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At my place we have medium deer pressure as they keep building
homes near by and moving the deer. I do not shoot critters so that is not
an option. I too have used electric fence from day 1 of my garden and
orchard. I chose this system after researching the topic through news articles
and word of mouth. After this I concluded I needed electric fence. It
does not kill the animals or injure them, I do not have to “catch them in
the act”, it keeps them out and my veggies and fruit safe while the
animals can still be nearby. This is my 6th year with
the fence. I use electric vs solar as I need the electric to work year around
in the orchard. (I worry if there is low solar in winter the battery could die
and I won’t realize it till too late). I have not had any problems with deer or raccoons or other shorter
critters and I see them digging in the compost 10 feet from the veg garden so I
know they are very active in the area.
I have had very good luck with the company Premier
1 and they have fence for many scenarios and cost and some more permanent than
others. Here is their WEB site. http://www.premier1supplies.com/ They
are very happy to talk to you about your situation, deer pressure and type of fence
you may wish to buy, THEY ARE very LOW PRESSURE sales people-full of help and
experience they are willing to share, which is wonderful!!
Also I found a good article in Mother News that
explains the electric fence and how it works well. Here is that site: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Livestock_and_Farming/2003_August_September/Electric_Fencing#eff
They give other companies that sell electric fence too.
Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist
C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems
303 Natural Resources Bldg.
517-353-3542
517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (fax)
-----Original Message-----
From: MI organic growers seeking info and ideas
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dr Tom Zennie
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 8:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Blood meal/Bone meal
Sue,
Electric fence works the best for all these critters.
I've heard that blood
meal does work but it stinks to high heaven. Good
fertiilzer too
A farm I inspected up in the UP really had deer
problems with their sweet
corn until they used the electric fence. A low
wire (~1 foot off the
ground) for raccoons and skunks and groundhogs
and another one about 3 feet
and another one about 4 feet just out in front of the
the other two. We
wouldn't get any sweet corn if it weren't for the
electric fence. If the
single wires do not stop the raccoons then use
electro-netting available
from sheep and goat supplies. These particular
producers had a fence about
10 feet high with high tensile wire because the deer
got accustomed to
jumping over the lower wires.
Tip:
Put tabs of aluminum foil on the outside wire to
attract attention to the
deer and they will touch their noses to it out
of curiosity and get a good
jolt and will stay away. They will run through the
wire if they do not have
a fear of it.
I've also heard that human hair and droppings from
lions and tigers (from
the zoo) work really well as repellants.
We use poly wire which is easier to stretch and tie
rather than straight
17-19 gauge electric fence wire.
Good luck
----- Original Message -----
From: "
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 7:07 PM
Subject: Blood meal/Bone meal
> Soes anyone know of a certified source of blood
or bone meal in a
> quantity?
>
> Does anyone have experience using either as an
animal deterrent? The
> deer,
> racoons, skunks, fox, and turkeys are plentiful
on our farm. We can get a
> permit to shoot the deer, but would prefer not
to.
>
> We have been using Hortonava trellis over heads
of lettuce, but we are
> running out, and that doesn't work for cabbage,
broccoli, beans, or
> watermelons. Any advice about suggested
controls would be appreciated.
>
>
>
> Giving Tree Farm
>
>
> 517-482-8885
> Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.
>
> If you would like to access previous postings to
the Mich-Organic listserv
> you can copy and paste the following URL into
your browser address bar
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>
>
If you would like to access previous postings to the
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