lettuce and garlic bed.
The first one came out wacky but then I got the hang of it.
Just make sure those tubes are fitted correctly before wrapping them with the chicken wire.
Here’s what they look like in the garden.
Before.
After.
They look clean, and it protects all my veggies. It is also easier to maintain the beds; all I have to do is lift them, set them aside, work on the garden and place them back on.
Art by Isabel 
good idea
Hi. Thanks for this! I have the same issue. I need an exact size cover and also want it to look nice because my vegetable garden is part of my urban backyard which I’d like to also be pretty. I’m new to gardening with the pandemic and have thrown myself into it. The squirrels got more than we did this year. They got all the zucchinis, so I’m going to try your system for next spring. I did manage to make a decent cliche from chicken wire and staked it into the ground. That worked ok, but those squirrels are really good at finding loose areas. I’ll know better next year.
Also, when I read your bio, I noticed some similarities. I’m an architect then painter, now gardener. For some reason, I am in a dry period for painting. Gardening has become my new art form.
Nicole, Thanks for stopping by. I hope it works out for you, it’s really made a difference for my garden.
I also have had a dry spell with painting for now DIY projects and gardening has been the focus. Good Luck.