Which wire against voles?
Voles and other rodents feel very comfortable in raised beds and quickly use them as hiding places or even homes. So, in no case should you forget about the vole wire that is inserted between the soil and the bottom layer. The close-meshed wire - the mesh size must not exceed one and a half centimeters - is also hot-dip galvanized to protect against corrosion. You place a suitably cut piece directly on the floor, with the edges along the inner walls being bent up about 15 centimeters each. Attach the wire well to the interior walls so that no gaps - which could be used as loopholes - remain. There are special wire meshes for raised beds (so-called “rodent grids”) in the trade, but rabbit and chick wire are also useful.
also read
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- Raised bed made of larch - a particularly long-lasting purchase
- When a foundation for the raised bed is necessary
Trellis for the raised bed
Many types of vegetables develop long shoots that bend slightly under the weight of their fruits. Tomatoes, aubergines or peppers should therefore be supported with sturdy wooden or bamboo sticks. Others, such as peas, climb up trellises or sticks with leaf tendrils. The fruits of pumpkins, cucumbers and zucchini, on the other hand, are much less prone to rot if the plants can climb up on a climbing aid.
A secure hold is important
Always attach trellises and climbing aids in such a way that they give the plants stable support and do not hinder the necessary maintenance work such as watering and harvesting. Incorrectly attached grids, but also bars, trellises and poles do not provide the plants with proper support and are therefore useless. It is therefore best to screw large climbing trellises made of wood or metal onto a side wall from the inside before filling the raised bed.
Stable trellises for fruit plants
For fruit vegetables with heavy fruits - such as pumpkins, cucumbers and zucchini - welded wire meshes that are curved in a tunnel are very suitable for tendrils. But a piece of wire netting, cut to size, fixed between sturdy wooden slats, can also be used as a trellis. Ready-made kits for raised beds with wooden trellises are available in stores, which can be used as a useful bed, but also as an ornamental plant bed.
Tips
If you fill in a drainage made of crushed stone or gravel as the bottom layer, you can do without the rodent grid.
