What kind of garden fence do you have?

[CathyA]

Our garden fence is pathetic. It was a 3' chicken wire fence, but is scrunched and rusted. Rabbits jump right over it. So we need a new one. I'd like just metal stakes and 4' tall 12 gauge utility wire, but it seems like they only make the 14 gauge any more. I'm tempted to hire someone to put it up. We have so much to do already around here.
Chain link would work (if we lined the bottom with chicken wire), but its so ugly.
Our garden is about 30'x20'.
I know 4' is not enough to keep deer out, but I think it would be good enough.
What kind of fence is around your garden?

[razz]

We don't and live with the critters but your situation may be more serious than ours.

[iris lily]

We have no fence around the garden plot, but DH is going to put one in this year to keep the little dogs out. They go in and scavenge, chomping on cabbage and greens and the like.

[Float On]

I don't have one either. I do have to train the chickens to stay out of the gardens in the front yard.....I gave up on the backyard ones. Deer usually run thru my yard so fast they don't have time to stop and eat.

My parents had to do a 6' tall fence around theirs because of the deer. Dad ended up planting a foodplot right behind the garden so they'd stop there first.

[peggy]

We don't, but I use the stinky stuff sprayed on the little fruit trees and fruit bushes to keep the deer off. Plus we grow clover on the hillside next to the fen and the deer seem to prefer that.

[CathyA]

Just the bunnies would eat ours totally up, if we didn't have a fence. Since this was has been so bad for several years, we've even had bunny nests among the veggies. The deer usually leave it alone, since in summer, there's so much else to eat......but I've been seeing them in there this winter, eating old stuff and I'm afraid they'll remember it. I haven't been able to have a garden without a fence for about 40 years now. No way.
Every once in awhile, I see a woodchuck wander by. Between them, the bunnies and the deer, we could lose the whole garden in a day or 2.
I do go by places that have nice gardens with no fence, and I covet them. haha

[CathyA]

Float On.......what kind of material did your dad use for his garden? haha..........that's a good idea......planting a plot for the animals.

[goldensmom]

No fence but we do plant more and more often assuming the critters will eat some. What we have found is that rabbits will eat from the garden until the surrounding area greens up enough for them to go elsewhere. We finally figured out that how much the deer eat from the garden depends on what is planted in the surrounding fields. They like hay and newly planted beans, wheat and corn but once the beans, wheat and corn mature they head for the garden. One evening we heard a commotion outside and looked to see the neighbors cows coming toward our garden. Swinging a baseball bat and a lot of yelling and chasing took care of the cows.

[Float On]

Cathy A,
Dad actually gets some kickbacks for planting foodplots for wildlife. Deer love soybean and milo so I know the mix he uses has a lot of that. http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/landowners-and-farmers/habitat-development-and-improvement/food-plots/plant-annual-fo it keeps the hunting good on the farm.

[puglogic]

CathyA, we're actually going to get very serious with the fencing this year, because we're putting a strong focus on growing a LOT of our own food supply, and so it's important to us to protect it against the deer and elk. They're a big, big problem here in this arid region (if you can call having beautiful wildlife in abundance a "problem" :) ) and every shred of green that's not fenced gets demolished. So we're planning a 6' fence using ranch wire (6" x 6" squares) with 8-foot-height poles so we can string a couple of extra strands of wire up high. That should keep the worst of the marauders out of the garden. I love my garden, but I also love the critters....so they can have the whole front and side yards to munch!

[The Storyteller]

Electric running between 12,000 and 17,000 volts, depending on the weather.

[Zemma]

One trick that I have found worthwhile with my rabbit fencing (kangaroos and parrots are a different story :)) is to lay the mesh the fence is made from (I use chicken wire) along the ground extending about 300 cms from the base of the fence. So, my mesh is 180cms wide and 150cms is vertical to the ground and 300cms is horizontal. I then encourage grass to grow through it which I then mow (the mower can go quite close to the fence). Sometimes I have to use tent pegs to keep it down till this happens. This really discourages the rabbits from digging underneath as it forms a pretty solid barrier within a summer of growth. It's also easy to see where the critters may have broken through.

[Mrs-M]

No fence, but I sure wish we had.

[CathyA]

zemma..........that's a good idea. I actually did that around the perimeter of my chicken run and it works great. You can't even see it after the grass grows through it.
I just now chased 3 deer out of the garden. The only thing there now is probably old bean seeds, but I don't want them getting used to it being a food-finding area. I'm thinking a 4' fence would be enough, and if the deer started jumping over it, we could easily extend the top to include a line or 2 of electric wire.
Storyteller..........do you use a solar system?

[The Storyteller]

I have in the past, and it works great for most critters. But it doesn't have enough kick for goats or Great Pyrs. I needed something running at least 3 joules.

I find once something touches electric, it avoids it in the future.

[Tweety]

I fenced my veggie plot with 4ft wire mesh that has a narrow enough grid to keep the rabbits and woodchucks out. It came in a big roll (50 ft?) and I anchored it with the metal fence posts that you hammer in to the ground. Without that fence I wouldn't be able to harvest a thing! The plot is long and narrow so the deer usually keep out, or are satisfied with the peas that hang over the fence.