It took me 4 days to filled the 8 inches thick of mulch to the fenced area away from the deers. This 20 feet by 180 feet high density growing with 60 fruit trees. Jujube: Panzao, Icy sweet, Baby red, Sandia, Honey Jar, new Large honey jar from China, Sugarcane, own rooted Orange beauty, own rooted Honey Jar, own rooted Vegas booty. Peaches: Saturn donut, Red Haven. And a few others. Nectarine : Honey series and a donut nectarine. A few sweet and tasty apples: Clark crabapple, Rubbineete, Red Fuji, and some from Europe. Hybrid persimmons: Dar Sofiyviky, JT-02, Hunter’s Dream, Nikita #4, NB-02, and so on…,. Mulberry: Girardi Dwart and Kokuso. Asian pears: Red Asian pear, Pai Li, Xixian Yulu Fragrant pear, Korean Giant aka Olympic, Shinko, Shinsui, Yali, and Drippin honey. One acre out side the fence will be the Hybrid persimmon trials with 10 JT-02, Twenty 400-5 Jerry Lehman Hybrid male persimmon Hardy to -31F crossed with H-118 and H-120. Strawberry: 50 runners of Maras De Bois, a few Flamingo, a few Hawaiian alpine. Plus some more jujube: Alcade, Hetian Jade, Black sea, Chico, Texas twister, So, and a few Vegas series from Raf. Jujube mulberry. 20 Paw paw trees: Kentucky champion, Petersen series, West, Garage West aka Cherimowest, Jerry Lehman series, KSU series, …
I have had good luck with a single stand of wire 2 feet high with another stand of wire 3 feet high set 2 feet apart in front of fence instead of hedge.
If I decide to put in the green house it has to be outside of the fence because my wife would not like it if I blocked the view of the back yard with the pool and all. Here are some of pictures of the house before and after finished last July 2023.
Some quality deer defense youve got there! They are hungry, persistent pests. Im moving to a new property this spring which is fenced all the way around, though one side is only 4 ft. Good enough to keep my dog in though. Curious if 85 lbs of german shepherd mix will be enough to make them think twice, or if Ill have to go to individual tree cages like I have here.
Lovely house Tony. Can I come look at your orchard, and stay overnight It would need to be in the summertime when the trees are growing, and coincidentally the pool is open.
Seriously though, the fence does look deterring. I wonder if a deer jumps it, is there a way for them to get out, rather than jumping back over the fence?
People told me my 7.5’ fence would be too short, but it has worked extremely well to keep deer out. I think the key to your six foot fence is that the deer never really try it and succeed. If they figure out they can jump it, and jump back out, then the game is up. The other deer will see a deer inside your fence and feel emboldened to also jump the fence.
If it doesn’t work, you could put up a single strand of electric fence on the outside of the fence. That’s what I did to keep coons from climbing my fence. They make black insulators and black coated electric fence wire, so it wouldn’t take away from the aesthetics of your nice looking rod iron style fencing. You might have to bait the electric wire with some peanut butter to train the deer to it.
I have a 6’ deer fence that deer never breached in 3 years, and my yard is a deer super highway! The guy who installed it claims that the key to its success is the thin hexagonal wire that deer can’t see.
Can be you share a photo of the electric fence that you added to your deer fence? I have black bears and raccoons, and need to have a solution for them. My house is a 5 minute walk from a state forest, so wild life pressure is very high here…
Here is the thread where I reported on it. It’s a long thread, because it took a long time to make it all. Mine is solar based, but it doesn’t have to be.
There are lots of other useful comments in the thread, if you have the time to read it.
I show the most specific pics on my electric fence around post 82 to 84, but the whole thread is worth reading, or at least skimming, if you are considering an electric fence.
Our Black tail like to get up close to the 5’ fence to launch. Yeah If you can get two wires one energised around the outside about 24-30" away from the fence. Stack em’ about 6-8" apart on the posts (Just cheap fiberglass rods are fine) with hot on top. This spacing along with a grounded wire ensures good contact even when ground is dry. Better grounding = better shock. Helps the animal remember better. Fence chargers are rated for animal type. They will stay away from the whole place once they get “conditioned” but there are always new ones coming along. Put a little bait out so they get bit good by it. Neighbor may be a problem for some. Could pay them off with produce. You can also research “offset deer fence”. Nice job on your fence though! Consider it an asset improvement and save the receipts to deduct from taxes at sale. A hedge may work but that is pretty involved. They do like to see where they are landing.
My cheap “hokie dokie” 5’ 2x4 mesh fence topped with 3 x 12 ga elect fence wires (not Galv. steel $) wire strands on top worked for years without using electricity ( resurrecting orchard after 35 yr). A yearling started jumping btwn the strands believe it or not. The others got with it quick and did big damage. They each shortly ran into a small fast moving piece of lead and stopped doing that. They CAN see these 12ga wires. I added a fence charger and the 2 offset perimeter wires. There are various cost effective designs
for this offset idea. Top is hot on the perimeter and first strand above the mesh fence is hot for small vermin. They all give it a wide berth. Used 12ga strand on the fiberglass rods. Can get cheap pinch on loops for attaching the wires. 12ga conducts better and goes farther than thinner size. Ice build up may be a problem for some. The 2 strands are away from the fence as mentioned above but doesn’t look like it in pic. Just stick the fiberglass rods in the ground every 20-30’ and at grade changes.
In my area (New England) I’ve seen 10-12’ high fence around a broad garden plot. If you do a more narrow run, they won’t jump it. You can also string wire above a shorter fence and hang flags so they see it. Or build a moat around the fence - a wide moat.
Deer deterrent success with fencing comes down a lot to how much a deer really wants inside the fence. If there are other easier options outside the fence you can get by with as little has 5’ high. We have a only a 5’ high fence around one of our nursery plots and I have yet to see evidence that a deer breached it.
It would need to be in the summertime when the trees are growing, and coincidentally the pool is open.
