Sara's notes on deer fencing

Sara M:

"We finished putting up the deer fencing - it took a bit longer towards the afternoon as the wind picked up and made the work fussier. After we finished, I went around and secured spots that the wind had made apparent needed reinforcing. I think the fencing should be checked a few times over the next little while to see how it's holding up against weather.

One thing that I think definitely needs to be done is to apply some flagging tape or such to the fence. I noticed a few birds flying into it yesterday, and the man mowing the lawn pointed it out too. None of the birds seemed hurt, but it's probably best to not stress them out too much, as I'm sure we want to keep them around the garden area. I will bring some tape with me and do that today." (editorial comment: I've thanked Sara immensely for taking notice of this. av)

"We constructed "gates" out of the bamboo poles, and closed them with wire. (We left the equipment gate open, as there isn't anything to protect from deer yet.) I'm not sure how well they will stand up to use, as the poles are secured to the fencing by being woven through them, plus a little wire, but tend to slide around a bit anyhow. There is also an issue with ease of use, in that people will have to untwist some heavy wire to release the gate, maneuver it out of the way as it flops around, and then to close it put it back in the right place, push it into the ground and re-twist the wire. I'm trying to think a better system that will be easier to use and more durable.

The fence is in contact with the ground everywhere; not tight against it, but rather slightly folded and pooled, so an animal could squeeze in if it was determined and not too dumb (....) I'm not sure if smaller animals such as rabbits would be able to figure out they could get under the fence; more information needed on that to know if it's worthwhile to secure the fencing to the ground. We did a bit of a test and threaded the heavier wire through the bottom of a few sections of the fence to see if it helped pull it against the ground better. It's another finicky task, and it takes a bit of effort to get it pulled taut and tied off. The wire does give the bottom of the fence more structure, but I think to really make a big difference it would have to then be pinned to the ground with some sort of long heavy duty wire staple type thing. I'll take another look at it today and give it some more thought." (as did I)

"As it stood yesterday, we didn't think there was much call to put wire in the top of the fence. The only reason I could see that being useful is if the fence really doesn't hold up to well to weather."
(....)

"Roy and I felt bad clogging up poor Connie's office with all the tools and leftover fencing at the end of the day!" (there's nothing like a little bit of leftover fencing and garden tools in an academic office, especially when annual reports are due and courses are pending...)
We're working on finding a -found shed- anything to serve the purpose for the season. We'll work on a better structure in the near future (aaahh, what winter is for..).

The department of Geography is kind enough to loan us a measuring wheel for marking the beds and more; I think we should invest in/find our own - this will be a useful tool. I'm also looking to find a reel mower. av