Operation Save the Veggies

Since they started free ranging in the garden a week ago, I have come to realise that I would need to do something to protect my fruit and veggies. So, I made a net fence around the fruit bed, and thought that the raised beds would be ok. Well, I was wrong. It isn't the veggies that are in danger per se, it is just that the chooks seem to think that I have provided huge dustbaths with snack bars built in! So, after chasing Catherine out for the 10th time in about 5 minutes, I tried several ways to keep them out of my raised bed.
I firstly tried putting a cane in each corner and winding string around them to make a sort of fence. Hubby remarked that it looked a bit like a boxing ring. This seemed to work briefly-  then the chickens realised that they could climb through the strings to get in. Then Elizabeth got all tangled up so it was back to the drawing board. I didn't want to put up a proper 'fence'- the idea was that Small Boy and Small Girl could help harvest whatever has grown- a fence taller than them would put paid to that for about the next 5 years.

I had a brainwave. A trip to Wilkinsons later and here we have it- willow trellises (is trellises a word nor should it be trellisi?) on top of the beds. This only works because the bed is full of stuff that grows close to the ground, but it is perfect to protect the empty bed too.