I moved about 40 miles north of NYC (where I work) to have the thing I most missed--a garden! 2 years later, I am ready to plan a vegetable garden for next year. I have to contend with:

1) Heavy deer pressure. They eat EVERYTHING, even the things they're not supposed to eat when you read the lists (only hellebores, ferns, and some ornamental grasses are safe). An 8' perimeter deer fence is going up, and the vegetable garden will also be fenced, since my guess is the deer will still find a way in.
2) Large squirrel (and chipmunk)population. Squirrels destroy every apple in my 3 mature trees. I suspect they would similarly destroy my vegetables.
3) Raccoons
4) Probably voles

Question: How do I design a critter-resistant vegetable garden under these circumstances? I am thinking it will require 1/2 inch hardware cloth mesh around the perimeter, over the top, and extending down into ground a foot or so (flared out underground). It sounds like an imprisoned garden...

Thanks for your consideration.