Fencing

We share our property with: deer, raccoons, skunks, ducks, birds, fox, rabbits, lots of bugs, frogs, our 3 cats and possibly bears (eeek!). Oh and have I mentioned the deer before?!  So, how do I keep these critters out of my new vegetable garden?? 

I know we need some sort of fencing, just not sure what I want to invest in yet. I'm envisioning barbed wire, 8 feet high with electric current going through... haha! Just kidding ;) I am looking for the least invasive fence that will blend in with our garden's landscape. We have huge trees on 3 sides of the garden so I don't want to block any south sun with any part of the fence.  I love our wildlife but really don't want them in the garden. So something inexpensive and virtually invisible. 

I have found a few ideas so far but am always open to suggestions if you want to send them my way!

1) Liquid Fence. Not my ideal as I do not like chemicals going where I am going to be planting vegetables. But this goes around the garden, not in it. I am confused on how it is made from fossils though.... Cost - $12.99

Their website states:

Are Deer Destroying Your Flowers, Vegetables & Lawn?


Fight back and protect your investment with Liquid Fence® Deer & Rabbit Repellent. Our eco-friendly repellent will stop deer and rabbits from eating your garden areas, flowers, shrubs, plants, trees, and vines.


Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent is the environmentally safe and biodegradable solution to all your deer and rabbit problems. Best of all, this easy-to-use, long lasting spray is safe to use around your family and pets, so you can use it worry-free. And the cruelty-free solution won’t hurt the deer or rabbits!


Safe to use on edible crops! One deer can eat up to ten pounds of food a day; imagine what a whole herd can do! So save your edible crops with Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent, too! Just be sure to not apply immediately before harvest on above-ground crops.


NEW Granular Deer & Rabbit Repellent is perfect for your low-growing plants! Now the great repellency of our Deer & Rabbit Repellent comes in a granular form for low-growing plants. This unique biodegradable repellent is easy-to-apply on and around flower beds, vegetable gardens, ground cover, lawns; and it’s safe for use on edible crops! Plants will love the diatomaceous earth-based formula.

Formed from fossils diatomaceous earth improves drainage and can enhance air circulation around plant roots.

Safe for use on edible crops
Safe for your plants and family – Environmentally safe and biodegradable
Proven effective at repelling deer and rabbits – USDA field tested
Easy-to-use – Just spray and your problems go away
Long lasting and rain resistant – Finally, a hassle-free solution to deer and rabbit damage
Worry-free deer and rabbit protection – Eco-friendly formula will not harm vegetation
Member tested and recommended by the National Home Gardening Club and American Rose Society!

2) Metal fencing posts with 3-4 rows of wire/twine. We would have to buy at least 4 metal posts for each side of the garden and I would have to figure out how to make a 'door' into it.  Twine or wire would be wrapped through/around each stake to make a barrier, not sure if I could call it a fence. There wouldn't be much stopping something from getting through, just a deterrent. Approximate cost $182-$294.

Pricing from the FarmTek website:

8' Post Master Fence Post - $10.56 each (x16= $168.96)

Galvanized Cable - $.013 per foot ($126)

Twine - 300' foot ball $3.50 ( approximately $14)



 3) Wooden posts with twine.  We have wooden posts taken from the old flower garden and I could probably pull out a couple more that could be salvaged from the backs of the gardens. They were lined on both sides, I have only taken out the posts in the front. They are untreated and would work just fine, a little short once dug into the ground. Hopefully our deer can't fly...