I have serious deer problems and also have blackberries, both thornless and wild-type thorny. The deer browse a bit on the thornless ones and have kept them from developing to their full potential. They do not bother the thorny wild-types, which I got from the conservation department and planted near the tame berries. Whether deer bother tame thorny berries may depend on how thorny they are. My wild-type are very thorny. Even the leaves have thorns. There are at least three or four different wild types in my planting, and one of them makes berries that are the same size as the Navaho thornless berries. I suppose some of the tame thorny varieties produce superior fruit, but it always seemed to me that not having to deal with the thorns was the deciding factor for tame blackberries. However, I'm glad I have the thorny ones since 90% of the fruit I get is from them. I must have collected ten gallons of berries last year....didn't really keep track, but after having cobblers and making jam I still had seven gallons in the freezer. Finally made blackberry wine from them. Chuck

The original fence was woven wire fencing on green steel poles. It was only three feet tall, but it kept the deer out of the garden pretty well for the first few years. They'd reach over it and nibble whatever they could reach but wouldn't go into the garden. Eventually, though, they began jumping the fence and last year they ate everything I planted right down to the ground. There also is chicken wire attached to the bottom two feet of the woven wire to keep the bunnies out. To make the fence taller, we bought 10' lengths of electrical conduit. We hammered one piece of electrical conduit into the ground (about a foot deep) beside each green fence post and then used wire to attach the electrical conduit to the green steel posts. Then we attached 4' tall poultry netting atop the 3' fence, so that gives us 7' of height. We have about 2' of electrical conduit sticking up above the top of the poultry wire and I want to attach 2' more to make it 9' tall because I think some of the larger deer could jump the 7' tall fence if they want. As an added deterrent, I tied strips of white cloth (from a cut-up twin bedsheet) at 3' in height and about one every 3' to 4'. The deer see the white cloth and (hopefully) think it is the tail of another whitetail deer warning them of "danger". At the very least, it reminds them from a distance that the fence is there. (I have had deer jump right into the fence as if they can't see it.) I've used chickenwire placed on the ground to deter them from the shrubs, but it is a pain in the neck if you don't move it before the bermuda grass grows up through it. I use dog hair but it isn't all that effective here.....since the six younger dogs are out in the dog yard, the deer get used to them. Every now and then, if the deer are getting too bold, I let the youngest dog out to chase them. She's sweet and gentle and wouldn't know what to do with a wild animal if she caught it, but she loves the chase. I haven't had any success with various commercial or homemade deer repellents. They wash off in our thunderstorms and it takes a lot of repellent for a huge property. I haven't used the monafilament line lately although it is pretty effective. There again, though, it and the grass don't coexist real well, and the dogs, cats, chickens and guineas run right into the fishing line. One advantage of the taller fence is that the bobcats, which used to love to jump into the garden and hang out there, no longer come into the garden. Our deer herd is a mixed blessing. Because we have creek bottom land, several creeks and ponds, a swamp, some springs and heavy woods, they were here before we came here. They were quick to befriend us....bringing their babies up to the house to show them off, and even looking into the windows of the house to see what we were doing. LOL For years, we had the same doe and her ever enlarging herd of babies....and their babies....etc. Our original doe is gone, and her granddaughter is now the one who hangs out near the garden and brings her babies to me to show them off. I don't name the deer, but I know our three does by sight and am enjoying watching their fawns from last year as they grow up. If I am alone in the yard, they don't approach me but they don't run from me either....they just stand and eat or drink or watch me to make sure I don't have a dog with me. Our two older dogs, ages 14 and 10, don't even chase the deer any more and the deer know it. If I am inside the garden fence they will come within a few feet of me, so I have to make sure to close the gate behind me when I enter the garden so I don't end up trapped inside the garden with a nervous deer. Although friends of ours always offer to come over with a gun and "thin the herd", I won't let them. The deer were here before us and I don't want them shot just because they are an inconvenience for us. I love the deer and try to co-exist with them, but it is a lot of work to keep them from eating everything I plant. There's an area northwest of the house where I'd love to plant a dozen or so fruit trees, but I probably won't do it until we fence it off to keep the deer away.....it is too close to one of their deer trails. Dawn

We have 10 acres of solid woods that we are starting to tame and I have to say, it has been much easier than we expected thanks to the use of landscaping fabric. We clear an area of any dead fall, prune to the ground any small tree or large stem weed, use the weed whacker to knock the brush down, and then use a mulching mower to grind it all up. The area is then clear to plant whatever you want, and then simply place the fabric around your plants, put on some mulch, and Voila! no more weeds! This method has gotten rid of garlic mustard, poison ivy, thorny wild raspberries, woodland shrubs and a bunch of other stuff that was growing. At first I was hesitant to put the fabric down, thinking is was too much work and too difficult to plant in afterward. But is was quick to lay down and very easy to cut. When you decide you want a special plant in a certain spot, you simply move back your mulch, slice an X into the fabric and you have easy access to your soil. It is great and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to tame large areas. This will be our 3rd year gardening in the forest and I have to say it is much more exciting than I ever imagined it would be. I thought my plant choices would be very limited but it is not true. Shade gardening is very rewarding, very beautiful and so very peaceful. Good Luck with your gardening, and so far everything you have done looks very beautiful.

Poor Fred was a pet. From what I read, he loved to be hand-fed sweet potatoes. He wasn't a danger to anyone. I also find it troubling that this kid was allowed to take several hours and 8 or 9 shots to kill Fred. From what I've heard, hunting ethics dictate a clean, fast kill. And I am also disgusted by Fred's former owner who, according to the article below said: "... the pig was too big and needed killing". What the heck is that supposed to mean?? Once an animal gets bigger than you want it to, it needs to be killed?? Here is a link that might be useful: Fred the tame pig