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How much can they take???

 
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This year, we've had a near impossible challenge: containing our buck goat. That has also presented the challenge of protecting my baby trees from said truly free, free-ranging goat. He's eaten all the leaves from my blueberry bushes, grapevines, Macintosh apple, wild plum, and hazelnuts. I thought they were all dead, several times., but the Macintosh and blueberries just keep fighting (though I think one of the blueberries may have finally given up), and this morning, I noticed new leaves on my wild plum.

I think I *MAY* have finally figured a way to contain him. Maybe. But, can I save my mostly leafless baby trees‽
 
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I have found the amount of abuse plants can take is inversely proportional to how much you want them to live.
 
Carla Burke
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So my hazelnuts and Chicago fig are probably toast. Oddly enough, I think he's left my elderberries alone. The willows are hidden, in pots, amidst the weeds he doesn't like, so those are safe... so far...
 
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From what I've seen, the healthier and older a fruit tree or berry is, the more defoliation it can take, sometimes even a few times. The younger and less healthy a plant is, the more susceptible it will be.

Healthier and older plants generally tend to have more energy stored up, so they can push out new leaves or branches if they are eaten or damaged, whereas younger or weaker plants don't have the necessary stored energy to recover well.

Hope your plants pull through Carla!

Steve
 
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There is a drainage ditch on one border of our property, where grows a variety of bushes and vines; lots of blackberry, some fuchsia, some natives like gunnera tinctoria and various ferns. For about a year and a half it was open to the goats, who kept everything trimmed down to nubs no matter how often new leaves sprouted out, some of the more tender shrubs were even trimmed down to the roots. Well 2 years ago we fenced it in as part of our garden, and now those same plants that had been just nubs for so long are lush and healthy, flowering and fruiting like mad. So maybe don't pull out your sad goat-abused plants just yet. Of course I live in a temperate rainforest, where pretty much anything will find a way to grow, but maybe your plants will be able to pull through too. I hope they do!
 
Carla Burke
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Thank you!
 
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