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| The HOA where I have the orchard is objecting to the deer fence. Next year I need to obscure it. I will plant a number of shrubs, but while they grow I need to have some vegetation in front of it. I have one thousand Giant sunflower seeds, but I would like to plant a strip of corn. What is the best corn for growing fast and tall (10 ft)? and if possible without ears to minimize deer attraction (there will be a hot wire, but still)? where to buy it? Any other suggestion for anything that grows 7+ ft in one season, and still provides some obscuration after it dies? I will probably need some 2000 seeds. |
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| Look for Maze Corn. Not maize, but maze. Its a breed of corn (hybrid, most likely) that has been specially bred for use in cornfield mazes. It grows very tall, doesn't have ears (or has very small ones). Should grow to full size pretty quickly, and does just fine after it dies back. |
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| Are you sure your HOA will buy this solution? |
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| Not my HOA, but the deer fence is of the invisible type. http://www.eadsfence.com/galleries/deer/invisible-deer-fence/index.htm l Thick vegetation should obscure it well enough, and there are fences behind vegetation in the subdivision. |
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| Corn lodges, gets tipped over, in the wind, ESPECIALLY when it does not have dozens of others to block for it. The taller, the more likely. You may wake up one morning to find you corn fence lying on the ground. |
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- Posted by dan_nz_gardener none (My Page) on Wed, Sep 19, 12 at 5:40
| Sorry, im intrigued...what is HOA? |
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| home owners association. |
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| Have you thought about castor bean? Fast growing, very tall and attractive. |
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| Sorry, im intrigued...what is HOA? Generally a bunch of snooty minded busy bodies who have nothing better to do than tell you what you can and cannot do on your own property. If you are house shopping, ask around for the HOA in the area. If you find one, find another house. Absolutely nothing worse than trying to live with a HOA that has a stick up their butts. |
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- Posted by JohnDeereGal none (My Page) on Wed, Sep 19, 12 at 12:00
| Just a caution, one strip of corn will not likely pollinate. It's best to have more short rows of corn than to have one long for that reason. My corn was over 7.5 ft this year and it was candy corn (not sure if it's spelled with a c or k). It was wonderful corn. My deer fence was ugly too so I replaced it with metal fence posts which are green and super thin and you barely see it at all. I planted grapes on one end in spring of '11 and now that end is almost entirely covered by grapes. Hope it helps. |
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- Posted by albert_135 Sunset 2 or 3 (My Page) on Wed, Sep 19, 12 at 13:14
| Read your HOA codes carefully. I read a legal blog recently that observed that many of the HOA objections which escalated to a problem were just some snotty person's notion of what should be and were not actually prohibited by the codes. |
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| Have you tried any other forms of repellents or deterrents? Deer Repellent Packs would likely pass any HOA's scrutiny. Deer Repellent Packs is a product that uses fear as the primary cause of action. The active ingredient is genuine Coyote Urine in granular form. The granules are encased in a breathable weather resistant pack that lasts up to 90 days. This Deer Repellent (www.DeerRepellentPacks.com) can be used in all weather, easy to install and guaranteed. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Deer Repellent Packs
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| I am going to buy 100 lbs of blood meal, and see if that helps. That, too, uses fear as a deterrent. |
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| You might try giant amaranth. Much prettier, IMO and still provides a usable grain. |
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- Posted by JohnDeereGal none (My Page) on Thu, Sep 20, 12 at 18:19
| Picture of my deer fence - not sure if it would work for you but thought I'd show you. |
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| Sugar cane would also make for a decent fence plant. The leaves are serrated knife blades, so deer won't touch 'em. |
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| Unfortunately, corn is a deer attractor. So it may not be the best choice for your purposes. Jim |
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| I am hoping that the corn is less attractive than the hot wire, the blood meal, and the bird tape are repellent. The repellers will be there long before the corn sprouts, to condition the herd. But I am also looking to other herbaceous tall plants. I can secure some bamboo, not enough of course, but there is also Giant amaranth discussed above, there is pokeweed, sorghum, sunflower, and I am saving fennel seeds. |
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- Posted by naturegirl_2007 5b SW Michgan (My Page) on Fri, Sep 21, 12 at 20:58
| Maybe broom corn would work. Mine wasn't grown with deer pressure but it didn't look like it had much that would appeal to deer. |
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| I would recommend against bamboo. That stuff is very aggressive and it will easily take over if given the chance. |
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| Actually, bunching bamboo is not agressive. It's used here in our subdivision and is quite a nice plant, although is quite slow growing, too. I'd go with amaranth, sorghum, sugar cane, sunflowers some other large annual. Hops or some fast growing bush might be an option, too. Maybe popular trees? |
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| Actually, bunching bamboo is not agressive. It's used here in our subdivision and is quite a nice plant, although is quite slow growing, too. I'd go with amaranth, sorghum, sugar cane, sunflowers some other large annual. Hops or some fast growing bush might be an option, too. Maybe popular trees? |
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| Bamboo, even running, is fine. A 10 ft mowing strip is all that is needed. A bamboo barrier will work too. The nice thing about bamboo is that even if the cane dies in winter, it will not lose its leaves. |
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| Anyone else ever wonder how they collect the predator urine? It seems to me whatever you do to obscure will only bring immediate attention! What about morning glories to give you a chance to decide what you really want. |
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- Posted by bookjunky4life 5 Central IL (My Page) on Mon, Sep 24, 12 at 17:16
| I have a six foot tall fence around my dogs' excercise yard. This year I planted morning glories on the outside of the 80' long side. The photo shows the east facing inside of the fence. Planted thickly they pretty well obscured the fence. And in the morning hours = gorgeous! Also they did double-duty by blocking all the weeds out on the outside of the fence. I'm planning on planting even more next year. |
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- Posted by bookjunky4life 5 Central IL (My Page) on Mon, Sep 24, 12 at 17:30
| A photo of the entire length from the west facing outside of the fence. |
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| Morning glories, giant amaranth, and broom corn are winners. |
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| I agree with tracydr & glib. bookjunky4life love your fence, I have the little red wild fancy leaf cypress morning glory. |
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