How to Avoid Pests in Square Foot Gardens

Hi. This is Yolanda Vanveen on behalf of Expert Village. In this series, we are talking about square foot gardening - how to garden in a small area using one foot by one foot squares in a raised bed. Although Mel Bartholomew doesn't recommend or doesn't add adding pest barriers to your square foot garden, here in the Pacific Northwest, I have found it's really helpful. We have moles and rabbits and all kinds of animals that get into the beds. SO, an easy way to stop that and to stop the weeds from coming up through the bottom is laying just a thin layer of pest barrier out. And, basically it's just plastic that is almost like a material (like a cotton even), where the water can go through it, so it doesn't stay on top, but yet, plants and weeds can't come up underneath it and mice and moles can't come up underneath it. And over the years, I've found that my beds last longer when I just add a simple pest barrier underneath. Next, we'll talk about how to lay soil down in your square foot garden.