Matt Turner

This looks great! I’m especially excited for “Finding the Perfect Homestead Property”, “PawPaw QuickStart Guide”, and the “Saving Our Seeds” ebook!

connie vickery wrote:You might want to rethink electric fencing.  We have a lot of yards around us that have it to keep dogs in the owners' yards, but they become accustomed to it or just over it after 6-9 months and then you have the same problem and have spent a lot of money.    

Interesting. I hadn’t thought about animals becoming desensitized to the electric fence.

There are a lot of good suggestions in this thread (thank you, everybody!), and I’ll likely end up trying multiple and seeing what works best here. I’ll also probably start with the cheapest options

If I remember, I’ll report back with what worked for me

Matt McSpadden wrote:
An outside dog. This could help deter the deer without fencing.

We have 2 inside dogs. The HOA has another covenant about the number of pets allowed depending on size of the pets. Our 2 100+ lb dogs already have us breaking that covenant.

Matt McSpadden wrote:
Another thing is to check very carefully the wording of any rules. I recall hearing about a town that outlawed any livestock... but a family was able to get around it, by having some pets... who just happened to give them eggs once in a while. In your case, does it describe what constitutes a fence? Could you have an 8ft greenbean trellis that just happened to circle your garden? Something you could take down when you are not growing? Sometimes temporary things can be approved where a permanent thing could not be.

That’s an interesting approach, and definitely something I’m going to look into

Denny Toot wrote:I suggest using Milorgonite . It is a relative cheap slow release low concentration fertilizer ( $10-15 fir 40 pounds) from Milwaukee sewage dried sewage treatment plant sludge.
Deer absolutely hate it.
I use to have trouble with deer snaking on my azaleas buds and rose buds
This works well for me in all areas of gardening .
.

Is there any issue consuming plants that are fertilized with this?

How does it smell to humans?

Thanks, everybody, for the suggestions. I unfortunately don’t have the space to go wide with the fences. I’ll probably try an electrical fence, and add in a few of the other recommendations.

Im hoping that the rest of our yard, with the various fruit trees and bushes, and all of the other vegetation in the food forest will be enticing enough to have the deterrents around the annual veggies actually work.

John F Dean wrote:I have also successfully used Irish Spring soap to keep deer away.

Do you just place the bars of soap around 3-4 feet high around whatever you are trying to keep them away from?

Gray Henon wrote:Some suburban areas allow for bow hunting.  If you are interested, look into it.

I wish. I already got scolded for setting up a target and practicing with my longbow.

Thanks for the response, though

Hi everybody.

I have a bit of a predicament. I’m in the process of creating some garden beds in my smallish suburban yard so that they will be ready for planting next spring. I had planned to put an 8 foot deer fence around the annual garden. Unfortunately, I got notified today that my HOA has rejected my request for approval to build a fence because fences are limited to 4 feet.

Are there any alternative options to keep deer away from annual beds?  I’ve read about the potential of bordering the garden with plants that they don’t like (lavender, rosemary, garlic, chives, etc.), but am hoping for other options as well. I’ve also been told that scare tactics (sprinklers, ultrasonic alarms, etc) don’t work in the area.

We have very heavy deer pressure in our neighborhood.  If it matters, I’m in Zone 5b.

Any ideas are appreciated!

Thanks for the responses!

Once I read through what I posted, I suspected that Paul's online PDC was the way to go.  It's funny how writing out my own thoughts and reading them sometimes make everything seem so clear.

Hi all.

I'm interested in taking an online PDC, but was hoping to get some suggestions based on the info below.

What I'm looking for:
- A course to help me design my own property (I don't yet own a property)
- I have no need for a certificate
- Preferably, something with a step-by-step approach (From the books I've read so far, it all seems a bit overwhelming)

I've read through various websites, and some posts here on permies and have been looking at the following courses:
- The permies PDC videos (https://permies.com/wiki/65386/hours-video-Permaculture-Design-Technology)
- Geoff Lawton's online PDC (https://www.discoverpermaculture.com/permaculture-design-course-2022)
- The Permaculture Farm Design Course by William Horvath (https://permacultureconversion.com/home/)

Potentially helpful info:
- I've read a few of Paul Wheaton's books, and generally like the style with which he presents information.
- I'm a bit concerned that Geoff Lawton's course is a bit too much for what I am looking for (and much more expensive).
- I haven't been able to find any reviews of William Horvath's course, aside from the quotes he has on his site.

Should I consider any other courses?  Or does anybody have a recommendation based on the above info?

P.S. I fully expect to take multiple courses, but trying to prioritize because time is limited.