Ducks4you 2021 Ragtag Thread

[ducks4you]

Cleared 400 ft of fencing yesterday and this morning. DH ran the tractor and moved the piles to the burn pile in the north pasture. SOOOOOOOO much faster than using a tow wagon and my riding mower!!!

 

[ducks4you]

@Ridgerunner , I didn't want to spend the money on it This year, but for 2022 I think I will look for a good winter price on rolled livestock fencing. I know people recommend hog fencing,panels but they Don't travel well--16 ft long!!--and it's too expensive,
https://www.ruralking.com/tarter-4-gauge-hog-wire-panel-cph
Even NOW, I could buy This:

Utility Fence 2x4 Mesh 6 ft x 100 ft 12.5 Gauge

Brand May Vary

www.ruralking.com

for $140.00, and it 100 ft long, 6 ft tall.
I used up the last of my 100 ft long, 4 ft tall repair fencing last year. I took it off of a garden bed and patched up my fencing to the south, where I have a neighbor. Eva has fewer places to go visiting to the south, now.
The openings are about 6" square, very good for tomatoes, and it is designed to be outside 24/7/365.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Oh yeah, fencing gets expensive. The heavier the gauge the more expensive it gets. I've used 2" x 4" fencing for tomatoes before and had a few cut in two by growing inside that mesh.

I used cattle panels, 16' long. If somebody knows how to load them on an 8' long trailer they travel really well and can be easy to load, though it's a lot easier with two people. To me they are more awkward than heavy but it can be challenging to handle them. I used bolt cutters and cut them in half just to make them easier for me to handle without damaging anything else in the garden. They are expensive but once you get them they last forever.

 

[flowerbug]

that is the same type of fencing i've been putting up here to discourage deer, rabbit and groundhog traffic. i would love to be able to put up about four more rolls of it to completely enclose most of the yard and gardens instead of leaving them access (via the driveway and south field), but Mom doesn't want me to do that so i'm stuck for now with what i have until the old garden fence gives out and we need to replace it. the old garden fence is not actually rabbit or groundhog proof as they can climb through it if they go up about a foot. most the time they don't, but once ina while they do...

the poles are about the same price as the rolls of fencing (last i bought which was last year). i made sure to get some taller poles for the areas where the ground is softer or for the corners, and i alternated taller and shorter ones too so that helped cut the expense a bit. when putting up a new section of fence i had to make sure to put some cloth strips in the fence so that the deer would know something was there. this kind of fencing won't stand up to a direct hit by a running deer. i had to take down an old section and replace it after that happened as it wouldn't stand up well and it looked bad enough. but then i also had poles that were too short so i had to replace those too.

the wild grape vines are wanting to take over any fences and trees here.

 

[Zeedman]

that is the same type of fencing i've been putting up here to discourage deer, rabbit and groundhog traffic. i would love to be able to put up about four more rolls of it to completely enclose most of the yard and gardens instead of leaving them access (via the driveway and south field), but Mom doesn't want me to do that so i'm stuck for now with what i have until the old garden fence gives out and we need to replace it. the old garden fence is not actually rabbit or groundhog proof as they can climb through it if they go up about a foot. most the time they don't, but once ina while they do...

the poles are about the same price as the rolls of fencing (last i bought which was last year). i made sure to get some taller poles for the areas where the ground is softer or for the corners, and i alternated taller and shorter ones too so that helped cut the expense a bit. when putting up a new section of fence i had to make sure to put some cloth strips in the fence so that the deer would know something was there. this kind of fencing won't stand up to a direct hit by a running deer. i had to take down an old section and replace it after that happened as it wouldn't stand up well and it looked bad enough. but then i also had poles that were too short so i had to replace those too.

At home, I have 6' steel 2 X 4' fencing, with 3' of chicken wire on the bottom to keep out rabbits. That fencing is permanent, because it is on my property. The rural garden is on a friend's property, so no permanent installations. We still use the same fence posts there (7.5' T-posts driven in to just over 6') but only chicken wire on the bottom, and a mix of electric fence wire & baling twine to the top. Deer could break through, and have done so twice in 15 years (including this year) so like you @flowerbug , I try to make the wire/twine more visible. I also try to place trellises & cages just inside the fence, to deny deer landing pads & discourage them from just jumping over.

All of that steel - the fencing & fence poles, the pole driver & pole puller, and the rebar I use to support the trellises - cost a bit; but I accumulated them over several years. Steel was much cheaper when I bought them than it is now. All of those represent an investment in the gardens which will last as long as I am able to continue gardening... although I may consider adding a powered pole driver at some point.

the wild grape vines are wanting to take over any fences and trees here.

Same here, along with Virginia creeper, deadly nightshade, buckthorn, mulberry... any berry which can be eaten by birds, and "deposited" anywhere they perch. Birds P..P (perch & plant) not only along the fence lines, but from trees, bushes - and apparently, even the tops of my tiger lillies.

 

[ducks4you]

Burned the wood/weed pile in the North Pasture this morning. STILL burning. Horses are off of it for a few days, especially since they LOVE to pull pieces out of it as I pile them on. Couldn't manage it without DH and our Kubota Tractor!

 

[baymule]

Horses can’t get to our burn pile. If they could, Prince would drag stuff all over the place. As it is, the dogs can get to it and Carson thinks we pile all those sticks and branches just for him. Lol

 

[heirloomgal]

that is the same type of fencing i've been putting up here to discourage deer, rabbit and groundhog traffic. i would love to be able to put up about four more rolls of it to completely enclose most of the yard and gardens instead of leaving them access (via the driveway and south field), but Mom doesn't want me to do that so i'm stuck for now with what i have until the old garden fence gives out and we need to replace it. the old garden fence is not actually rabbit or groundhog proof as they can climb through it if they go up about a foot. most the time they don't, but once ina while they do...

the poles are about the same price as the rolls of fencing (last i bought which was last year). i made sure to get some taller poles for the areas where the ground is softer or for the corners, and i alternated taller and shorter ones too so that helped cut the expense a bit. when putting up a new section of fence i had to make sure to put some cloth strips in the fence so that the deer would know something was there. this kind of fencing won't stand up to a direct hit by a running deer. i had to take down an old section and replace it after that happened as it wouldn't stand up well and it looked bad enough. but then i also had poles that were too short so i had to replace those too.

the wild grape vines are wanting to take over any fences and trees here.

Can you eat the wild grapes?

 

[flowerbug]

Can you eat the wild grapes?

not usually worth it, they're small, full of seed more than anything and mostly bitter if i remember right from the last time i tried some. like the poison ivy the birds spread the seeds around and you find them growing in the strangest places. the other day i found one out in the middle of a grassy area that we mow all growing season. i also found a sprout of some poison ivy growing in a pathway of gravel so that was removed (carefully) in the same weeding session. just can't let those get away from oversight, but the wild grapevine is much worse as it can grow much faster.

 

[ducks4you]

Worked at DD's house after in town shopping Saturday. It started to rain as we got outside to mow, cut and plant, then it poured. We were still steamy AND wet, kinda like this:

I put down one 50 lb bag of oats over the lawn area that had gotten weedy, mostly bc of the ginormous pin oak that was cut down Finally last winter. Too much shade, now a lot of sun. Covered it with straw, and was gonna tell DD to water it. Then, Saturday night, we had Yet aNOTHER deluge of rain, 4 inches of it Sunday morning in the horse's feed bowls. My burn pile stopped smoldering.
I pulled a muscle in my back last week, so yesterday PM I made 3 packages of bacon for blt's, since I still had farm stand tomatoes, and DD's came over to share our AC and watch 3 movies.
I checked on My tomatoes when I grained the horses.
I buried my tomatoes deep, kept them watered, tied them up, pruned them, and Yet I have been watching about 100 of them in the first (of four) 12 ft rows grow bigger and stay green.
Being the responsible gardener that I am, I tried a dirty joke. One of them has blushed.