For the first few years that we were gardening in Brittany, we had very few problems with deer, then we started to notice that something was eating the raspberry and strawberry flowers in the spring (so that we got no crop), and there started to be sporadic raids on the vegetable garden, such as a row of lettuces or peas being eaten down to the ground. For a while, we rarely saw the deer, and were never quite sure what was responsible, but as time went on the deer became more at home in our garden. I believe that this was due to our not using chemicals (or animal manure), and that they were a sign that our plants were becoming more appetising, due to an improvement in soil fertility, and, in a way, the deer’s presence was something to be proud of; but it was also becoming a bigger and bigger problem.
People would slow down when driving past our vegetable garden to catch sight of the deer, which were almost always to be seen there; over the course of a few weeks in the summer, some deer ate the heads off every single plant in a small field of spring wheat, that had been looking particularly promising; and deer browsed in our field of buckwheat, carefully nibbling off the young buckwheat plants, and leaving the weeds untouched. Something, clearly, had to be done.
We were not completely happy with offers from people with guns who suggested that they come and try to shoot the deer; and the idea of buying materials for a deer-proof fence seemed to be compromising the principles and the aesthetic of a subsistence garden, as well as being prohibitively expensive. I don’t remember where the idea for a woven hazel fence originally came from, but once it had been proposed, it became the obvious answer. All the materials were on site – and free of charge; it provided an opportunity to do some useful work; and it would be a new outlet for our coppiced material, which was beginning to build up as all the trees that we have planted were starting to mature.
The first year, we built a fence around the vegetable garden. It was just under two metres high, so, in theory, deer could have jumped over it, but it had a strong deterrent effect, and, in practice, we found that if the deer could not force their way in through a gap, they kept out. Encouraged by this success, we built further fences round our crop fields in the second and third years.
The fences have become a distinctive feature of our garden, we have roses growing up them in places, birds make their nests in them, and, because they are in a state of gradual decay, they are home to a rich variety of insects, and fungal life.
We replaced the fence round the vegetable garden after five years, and have found its wood to be a very welcome addition to the wood pile. It seems to be possible to extend the life of the fence by propping it back up after winter storms, and weaving in new material where there are weaknesses, but the process of making it up and taking it down fits well into the winter work schedule.
Overall, the fences have not made our garden inhospitable to deer; we have small grass fields outside the fence which we cut for mulch, and there are always signs of the deer still being active there; there are also signs of wild boar activity, and we are hoping that the fences are strong enough to deter the wild boars from entering the crop areas. On the other hand, we do not want the fence to exclude hedgehogs, foxes, stoats, etc. that help to control the populations of mice and voles, and slugs; and the hazel fence seems to be quite efficient at letting these animals through.
Even after thirty years of working in the same garden, I have a feeling that there is still everything to learn about how to work in harmony with the local wildlife. A fence that you make yourself out of local material seems to be a good starting point. Animals such as deer appear to understand that you are delineating an area of ground that you need for your own food, and will respect it. The bigger picture is that not only western agriculture, but almost every other aspect of modern life, has been at odds with the world of nature for as long as anyone can remember. Now, belatedly, we are all surprised and appalled that populations of wild animals are in such rapid decline that many species appear to be on the path to extinction – but we still do not grasp the seriousness of our predicament. I imagine that our experience with the deer will be repeated many times over with all sorts of different animals (and plants); as our soil improves, and our garden becomes more hospitable, more creatures will want to make a home there, and the challenge will be how to find a way to co-exist with each of them. Perhaps that is something that marks the difference between subsistence gardening and commercial farming.
Gareth Lewis
Feedback
I just wanted to say hello and say how much I enjoyed reading your article for this month. I think that it is a wonderful idea with a weaved fence for deers. I have been growing up in Poland and my parents had a big garden near the forest and we had also big visitors munching on the vegetables. My father always was creating live fences from mulberry trees and in that way in the summer we had also enough leaves to grow silkworms and their cocoons we were delivering for silk made in Poland.
Reading your article reminded me of thinking wider than what is immediate need and worry and see our interwoven dependence on each other and nature around us.
Jadwiga Vonk-Ladomirska, Poland
I enjoy your newsletters very much thank you. I remember from back in my countryside days, people saying, in order to keep the deer away, pissing in bottles, letting it sit for a while, then put it around the places where you don’t want them, is the thing to do.
I never got to try it though.
Lotta, Switzerland
Q. Do you make your hazel fences in hurdles or a continuous run?
Roy Brooks, United-Kingdom
Hi Roy. it’s in one continuous run. We actually use a lot coarser material than what’s traditionally used in a hurdle. The lovely thing is, just about anything can go in. Really thick stuff, thin stuff, and pretty much any wood although hazel is probably the best. SAMUEL LEWIS
Thank you for your courage in braving nature in such a sustainable manner. You teach about limits as well as possibilities.
Wishing you all the best for this new year, may mankind finally come together!
Y. Rein, Germany
Hi. How to find balance in life is a continuous challenge and your post about the process was a gift. Keeping our values in light of the challenges is a way to enlightenment. Small steps mostly but truly the path most of us seek. Thank you for showing your work.
M. Krecu