We have been wanting to plant apple trees for some time-We would put them on the south side of our garden-So today I went and purchased two apple trees-
My neighbor, Hugh Krause, saw the trees and asked what kind of fruit trees they were...I answered "apple trees..." He responded "deer candy!"
So that go me thinking...so I went to the Internet and googled about protecting apple trees from deer-and found this story-it is a great idea (and story) and I will be trying the new method this fall...(Dale G-Did your fences work?)
Thanks to Joy Lamb for this story. Here is a link with more details... http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/lamb39.html
A huge brown beast stared at me as I drove through our apple orchard toward the house. I parked, walked quickly into the house, and said to my husband, "Tom's bull is munching on our apple trees."
He shot past me out the door, yelling, "Call Tom and tell him to get over here now!"
The next half hour was spent running this way and that. We chased south and withdrew to the north. We herded south and blocked on the east and west. Finally the bull, several cows, and one fat sheep were escorted out of our orchard and into their own pasture. During this process, the bull nonchalantly stepped over a three-foot fence and trampled my garden. Later, while discussing the event with Tom, we decided that we were glad that most of our vegetables, flowers, and shrubbery had been spared. The apple trees were left standing with only minor damage to the foliage and fruit.
This incident was only one of many animal-related problems we had faced since we had become backwoods homeowners. Deer stripped new growth off young fruit trees, cats used vegetable plots for litter boxes, and visiting dogs dashed through flower and vegetable gardens, trampling as they went. Even our own dog loved to dig in planted areas rather than the natural wooded areas. We were frustrated. My husband built fences higher and higher around the orchards. This was useless, as deer can jump amazingly high. I planted shrubs, flowers, and vegetables, only to have them torn up by dogs. The cats loved the freshly worked soil, and rabbits nibbled at what was left. And this was not the first time we had been invaded by bovine beasts. What were we to do?
At first we tried fences. We fenced groups of trees, we fenced islands of flower gardens around the house, and we fenced vegetable plots. We created a botanical zoo with plant cages all over our property. The fences kept the dogs out but did not faze the cats, cows, and rabbits that wandered through. The deer were not even slowed down by the fences, no matter how high we made them. The fences were unsightly and very inconvenient when we were caring for the plants and trees. We became vigilant plant guards, but decided we did not want to dedicate our lives to this pursuit, especially our lives between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Fencing is laid in two sections around a fruit tree. The tree can be watered, fertilized, sprayed and harvested with the wire in place.
We thought through the problem and came up with a solution. We immediately put into action our "Protect Trees and Plants from Four-Legs Plan," and very soon we knew we had a plan that worked.
We had used livestock fencing attached to wood and metal stakes for fences. We removed the stakes, cut the wire fencing into workable sizes, and just laid it on the ground in the areas we wanted to protect. Once an animal puts a foot on the wire, it backs up. We were and still are amazed at how well this works.
Our dog will not enter the areas covered with wire, so no more uprooted and trampled plants. No more holes dug under trees. The cats find better areas to scratch, and best of all, the deer keep away from our trees. It is so nice not to have all the new growth eaten off the trees. We have not had a visit from a bull, cow, or sheep since we laid the wire, but we think it will work for them, too. We have found bear spoor in the areas furthest from the house, but our trees and their fruit have remained undamaged. I still see rabbits in the clover surrounding the apple trees and in the native undergrowth, but there have been no holes dug around the wire-protected trees. We have not detected any damage to the fruit trees or the gardens caused by rabbits.
He shot past me out the door, yelling, "Call Tom and tell him to get over here now!"
The next half hour was spent running this way and that. We chased south and withdrew to the north. We herded south and blocked on the east and west. Finally the bull, several cows, and one fat sheep were escorted out of our orchard and into their own pasture. During this process, the bull nonchalantly stepped over a three-foot fence and trampled my garden. Later, while discussing the event with Tom, we decided that we were glad that most of our vegetables, flowers, and shrubbery had been spared. The apple trees were left standing with only minor damage to the foliage and fruit.
This incident was only one of many animal-related problems we had faced since we had become backwoods homeowners. Deer stripped new growth off young fruit trees, cats used vegetable plots for litter boxes, and visiting dogs dashed through flower and vegetable gardens, trampling as they went. Even our own dog loved to dig in planted areas rather than the natural wooded areas. We were frustrated. My husband built fences higher and higher around the orchards. This was useless, as deer can jump amazingly high. I planted shrubs, flowers, and vegetables, only to have them torn up by dogs. The cats loved the freshly worked soil, and rabbits nibbled at what was left. And this was not the first time we had been invaded by bovine beasts. What were we to do?
At first we tried fences. We fenced groups of trees, we fenced islands of flower gardens around the house, and we fenced vegetable plots. We created a botanical zoo with plant cages all over our property. The fences kept the dogs out but did not faze the cats, cows, and rabbits that wandered through. The deer were not even slowed down by the fences, no matter how high we made them. The fences were unsightly and very inconvenient when we were caring for the plants and trees. We became vigilant plant guards, but decided we did not want to dedicate our lives to this pursuit, especially our lives between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Fencing is laid in two sections around a fruit tree. The tree can be watered, fertilized, sprayed and harvested with the wire in place.
We thought through the problem and came up with a solution. We immediately put into action our "Protect Trees and Plants from Four-Legs Plan," and very soon we knew we had a plan that worked.
We had used livestock fencing attached to wood and metal stakes for fences. We removed the stakes, cut the wire fencing into workable sizes, and just laid it on the ground in the areas we wanted to protect. Once an animal puts a foot on the wire, it backs up. We were and still are amazed at how well this works.
Our dog will not enter the areas covered with wire, so no more uprooted and trampled plants. No more holes dug under trees. The cats find better areas to scratch, and best of all, the deer keep away from our trees. It is so nice not to have all the new growth eaten off the trees. We have not had a visit from a bull, cow, or sheep since we laid the wire, but we think it will work for them, too. We have found bear spoor in the areas furthest from the house, but our trees and their fruit have remained undamaged. I still see rabbits in the clover surrounding the apple trees and in the native undergrowth, but there have been no holes dug around the wire-protected trees. We have not detected any damage to the fruit trees or the gardens caused by rabbits.
I will keep you updated on the apple trees...
1 comment:
Our apple tree fencing is working...we even had 7 apples on them this year.
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