North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Evan <kodama@riseup.net>]

Hello all,

I am a complete newcomer to fruit growing, and am going to put in a few trees 
and bushes in the spring. I am very much looking forward to this, but as the 
day approaches when I will receive the bare-root stock, I continue to 
contemplate all the various things that could possibly go wrong, particularly 
the animals that might eat or damage the trees. Deer, rabbits, voles all come 
to mind. Maybe this is just because I'm new and antsy, but I am curious as to 
the various plant protection strategies folks use with good success. In my 
area, we have a healthy herd of deer, and by healthy there is daily activity 
on various parts of the 19 acres that I live on, some of this is in the area 
where I am going to plant these trees and shrubs.

So far, my strategy involves putting up a baited, three-wire, 3-dimensional 
style electric fence around the garden and orchard to deter the deer. Though 
I hear that some folks have success with mere fishing line? I wonder if this 
is in areas where deer pressure is low? I would love it if fishing line alone 
would work, as I don't really want to add another electrical device to my 
life, and it would be quite a good bit cheaper. I will probably even throw up 
a fishing line fence in the next week (weather permitting) just to test this 
idea. I know I've seen some folks around here using fishing line around their 
gardens, so it must have some effect, but I haven't talked to anyone who does 
this to find out if it completely repels the deer or only marginally works.

Inside the electric fence I have considered putting small mesh guards or 
possibly 3' tree-shelters on the plantings to protect from browse by smaller 
animals like rabbits and voles. This is the part I'm a bit more stuck on, as 
I would prefer to do things inexpensively when possible, and buying a roll of 
hardware cloth or a bundle of treeshelters would not come cheap. In the long 
run, I'm willing to spend an extra couple bucks per tree to increase its odds 
of thriving, but if there's another way to do it that costs less, well, that 
I'm interested in. I've heard of using 24" aiuminum flashing to make guards 
as well?

Also I wonder about odor-deterrents like Liquid Fence, which offers both a 
rabbit and vole deterrent spray. This would be another economical way for me 
to get by, but I would even consider trying something I could mix at home. 
I've heard of Sepp Holzer making a rather odd bonejuice that he swears by.

Basically, I'm looking to hear what strategies folks are using to protect 
young trees and shrubs from herbivores, especially anything Home-made and 
DIY-style. I hope I'm not bringing up a topic that's already been beaten to 
death.

cheers,
Evan
Southern Appalachia
Zone 6b
57" annual rainfall
just short of 3000'