Creative fence idea, will it work? - Yes

Mike Jay wrote:I just thought of one potential problem.  Does electric fence wire stretch/shrink appreciably with the seasons?

If deer can't see what is on the other side of a fence, they will not jump it.  

Mike Jay wrote:I have an old field that I'd like to contain for a food forest.  The perimeter is about 500' and it is fairly flat.  My primary goals are:

Keep deer out

Look pretty enough

Be affordable

Last long enough for a living fence to grow through and replace it some day

Not look like Alcatraz

My "creative" idea is to take Concrete remesh and lay it out on edge in a wavy (or sine wave) pattern.  I could put a t-post at each bend in the wave to support it.  But I'd rather run a piece of wire down each side of the fence, connecting it to the wave at each peak.  I'd run a wire at the top of the fence (5') and maybe a couple more lower down.  /quote]
I cannot find fault with your plan: It will do what you are setting out to do, for an affordable price, plus you will gain a band 4-5 t. wide and 500 ft long for additional crops you might  like. Those crops will also get *some* protection, and you may want to put those you consider more valuable on the inside of the wave. The set up will eat a fair chunk of real estate and may be a little messy to keep relatively weed free at first, but once established, it will look great and function very well.
The big benefit is that the fence will eventually be opaque. It may indeed create the illusion of a double fence, which they would hesitate to jump, but opacity is what will keep deer out: They have no problem jumping a 5' fence but they really hesitate if they have doubts on sticking THE LANDING. I've seen a picture of a vegetable garden with a number of raised beds, and the gardener said there were no intrusions in spite of [only] a 5' fence. The beds looked to be almost 1' high which is tall for such a structure, but especially, the alleys were narrow, and close enough to the fence that a deer, jumping, would have to plan his jump accurately. Their eyes are on the sides of their face, so their depth perception is fouled up.
You might have deer trouble in the first couple of years, but you should be fine afterwards, methinks. Do you have a large garden gate figured out? [I'm wondering how you might want to plant a cover crop, like clover, or how will you tend to planting a cover crop once you have the trees planted?] Depending on the size of a tiller/ tractor the gate might have to be sizable too, and tall and you cannot grow anything there that would be opaque. I have added to my original orchard, so now that the fence is down, I was looking for a good idea. and yours is a good one for the all-around fencing.
Ready for the gardening show?

Mike Jay wrote:Thanks everyone for all the responses!  
To erect it I think I'll unroll the 150' roll, flop it over so it wants to hump up, then drag it back over itself to kind of back bend it and hopefully flatten out its bend.  
I'm also thinking I could take some pallet boards and stick them through a bunch of the mesh gaps (horizontally).  That would turn a section into a wood wall with a curve.  I'm thinking...  Suntrap
For those who believe the deer will still jump it, do you think increasing the depth of the waves to 6' would take care of the issue?

Shane Atwell wrote:If the living fence is supposed to grow through the wire its going to be hell on someone with a chainsaw some day.

James Freyr wrote:I think this is a great idea, and with the waviness of it with the wires stretched the length of it I think will keep deer out. Perhaps a vining type of flowering plant, maybe morning glory, could be planted and it'll find it's way up and down the remesh, making it not look like alcatraz. :-)