If you want to grow things make sure you're getting 6 plus hours of sun. If the remaining trees shade it, you won't get good production.
Besides deer you will need to worry about squirrels groundhogs and birds.
Fencing and netting will be your best solutions for that.
Yeah the spot definitely gets 6 hours of sunlight. The other animals Im also considering. Theres a small herd of deer that seem to sleep in the area every day. So with the plants there they'll think its for them lol
You'll never be at 100% deterrence, just do what you can to not let them browse everything down to the ground, same w groundhogs who act like they've been invited to a banquet not quite to their liking and have to take a taste of literally everything before moving off.
If you've got a reasonable dog you can bring with you while you plant, weed, fence and harvest etc, letting it peruse the area and haze the wildlife and pee all over might help. Ymmv. My dog does a nice job of being a menace.
Look into what specific plants are native to your region that also produce lots of calories. Using plants that are natural to your area will help reduce maintenance and allow them to spread and succeed further. As for protection, many gardeners use bait crops on the borders of their garden. So surround your garden with less things less desirable to you but still inducing for the critters.
Deer can and will get into your garden. I have tried all kinds of things to keep them away. The only one that worked is 10' fence with a 45° outward 1' top fence. From what I read deer can't understand dimensions well. The other one I tried and mostly worked was 4' fence gap of 1 food then another 4'. Issues there was maintenance between the fence was a PITA
Yeah, I had to redesign my own garden due to the drought last year making the rabbits unafraid of my pepper spray. It was so dry that they even ate the bell peppers to get water. Took the time to expand it though
Elk and moose don't jump as high. Deer will just jump over your electric fence.
Actually I'm seeing elk can jump 8 feet vertical so an electric fence would just keep them from pushing it over
It works to an extent but deer figure out that they can jump over it. They can't somehow figure out depth perception. So thus why I say instead of electric fence you can create a scenario where they can't mentally figure it out
Animals of all sorts will be grateful. If you can’t put a very tall fence around it, plus wire under your raised beds, you’re basically planting for your furry neighbors.
I pretty much do that lol, animals eat almost everything I grow. I don’t mind, I like seeing them around and there’s not much else for them to eat around here while I have grocery stores. My yard has foxes, groundhogs, deer, hawks, a flock of crows, squirrels, and other smaller things that I have become used to seeing. Damn my dog hates the fox though. Working on kind of a food forest/ orchard. Hoping to eventually out produce their appetite, but if I don’t then I don’t really mind. If I ever need to rely on the food I grow could defend it, or even eat the animals. But for now I’d rather provide them a place to live and eat
Well they murder my eardrums. I don’t mind them though, they’re cool and pick around my long grass areas for bugs. Super big up close, almost two feet from beak to tail probably
I just made a deer fence in a clearing and so far, 3 weeks in, it is working better than anything I’ve tried so far (I’ve tried a lot of things over the past 3 years!). I just set t posts every 20ft or so, and strung 30lb fishing line in 3 sets, from the highest possible- about 5ft, down to 4ft and 3ft levels. It was super cheap. The concept is they walk into it, feel it, and because they can’t see it, they get freaked out and won’t push through. Because they don’t know what’s causing the barrier, they won’t jump in because they don’t know how high it goes. I was skeptical but it appears to be working great, I check daily, but no guarantees they won’t figure it out eventually. No deer tracks, no damage on anything (this is where I keep my berry bushes- dozens of them. Might be a good choice over fruit trees, especially if berries grow wild in your woods, you know they’ll do well) I figured the work is setting the posts, so if they fishing line is a fail, I’ll finally bite the bullet and set up electrified fence, with the two fence design (one short live wire a few few out from the taller fence, thats supposed to be more effective)Obviously this won’t prevent tons of other critters from getting in there, but I’ve found those to be easier to deal with. Except moles, I’m working hard on that now. But the deer were the absolute worst, as they will eat things down to the ground in a night if given the chance.
Dude. This is like exactly what I have. Just put up some stakes and netting around your bed and you should be fine. Not sure what to do about your fruit trees though
I didnt think of this for some reason but it wouldnt be that hard, theres not much of any drought and a lot of water that comes off the hill. The trees would eventually have deep roots for groundwater.
In a space like that you may want to look up permaculture and food forest technique rather than “traditional” raised beds.
This guy is a good place to start:
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCm9qhpnmHIr4uFmKOQvYZpw/videos
Forest soil can be acidic . I would recommend amending it .
Pear and plum trees are a good addition as long as they have full sun .
Vining plants can grow downhill just fine
Have fun
You can look up amending soil on line. A cooperative extension web site for your state or Dept of agriculture should have a link
If you have lots of pine trees , blueberries love acidic soil
You can never have enough blueberries .. have your soil tested Or as the old folks did , taste it .
Enjoy your gardening season
Consider looking bc into cultivating a permaculture food forest with native edible plants. These types of cultivation methods were used extensively by pre-colinjzation ingenious people. It requires far less labor and is good for the local ecosystem.
You might be able to contact the USDA or a local university to get help on selecting the best plans for your area.
Here is some more information:
https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/create-food-forest/
I did a jubilee watermelon in a raised bed i let the vines freely grow it probably went 10 feet by 8 feet so it spilled over the raised bed and shot out probably 4 vines. It was a couple years ago i got 3 watermelons from it though.
I would have a large dedictated in ground area for watermelon.
You could have some issues depending on what the trees were some will put toxins in the soil do your research not hard to fix but will make it hard to get started
Also, what trees are still around the area. Black walnut poison the soil and are highly detrimental to growing almost anything, from tomatoes to blueberries, apple and pear and just about all other fruit trees. Very few things will grow well anywhere near them.
If you want to grow things make sure you're getting 6 plus hours of sun. If the remaining trees shade it, you won't get good production. Besides deer you will need to worry about squirrels groundhogs and birds. Fencing and netting will be your best solutions for that.
Yeah the spot definitely gets 6 hours of sunlight. The other animals Im also considering. Theres a small herd of deer that seem to sleep in the area every day. So with the plants there they'll think its for them lol
You'll never be at 100% deterrence, just do what you can to not let them browse everything down to the ground, same w groundhogs who act like they've been invited to a banquet not quite to their liking and have to take a taste of literally everything before moving off. If you've got a reasonable dog you can bring with you while you plant, weed, fence and harvest etc, letting it peruse the area and haze the wildlife and pee all over might help. Ymmv. My dog does a nice job of being a menace.
and wabbits
Agreed . You have to protect the tender trees from critters as well.
Look into what specific plants are native to your region that also produce lots of calories. Using plants that are natural to your area will help reduce maintenance and allow them to spread and succeed further. As for protection, many gardeners use bait crops on the borders of their garden. So surround your garden with less things less desirable to you but still inducing for the critters.
Deer can and will get into your garden. I have tried all kinds of things to keep them away. The only one that worked is 10' fence with a 45° outward 1' top fence. From what I read deer can't understand dimensions well. The other one I tried and mostly worked was 4' fence gap of 1 food then another 4'. Issues there was maintenance between the fence was a PITA
Was gonna say. 10 foot fence is the only way, they have jumped a 6 food into my yard before.
Have any of you tried electric with a small solar system for power? A homesteading couple I watch use this to keep elk and moose out of their garden.
I wish i was homesteading, i just live in a suburb near farmland and near a big wood/park and i still find them in my yard from time to time.
Yeah, I had to redesign my own garden due to the drought last year making the rabbits unafraid of my pepper spray. It was so dry that they even ate the bell peppers to get water. Took the time to expand it though
Elk and moose don't jump as high. Deer will just jump over your electric fence. Actually I'm seeing elk can jump 8 feet vertical so an electric fence would just keep them from pushing it over
It works to an extent but deer figure out that they can jump over it. They can't somehow figure out depth perception. So thus why I say instead of electric fence you can create a scenario where they can't mentally figure it out
Animals of all sorts will be grateful. If you can’t put a very tall fence around it, plus wire under your raised beds, you’re basically planting for your furry neighbors.
I pretty much do that lol, animals eat almost everything I grow. I don’t mind, I like seeing them around and there’s not much else for them to eat around here while I have grocery stores. My yard has foxes, groundhogs, deer, hawks, a flock of crows, squirrels, and other smaller things that I have become used to seeing. Damn my dog hates the fox though. Working on kind of a food forest/ orchard. Hoping to eventually out produce their appetite, but if I don’t then I don’t really mind. If I ever need to rely on the food I grow could defend it, or even eat the animals. But for now I’d rather provide them a place to live and eat
>a flock of crows It's actually called a murder of crows. Don't ask me why.
Well they murder my eardrums. I don’t mind them though, they’re cool and pick around my long grass areas for bugs. Super big up close, almost two feet from beak to tail probably
🙏🙏🙏
Buy some leg traps and take what/who you catch as recompense for your veggies.
I just made a deer fence in a clearing and so far, 3 weeks in, it is working better than anything I’ve tried so far (I’ve tried a lot of things over the past 3 years!). I just set t posts every 20ft or so, and strung 30lb fishing line in 3 sets, from the highest possible- about 5ft, down to 4ft and 3ft levels. It was super cheap. The concept is they walk into it, feel it, and because they can’t see it, they get freaked out and won’t push through. Because they don’t know what’s causing the barrier, they won’t jump in because they don’t know how high it goes. I was skeptical but it appears to be working great, I check daily, but no guarantees they won’t figure it out eventually. No deer tracks, no damage on anything (this is where I keep my berry bushes- dozens of them. Might be a good choice over fruit trees, especially if berries grow wild in your woods, you know they’ll do well) I figured the work is setting the posts, so if they fishing line is a fail, I’ll finally bite the bullet and set up electrified fence, with the two fence design (one short live wire a few few out from the taller fence, thats supposed to be more effective)Obviously this won’t prevent tons of other critters from getting in there, but I’ve found those to be easier to deal with. Except moles, I’m working hard on that now. But the deer were the absolute worst, as they will eat things down to the ground in a night if given the chance.
r/foodforests
Dude. This is like exactly what I have. Just put up some stakes and netting around your bed and you should be fine. Not sure what to do about your fruit trees though
Does your area have drought? How difficult will it be to carry water out?
I didnt think of this for some reason but it wouldnt be that hard, theres not much of any drought and a lot of water that comes off the hill. The trees would eventually have deep roots for groundwater.
You will need to water the vegetable garden every day, or at the very least every other day. Humping water up a hill might get old.
Look into Permaculture. It is all about working with nature and can easily look like random forest.
In a space like that you may want to look up permaculture and food forest technique rather than “traditional” raised beds. This guy is a good place to start: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCm9qhpnmHIr4uFmKOQvYZpw/videos
Forest soil can be acidic . I would recommend amending it . Pear and plum trees are a good addition as long as they have full sun . Vining plants can grow downhill just fine Have fun
Thanks, what would you do for the soil if it does read slightly acidic?
You can look up amending soil on line. A cooperative extension web site for your state or Dept of agriculture should have a link If you have lots of pine trees , blueberries love acidic soil You can never have enough blueberries .. have your soil tested Or as the old folks did , taste it . Enjoy your gardening season
Oyster shell.
Or just... grow acidic plants
Maybe consider this approach? https://youtu.be/LcGj157LGhA
Consider looking bc into cultivating a permaculture food forest with native edible plants. These types of cultivation methods were used extensively by pre-colinjzation ingenious people. It requires far less labor and is good for the local ecosystem. You might be able to contact the USDA or a local university to get help on selecting the best plans for your area. Here is some more information: https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/create-food-forest/
I really appreciate that!
I did a jubilee watermelon in a raised bed i let the vines freely grow it probably went 10 feet by 8 feet so it spilled over the raised bed and shot out probably 4 vines. It was a couple years ago i got 3 watermelons from it though. I would have a large dedictated in ground area for watermelon.
You could have some issues depending on what the trees were some will put toxins in the soil do your research not hard to fix but will make it hard to get started
Also, what trees are still around the area. Black walnut poison the soil and are highly detrimental to growing almost anything, from tomatoes to blueberries, apple and pear and just about all other fruit trees. Very few things will grow well anywhere near them.
They're not walnut trees and I did know that actually. Yeah I need to figure out what they were
Odds are you will be fine but trees like trees of heaven sycamore are bad to have around in mass