Lindy, thinking of the squirrels that got to your eggplants last year, I have a lot of squirrels here in and near the oak trees mostly. They leave my garden alone because there are so many other things for them to eat. Just an idea, you might get them to leave your garden alone if they had something they like to eat more?
Another idea is to put a fence with a fenced top around your 4x8' raised bed. You could make one 8' side to where you can open it like a gate. If you choose to try this, Squirrels are basically like cats and mice - if they can fit their head into a hole - they can squeeze their body through it too. Not too sure how that works, but it does.
I hope this gives you some ideas
