Based on your budget and goals for gardening, you could fill the lower part of your garden beds with wide-mesh hardware cloth, stainless steel mesh, landscape fabric, burlap sack, or newspaper/cardboard. The following are the details for each.

• Wide-mesh hardware cloth: This fabric keeps burrowing animals and weeds out, but earthworms are able to pass through. They are the gardeners of nature, improving the soil and aerating it to benefit your plants. Staple the cloth on the base of the frame for your garden bed in the process of building. Once the frame is set, the frame should last every year.

• Rat or gopher made of stainless steel mesh: This tough product is designed specifically for stopping animals from burrowing. Secure it with a staple to ensure it doesn't move around.

• Landscape fabric: If you're facing issues with weeds in your yard, landscaping fabric can be effective in keeping undesirable plant growth from popping up in your gardens.

• Burlap bag: Have an old potato bag lying around? It makes a fantastic weed-stopper when stapled to the base of the garden bed frame.

• Newspaper or cardboard: Easy, low-cost materials can impede the growth of weeds in the garden bed. They can be laid on the ground prior to making gardens on the top. Alternately, you can put pieces of cardboard or newspaper on the upper part of your planters for the additional benefit of moisture retention that mulch offers.

Final Tips

Do not line your gardens with plastic because this hinders drainage and can cause the drowning of the roots of your plants. If you're experiencing an issue with pests and weeds, think about installing a mix of mesh and fabric or cardboard and hardware cloth in order to gain both benefits in one go.