So, last summer we deer fenced our big garden...8 feet tall. We didn't think to tack down the fence in between the T-posts, and the deer crawled under the fence and then back out again after they had had their fill of kale pepper plants and all kinds of other veggies. I was absolutely amazed. They are smart.
This year, we have been discussing the different deer fence options. Since this amount of land we fence will be about 900 feet worth of fence. About an acre. We chose a good spot on our property that will get a lot of sun, and doesn't seem to get super water logged. Casey has estimated the fence will cost about $1200.00. and a lot of time and energy to put it in. We are going with 10 foot T-posts(metal posts you commonly see fencing any sort of livestock). And Half of the fencing we are going to be re-using some 4 foot fence from our property and adding a layer on top. While the other half we are going to be purchasing new fence wire. 6 foot tall and adding two layers of wire on top of that.
I am including this aerial picture of our property so everyone can see the plan......
Phew!!!!!
As for all these plants we are going to put behind this fence...? well they are coming.....
I called a berry growing nursery here in Oregon, called Weeks Berries. They are one of the few that grow many varieties of berries and sell wholesale. They are located in Keizer, near Salem. They grow most varieties of raspberries and blackberries you could ever want. But unfortunately they are mostly sold out for this season. So I will have to put my order in this July and get the berry plants in early Spring of 2013!!! It seems like a long ways away for the berries. Which I am kind of sad about because they are what I really want to get started. So this year we decided we will focus on annual veggies and see how they do in this new spot. Work on soil fertility ( it needs a lot of work), and plant more fruit trees.
We also bought some seeds today. Just the cool weather crops to start. Some brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts), spinach, some snow peas (the kind you put in asian stir fries), artichokes, asparagus (yes, I am starting them from seed. they will take like 3 years to get big enough to harvest but we have time. Plus we will be putting in some different varieties that we can get from the Weeks Berry people.)
I also bought quite a lot of flower seeds form Thompson and Morgan. They have a very large selection of perennial flowers and plants. The plan for those is to grow a lot of flowers to make arrangements and sell them in the roadside stand. I hope people that are going to or from the wineries around the corner will want to buy a few bouquets!! We'll see. This is all just such an experiment. The flowers are something I am really kind of excited about. I bought a lot of perennials and a few annuals. The plan is to turn the garden we had last year into the cut flower garden. That way, people can see them from the road when they drive by. This will maybe utilize those many hours I spent in flower arranging classes at Portland Community College when I was like 22.
I am going to spray our fruit trees we planted last year with a dormant oil soon as well...if it ever stops raining for a few hours. They will get a little protection from fungus and pests from that. I also need to prune them soon. First pruning!!! I was looking at them a week or so ago and picking out which of the new side branches I should prune off. This is very important as this will decide the shape and form of the trees.
The other project that is in contemplation is the lavender fields. Since this adventure is all on a shoestring... I will be starting them from seed this year. But they will definitely get big enough to plant them out this summer. I am going to put them near the chicken coop. So they will be relatively close to the house and will be a great view! Deer don't eat lavender!
And finally we had a lengthy discussion about where to sell this produce we will be growing. There are a few ideas for that. 1) roadside stand. Which we are allowed to have according to the county. 2) Spencer Creek Farmers Market 3) what I call come to the farm and get it....This is where we will send out an email to interested people and inform them of what produce we have available that weekend. Then we'll be open saturday and sunday for a few hours at the farm and people can come out and get what they need, see the gardens and pick their own if they want. 4) Possibly other markets during the week around Eugene
This is just for this first year, as we get accustomed to growing more produce than we can use ourselves.
Its all looking good though. I'll be planting the perennial seeds as soon as they show up in the mail box, as they take quite a while to get big. Exciting!!!! I can see Spring just around the corner.
