Learning how to build a basic garden fence keeps rabbits, dogs, and curious kids out of your vegetable beds without requiring construction experience. A simple wire and post fence can be built in an afternoon for relatively little money.

What You’ll Need

Wooden or metal fence posts, wire fencing (chicken wire or welded wire mesh depending on what you’re keeping out), a post hole digger or auger, a mallet, wire cutters, and zip ties or fencing staples.

Step 1 — Plan Your Layout

Measure the perimeter of the area you want to fence and mark post locations every 6-8 feet with stakes or spray paint. Tighter spacing gives a sturdier fence but costs more in posts.

Step 2 — Set the Posts

Dig holes about 18-24 inches deep at each marked location, or drive metal T-posts directly into the ground with a mallet if your soil is soft enough. For wooden posts, backfill with soil or quick-set concrete and tamp it down firmly.

Step 3 — Check for Level and Plumb

As you set each post, check that it’s standing straight up using a level. A slightly leaning post now becomes a major lean once the wire fencing pulls against it.

Step 4 — Attach the Wire Fencing

Starting at one corner, unroll the wire fencing along the posts and attach it using fencing staples for wood posts or zip ties for metal posts. Pull the wire taut as you go to avoid sagging sections.

Step 5 — Secure the Bottom Edge

If you’re keeping out rabbits or other digging animals, bury the bottom few inches of fencing or stake it down flush with the ground so animals can’t push underneath it.

Step 6 — Add a Gate

A simple gate can be made from a wooden frame with hinges, or you can purchase a pre-made garden gate kit that attaches directly to two of your fence posts for easy access.

Final Thoughts

A basic garden fence is a low-cost way to protect a season’s worth of work from animals that would otherwise undo it overnight.

Just moved into a new home? Check out our guide on what to do when you move into a new house.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, FourByFourDIY earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.