The production of food, as well as the “production” of gas to drive machines and produce energy, is no joke, a lot of observation, testing, adaptation, the words from the Bible “thorns and thistles you will bear fruit…” and “in the sweat of your face you will earn bread”. Marcus, you are young and resourceful, I believe that next year you will grow much more homemade food and adapt to the environment that surrounds you.
12 Likes
BBQ? To easy, i know:grinning:
6 Likes
Two things that annoy me. Seeing video of obese people loading up at a food bank and working for months to make a smorgasbord for critters. It’s summer for crying out loud. Endless grass, clover, alfalfa. Do they really need to eat your kale? For me, I’m taking the blame. I knew the risks and went ahead anyway. Wasn’t going to but I sniffed the winds and didn’t like the smell and figured I’d better gamble. I could have solved the problems if I had any energy. Anyway for me it doesn’t matter. I thought this time was coming quite a ways back and have years of good yields put up. Whole different story when you are just getting set up and started so I shed a tear for you. Just remember that something can be grown all year long and actually more than you may think.
9 Likes
I actually just stumbled on a website that list out garden planner month by month for my growing area 8a, there is a lot more winter crop that can be grown here then I thought. Apparently we can get a second round of most brassicas and potatoes. Very interesting… But the squash and cucumber are doing pretty good, and what corn hasn’t had the tops bit off is looking ok. All an experiment this year though
Can’t keep up with the native weeds though,next year I think a weed mat will be required
14 Likes
I like the fence @mggibb has around his garden he says it keeps the deer out. Maybe Mike will put a picture of the fence.
9 Likes
How about a electric fence around the veggie bed , that would give them a shock next time they go shopping ., just make sure one of the wires is high enough to stop them jumping the fence
Dave
9 Likes
a white tail can clear a six foot high fence like it wasn’t there. been there, done that. Coon and porcupine will get into the corn over every non-electric fence I’ve tried and tear it all down in the course of one night. A strand of wire won’t do it. You need the whole electrified mesh and that’s a chunk of cash for any size corn field. Also deer will just jump over it and bear will tear it without thinking about the shock. I’ve taken a few zaps off fence wire. Not fun, but A whole lot of difference between bare flesh and matted fur. If you are going to grow near a forest you are going to have constant issues. This is one of many web sites devoted to similar methods of growing. Enormous yields in small spaces. I am transitioning most of my food production into systems like these. I have grown 50 beets in a 27 gallon tote in a soil type mix so it doesn’t all have to be hydroponic. 12 beets in a five gallon bucket.
12 Likes
NC edu said 7ft, but most deer can jump 8ft and some 12ft. but they typically won’t jump that high unless they have to. so some old 8ft chain link would work. or just sticks like an old school fort.
1 Like
I’ve witnessed many neutering remnants of bucks on the barbed wire fences around here.
Maybe the white tail are lazy in my area. Must be the high iron content in the water.
1 Like
I had the six foot chain link fence. Enough to fence off a half acre. Following a tip from MEN I strung a row of VCR tape across the fence poles about a foot up. The wind was supposed to cause the tape to make a buzzing noise and scare the deer away. I think they like the sound. Motion sensitive battery spot lights. Guaranteed to scare critters away. Coon are appreciative for the illumination. Helps them see better what they can tear up. You can’t fight mother nature. I wonder if a neutered buck would still grow antlers.
8 Likes
These will scare all animals, and birds. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00THMGGZK?tag=bravesoftwa04-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&language=en_US
6 Likes
Your attempts sound a lot like me back in 1996-2001 trying to establish a “new” replacement orchard of 17 fruits and nuts trees TomH.
Commercial orchards scare mylar glitter tape.
Sachets of Irish Spring soaps.
A Weyerhaeuser company used spray on embitterment “Tree Guard Spray”. These all worked for half a year at best. The deer grew accustom to them and then just pushed past to leaf and new growth twigs eat.
Then first single post round wire caging. They’d push the wire displaced. Up lift up and neck under. Upgraded to three post; wire cage triangles. They’d push the flats inward and eat most all of new growths end tips. NO new growths. NO, year to year, tree enlargements to eventually have tall high trees like the few remaining old ones.
Then I converted a few over to four post wire boxes. Ha! Counting the total posts would be needed I instead changed and built with 10 foot Tee-posts an eight foot high wall fence with four strands of electrified white poly horse fencing tape. Worked!! Until . . . the deer would go clear into the town house lots and backtrack into my new orchard.
We only single and two dogged back then. Either they sleeped; or kept a fellow up most of the night deer barking.
Takes three dogs. With at least 2 of the 3, willing and active.
Then your fencing can just be to limit the dogs in. Establish a human keep-out inner home perimeter. You hop-climbed the fence dumb-assed then you are a self ID’d thief. And face shotgun/big-stick me; and the dogs.
Marcus’s problem is he is mostly gardening on a shared, not owned plot. He can’t fence it since he does not own it.
What works is combining all control measures.
1). Selective de-populate the problem species’s. Tricky legally, and neighbors acceptances. Yeah. Of course I tried this until told down at the old south place by badges to disist. (Too many people. Too many peoples problems.)
2). Yearly up and down temp/portable fencing.
3). AND add dogs.
Once you do fence; deer got inside will try to run out, dog chased thru your fencing:
I now have three bounced outward spots, popping the ties in the controlled yard two sided, very expensive black chainlink.
An 1/2 mile way neighbor couple did 7 foot high tight 2x4 inch non-climbing horse field wire in completely their 2 1/2 acres house, domestic animals, fruit trees and gardens house lot corner on their 20 acres. He now has 3-4 of these inward-out ward bounce off spots on his road side fencing. Their dog chasing. (She firearms hunts deer, elk and bear. He bow hunts. Freezer-meat converted to feed the dog. Eat up the evidences.)
Marcus, us still not living in the north place yet full time our vegetable garden this year is trying out in the previous low raised boxes:
The red and yellow tomatoes did produce. They and the three pop-up volunteer potatoes did not blight. Hurrah!
The 2nd grader, foster girls school project single corn stalk did put on four ears grown to be edible. Hurrah!
Wife is on her second productive peas patch:
Bush bean box in the background. Sunflower box in the background.
The cucumber patch-box needed something more than we gave it.
Note the temp rabbit wire perimeters these.
Gone for two-thee days, coming back up, the first thing the dogs do is run and check for creeped-in rabbits. They will kill and eat them. Chase out the lucky. Put the fear-of-dog into them.
A question to the Group. We have three planted full grown trees just out side the new fence that have put on dark, bluish-purple, sweet berries this year. They have two-three flattish seeds insides. I cut off a sprig with leafs and berries placed in front of the trunk bark for this photo:
Any ideas what tree this is?? It is not a PNW native.
Regards
Steve Unruh
11 Likes
For coons, a radio works for a length of time. But I would take a look at that list I posted, and plant like the marigolds around the outside of the fence to ward off the deer.
It is part of the reason why I am trying elderberry. I think I can grow a tree in the elderberry bush. The elderberry leaf is mildly poisonous to the deer so they won’t eat it more then once, then the leaves will all be mixed up in the bush, and by the time the tree exceeds the height of the elderberry, it is fairly safe from being killled by the deer.
4 Likes
Cucumbers seem a little short on nitrogen Steve. Some of my pumpkin looked like that and I fed them a quart of pee in 2 1/2 gallon watering can and they greened back up. That despite bi-weekly feeding of half strength miracle grow. I enjoyed the rehashing of your orchard drama. You have to admire those animals for out of the box thinking and persistence. Some people think of it as a war. I prefer it being like a game of chess. Of course if it got down to them or me, then it would be a war.
5 Likes
I’m just looking at my freezer thinking i need to eat more veggies to make room for the fresh venison…or get another freezer, but i don’t generate enough solar power to keep a freezer running right now so that would drive up the power bill again… so i slapped up some temporary fencing last night trying to protect what little i have left. they are ballsy, that garden bed is about 8 feet from the kitchen window. I’m thinking the neighbors all not having gardens and only apple trees have never had a reason to have a mitigation hearing with the critters before.
On a side note yes loud music works wonders to get a family of racoons to move out, i advise people with animal complaints on that now and again when they find out if they sign contract for removal with me i have to dispatch them on sight per washington state law or i could risk losing my wildlife control operators license. then you get the neighbors calling in noise complaints, then the HOA gets involved and it turns into a big red tape legal mess. I heard tale of one HOA that does not permit problem animal removal under any circumstance. Until the head of the HOA had a skunk move into her crawl space. its amazing how quick their mind changes when there own rules set them up for failure and a big stinky bill
8 Likes
Marcus,
I was looking for this (older original) YT video I remembered. Maybe this is the answer? 
7 Likes
i was going to start with motion lights, but we can go zero to 100mph sure 
my brain wanders to garden gnomes filled with tannerite, to you know, add some showmanship to the matter
10 Likes
This oddly ties in
You may have noticed by now I have a thing about having spare parts laying about for each of my projects. Spare v10, spare small block chevy, spare gasifier parts, spare chunker parts ect., perhaps should oh I don’t know a global epidemic or governmental collapse or a failure of the money system occur…
last night I was quick enough to see a marketplace add that I had been watching get edited from “1500$ no title running and driving” to " shell, no engine no transmission, come get it out of my yard"
I have not had time to hook the dodge back up to the gasifier and it was already loaded for a dump run in the woodbox so no where to store bags of wood anyway. Hitched on to my car trailer and let the horses loose. I have been buying and selling and trading car parts for long enough to know a good deal does not last long, nor just because the owner says “ya its all yours” does it mean you wont get a message 10 minutes later saying “sorry someone else came and got it” as you are fueling up a truck with trailer in toe.
So I let the gravel fly with a address secured and boot scooted 40 minutes down the road to snag this turd. You may remember I bought a pair of geo metros, one of which is wrecked super low mileage and I have been struggling to find parts to put it back together. Now the parts are secured, and at my favorite price of just fuel to go get them.
That being said when I arrived it was not exactly as described, but not bad enough I was willing to leave it and go home empty handed. I brought 4 tires that I mounted up that kinda hold air, enough lug nuts to keep them on long enough to get it onto the trailer, and a passenger side knuckle off my wrecked car that this one is missing. Arrival at 8:00pm, suspension reassembled tires on pushed up the stupid tall ramps of my trailer assisted with a ratchet strap and strapped down by 9:00, home at 10:00. Not that I in the least bit need another project with the rest of the homestead to look after and make improvements on, but the time and price were right so I jumped on it.
Last weekend I met with another geo guy with intentions of buying a complete core rebuildable engine (the one out of my car the head and pistons are trashed) I ended up leaving with one complete running engine, one good complete block, one good complete head, a good radiator and fan assembly and a front bumper assembly, and told to come back next weekend for another core rebuildable motor for 200$.
That puts me at all needed parts to assemble the second geo for the wife to commute with ( reducing fuel cost) a spare motor for my car, a spare motor for her car, and some spare misc parts to round out the deal. I wont say it was luck, there is someone looking out for me having all these prefect deals falling in my lap.
So as im pulling in the drive last night with the parts car on the trailer and brain running on what needs done to get the other geo fixed and onto the road I spot my now problem animal. A young black tail doe, neck stretched over the fence munching my peas. In short order four hundred and eighty eighty cubic inches came to life kicking and screaming shooting gravel swingin trailer as i chased her out of my garden. I do love me some loud and rowdy horse power on demand and the v10 has that in spades, gasoline or woodgas.
Service truck project at work will be on its first test drive tomorrow, so shop floor space will open up for the wrecked car to come in and begin a new life
I am stupidly tempted now having a spare shell layin about to discover how one might fit some pipe and barrels and whatnot onto a geo metro. Brain wont let the idea go. Got to keep distracted from that one, and stay on task with things the NEED done, not things I want to play with
19 Likes
Your ‘Adventure’ is beginning! Best wishes for your needs and wants. May He Smile Upon You All Daily. 
7 Likes
Well we made some progress so far, the gardening was not a lost cause rather well for a experiment I think
chard spinach lettuce kale peas
front yard apple tree, firm and fiber filled hood for baking
first straight neck squash we harvested todayProcessing: F5C0F4E9-6A26-4C78-871F-66D887139F03.jpeg…
Couple more looking good
don’t recall what type these are but a few of them coming along quickly, got some acorn squash coming along to just 50c size right now
My one and only pickling cucumber I harvested today and put in a jar of store bought pickles
Caught some bees doing God’s work, thank you
A few pieces of corn survived onslaught of the deer
moved the peppers up under the eaves to keep the deer off of them, we will get a few
Cherry tomatoes are iffy, sparse at best but tasty
18 Likes