The perimeter fence is strung on angle-iron posts, a 9' section driven 2 1/2 feet into the ground with a 4 foot section attached to the top. These posts are evenly spaced along the perimeter sides, with a maximum spacing of 20 feet.
An angled trench is dug along the fenceline so that a 36 inch chickenwire fence can be situated so that 1 foot remains above ground, with the bottom having 1 foot straight down and then 1 foot shallowly angled out into the unprotected surrounding area. This fence is our rodent protection and a deterrent for deer nosing up under the fence.
Above and attached to the chickenwire is a 7 1/2 foot plastic netting deer fence. At the top is a monofilament line for stability. This is not shown on the diagram below.
The first year we started with about 220 feet of fenceline, surrounding the 4 Farm Beds and the Demonstration Bed. We have two prefabricated 4 foot gates. There are no right angle corners. We have made all direction changes with 135 degree (or 45 degree) angles, to reduce stress and soften the lines.
Here we have a portion of the V-trench which secures the chicken-wire
rodent deterrent fence. At the top of the picture is a fence section which has
been placed and backfilled. At the bottom is one of
the last remaining areas to complete. As you can see, here the fence makes a corner.
We are using landscape fabric to make it easier to
return dirt to the trench for backfill.
Here Jerry is stretching the deer fence fabric to attach to monofilament
that is strung at the top of the fence posts. The fence posts are 9' angle iron
which we had pounded into the ground the previous day. We used a dual level
to get the posts straight, and a two-handed enclosed post pounder
to drive them 3' into the ground. A 4' extension was then added,
attached so that the top hole in the post would be 8 1/2'
above the ground (7 1/2' for the deer fence, 1' for the rodent barrier).
6/10/08 - Gates are in and the initial fencing is
complete. We'll start trenching for next year's expansion
beds when we get more help this summer.
7/13/08 - Under the category of fencing we have all of
the trellises and cages and stakes.
Here in Bed A1, we have 4' normal fence stakes in the
tomato section. They hold 2" strips of wire fencing for the support (we are
using nylon web strips in 2009). In the background
are trellises for peas made from 1/2" metal electrical conduit and a
heavier gauge type of wire fencing.
10/5/08 - Here near the end of the season we
have taken down the trellises and plan to disassemble
them near the shed site.
8/1/11 - Here we use plastic fencing
and bamboo stakes to keep the bush beans within bounds,
so they don't get run over with the mower.
