Ethan Snyder

Hello, right now I have a standard 54" high 5 wire high tensile fence running around a field to keep cattle in. However I would like to rotate that field this coming year from pasture and grow vegetables in it, the problem is I have very high deer pressure in my area.

My solution right now is to try to "extend" the fence upwards. I am going to try to lag bolt on a board or angle iron up to reach 8' high and drill holes in it and run another 3 strands of high tensile through it. I won't be able to put the high wire under much pressure for structural reasons with this, and I worry if a deer does jump it they would barrel right through it.

Anyone have any ideas on upgrading my current fence to keep deer out, or how to keep them from jumping if I do go with my current plan?

Thanks for the help everyone.

The Gransfors Bruks Maul is a work horse, way better design and quality than any hardware store axe I've ever come across. I do all my splitting with it and split enough for me and extra to sell, its paid for itself many times over again.

I really like this question, and found the answers very informative and useful. Is there any sort of database that answers this questions concerning different types of trees? I'd be very interested in reading it if such a thing exists.

I just watched a great talk on TED about the global food waste scandal:

http://www.ted.com/talks/tristram_stuart_the_global_food_waste_scandal.html

He recommends feeding your food waste to pigs, but I know you can also compost them. What is the most efficient method of taking food waste and putting them back to work?

I have read that you should clean up bean debris in order to deny them a place to overwinter. What does permaculture say about that? Is it ok to leave bean plants in the garden overwinter after they had been infested with bean beetles?

Awesome! I would definitely want to attend something like that. Thanks for the heads up

I too have an 87 acre farm in western Ohio, it is 15 acres of forest, and the rest is divided up between 6 fields that have been in a conservation program for 20 some years.

Having just recently stumbled across this permaculture idea ive been reading up on it as best I can, and I cannot help but notice a lack of hard technical information on it. Im reading Sepp Holzers book now and although filled with great information it is hard to understand exactly how to implement a lot of it.

My farm is for the consumer market and so the systems that I implement on it must be good for production, harvesting, weed control, planting. And I think permaculutre is a really cool way to go about setting up a farm.

My question falls exactly in line with the OP, what can I do right now that will move me towards a more permaculture oriented farm?

My first question is how to manage my fields. How do I grow more diverse plants in them?