What a wonderful opportunity! You can make sure the dirt (at least the top 2-3 ft) has nice compost in it and that it is decent dirt! When you bolt you Ft Knox to it, I would be sure to dig a trench and sink wire underground- to discourage little burrowers from tunneling under the edge of the Knox in that 6" space and making themselves at home! Slats on the roof, set about 1" apart (over top of wire) will give a nice shade in the summer and if there is something you might attach shade screen to in the summer, say on the western side, that would also be helpful.
You could plant gourds - loofah or birdhouse or dipper gourds- along the western side also, they will grow up, provide lovely shade and give you some return in your water investment. :)
If you are going to put in a drip system, run the soaker hose kind to the garden. Then you can position it wherever you end up putting plants in. A mist system overhead would be helpful to keep you cool when you are doing your gardening in the summer... and it might be nice to give the plants some artificial rain sometimes.....

What kind of plants are you thinking about putting in?

Susie

The burrowers aren't going to have a chance (one of the perks of marrying a carpenter) we are bolting 4x4 posts dirrectly to the brick along its entire length on all sides then framing up from there, any gopher that can burrow thru either and I will be very very afraid. Even the entrance will be secure, a walkin coldframe on the concrete slab at the far end, with 2 doors to go through to get in the garden. As an extra bonus, there is an 8 foot fence around the entire area *cackles with glee* and another 500 sq feet of garden space in tiered, raised beds for growing the less precious things.

The misting system is a great idea, especially since us redheads are not built for this climate and summer is nearly the death of me yearly. And soaker hose was what I was thinking as well. The soil will be nothing short of awesome, I am hand mixing all of it as it goes in (remind me to suspend the Gym membership for that month.) I was pondering if a layer of gravel should go in the bottom of the pool though, just for emergency drainage in case we ever get a drought-breaking rain.

As for fort knox, inside goes all the things I have attempted the last 10 years only to have wilt and die when a pocket gopher went straight thru the bed, or that the deer decided would make a great mid-morning snack, or the doves dug up, the wrens decimated, the quail and rabbits feasted on... (you get the idea). Dozens of rare heirloom tomatoes will be waiting thier turn (1 or 2 at a time of course to prevent cross polination)Some beautiful Italian squash I had imported, but was always too afraid to "waste" as well as Zatta melon. I thought perhaps even some hot peppers for the husband, though to be honest I have never ever gotten a pepper plant to thrive, it is my own personal curse. A few chinese cucumbers growing up the wire, mexican sour gerkins, african horned melon. Top that off with a handful of anything that takes its chances outside the secure walls (just so I have a few to go to seed in the case of a full outer assault).

Just thinking about it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy =)

I hate to be the barer of bad news but this has been tried before, for many generations. I professionally trap and kill these rodents and have been since 1966. So, here is some information that may help you.

The gestation of a gopher is 16 days, in 4 weeks, those babies are already tunneling and breeding. A baby gopher can surface and walk anywhere and since it's so tiny, it will most likely never be seen. If the gopher enters your new "Fort Knox" it will have a fine location to live, with the perfect security from predatory birds and snakes.

The best method for having a garden is raised beds. While it can be tough to start-up with all the materials, it's certainly rewarding. No more kneeling on the ground and risking tapeworm, hookworm, fleas and other diseases and parasites that are in the soils where these rodents live.

Be sure to screen and net your tables to keep the birds and squirrels away, since there are always going to be hungry wildlife eager to steal from you.

I've seen everything over the years and I can assure you that planting an extra "dummy" garden will not work. It will only be eaten as well. Gum, water, flammables, noisemakers, broken glass, plants, nothing is going to work, with the exception of gopher traps.

Never use any chemicals, poisons, baits or other products that can poison and kill children, domestic pets, wildlife and birds. The legal liability is too great. Gophers will simply expel anything you put into their tunnels in the dirt mounds, usually a distance from your application area. Water will only increase your bills and the water will never reach the dens, due to the design of their tunnels.

Trap your gophers and kill them, so you know your gardens are safe. This is the only way to get it done. I use the metal traps only and be very careful with the way you're handling them. Leave your scent, and the gopher will know you're there.

I wish I would have found this earlier and I hope you've not wasted a bunch of money on this project.

I am not advertising but I am a Master Gopher Specialist and are USGFD Licensed Wildlife Service, Trappers and Hunters.

How do I post anything here, without looking like a business, if this is what I specialize in and my e-mail, username, URL and everything I do is about gophers? If I broke the rules, I'm sorry. I don't know how else to give you the info and let you know my expertise.

Good luck up there.

Hi TheGopherGetter there is nothing wrong with you sharing your expertise or with your user name or email address. Some people may chose to contact you and hire you and thats ok as far as the rules go.

harvestman and Don The Jelly Man share their expertise in the fruit and orchard forum all the time. They even mention what they do for a living from time to time when asked. Thats the key here; "when asked". If you come on and solicit work though then thats against the rules.

If however someone asks you if you know anyone that does that kind of work you can tell them that you do and to contact you thorough email. Thats not the same as telling people what you do and offering to help as a professional before being asked which is soliciting. Thats just answering a question. You can say you do this all the time and tell people what works and what does not. Telling them you do it for living though without being asked and offering to help is soliciting. If the forum allowed that tons of businesses would hire people to solicit and half the posts would be littered with solicitations and that would ruin the feel of the site. Not to mention all the competitive posting as one business tries to out advice another or impugn the advice of a rival.

If no one has said it yet, let me be the first. Thank you for posting. Your expertise and advice is welcome here. I appreciate that you took the time out of your schedule to help.