North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Melissa Kacalanos <mijwiz@yahoo.com>]

Mulberry as a deer fence? Our local deer considered our mulberry tree to be a delicacy, so we had to put a fence around it. I'm sure they''d just consider a row of mulberries to be a candy coating around the garden if I tried to use it as a deer fence.

Melissa

--- On Thu, 12/30/10, Deb S <debs913@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Deb S <debs913@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] planting trees around orchards
To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Thursday, December 30, 2010, 2:37 PM

I like Mulberry as it grows very fast, can be whacked down to get bushy, feeds birds and other bug eaters, and reproduces FAST.  Plus my goats love to eat it, so prunings double as feed.  No particular variety...just what was growing wild here on the farm.

deb

On Thu, Dec 30, 2010 at 1:47 PM, Richard MURPHY <murphman108@msn.com> wrote:

Hello Addicts;
 
I think it's a great idea to plant trees around the orchard for a deer fence and a wind break, and for beneficial insects to live.
Some trees should be avoided for various reasons. They are:
 
Apples:  Harbor apple pests
Cedar:   Cedar apple rust
Pears:   Fireblight
Hawthorne: Harbor apple pests
Walnut: Plant 50' away or more; allelopathic roots
Oak:  too slow
Plums: Harbor apple pests
 
Furthermore... the biggest expense in putting up my fence was Posts. Buying, digging, planting them.
The wire is fairly cheap. Trees instead of posts would have been Super if I'd planned ahead.
 
If you decide to make a fence of any of these (minus walnut) you need to spray them all.
I'm using Hybrid Willow in zone 4 and Siberian Elm in zone 6. No spray.
 
Please add your Worst and Best border trees to this email so we can share the info.
 
Murph

R A Murphy Jr