Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Installing a Deer Fence

One of the projects that kept me busy this spring was getting a deer fence installed around the garden.  Last year I lost most of my produce to the deer, so a fence was a priority for this year.


The fence is 61 ft x 76 ft, which gives me a 5 ft perimeter inside the garden.  The corner posts are wood:  4"x4" and 8 ft tall.  We set the corner posts in cement.  (I suggest you really pay attention and respect the time the cement says it takes to set.  We didn't and the posts definitely moved with the pressure of the fencing.)


The remaining posts are 8 ft metal T- posts that were spaced about 7 - 10 ft apart.  J attempted to use the bucket of the tractor to drive these into the ground, which worked if there were no rocks.  This is what happened if we hit a rock:



Also, I got to be the lucky one to try and hold the post straight underneath the tractor bucket.  All I could think about was getting crushed by the bucket, so I do not recommend this technique!  After we destroyed three posts, we switched to a ladder and the backside of a hatchet.  This was a lot more work, but not as scary.

After all the posts were in the ground we stretched the fencing out.  To keep costs down, I only used 4 ft fencing on the bottom and then three rows of wire cable on the top.  We used clips that came with the T-posts to attach the fencing and then hammered staples into the wooden posts.  We did the same thing for the three cables at the top.


Next was building a gate.  J built me a frame and I stapled chicken wire to it.  We then attached the hinges, handle and latch.  For hanging the gate it is helpful to put bricks on the ground to hold it to the correct height.  Finally we added two boards at the top to prevent the posts from moving and to keep the gate aligned.



Everything came from Tractor Supply or Lowe's and cost about $500.  Hopefully it will be worth it and allow me to get veggies from the garden instead of the deer!


7 comments:

  1. Love your garden and the fence is genius! We had deer kill our whole crop 2 years ago and I've been wondering about putting up a fence. I like yours because it isn't cumbersome and you can see the garden through it. Your gate is really pretty, too. You and J have talent!

    With admiration,
    Lani from wildwestgardeners.blogspot.com

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  2. Love the deer fence and gate, we live in town now and don't have trouble with deer, but when I lived out on property they were regular visitors to the veggie garden, between them and the rabbits we had nibbles in all the veggies, a fence like that would have been very helpful! :)

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  4. Replies
    1. Deer sprays are effective if you apply them regularly and the deer have not already made a habit of eating there. If their first impression of a place is an unpleasant smell or smell of danger, they are less likely to check it out and find the edible goodies you are growing. Once they have established your garden as part of their territory, sprays and repellents aren't as effective. Once they've feasted on your garden, the smell of danger from a repellant spray may not be enough to cancel out the memory of tasty treats out of the garden. If you know deer are in the area or if you've only had light deer damage, the sprays are worth a shot. If you've already had heavy deer damage, you probably are going to need a physical barrier.

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