permaculture

[Mikal Jakubal <mjakubal@asis.com>]

Hi Toby,

Here's a possible quick fix (or maybe *the* long-term solution!) until you
get your permanent fence up: instead of the second fence, or hedge, make a
four-foot high brush pile three feet back from the fence. Since my place is
so "in process," I didn't want to make the 6' deer fences permanent and
only put in a few steel posts, and didn't put them in very far. As a
result, the fence is sagging and loose and very "deer permeable." I also
wanted to keep the cretins from across the street from just easily climbing
in whenever they want. The brush pile worked well for both. In this case, I
put it outside the fence and up against it. You could experiment with what
works best, inside or out; against the fence or back a few feet. In fact,
I'm thinking of not putting fence along a certain areas of my place, using
permanent brush rows instead. It seems that openings for gates could be
left, and the gates framed with posts (living black locust?) high enough to
keep anything from hopping over. The brush could stack functions by
providing good habitat for snakes, quail, lizards and such; conveniently
get rid of hard-to-compost material; provide growing platform for melons or
bramble berries or pretty flowering vines; mulch the soil underneath;
create micro-climates (e.g., shady spots on the poleward side). Much easier
to maintain than metal wire fencing over the long run, and cheaper.    

On the other end of the garden area, I have a big tom turkey who patrols
the fence and attacks anything that gets near it, including dogs and
humans. Between the brush piles and Mr. Turkey I haven't had a single deer
in my garden all season despite the totally flimsy fence.

Mikal