My Peas have started to come up, even with only one small rain on them. Expect another rain today and tomorrow to bring up more as it is quite spotty now. But the one thing I wanted to mention is I wraped wrapping string all around the plot and tied mostly white shopping bags,(plastic) to the tape. After two weeks there are no deer tracks anywhere in the plot. A hunting buddy has tried growing them 3 years in a row, but the deer would pull them up, roots and all when they got a couple inches tall. I' d like to get them to at leat 4-6 inches before taking the strapping tape down. So far it seems to be working.
Russ

That is the problem I had with the Austrian Winter Peas I' ve had in the plot mixes. Two inches tall and they eat them off and they won' t come back. I tried taking aluminum pie plates and tieing them to metal electric fence post and all it did was act like a dinner bell even though with even the slightest breeze they would clank and beat on the post. If it works, maybe next year I' ll give the plastic bags and string. Now if it would just work on the dang turkeys.

I read(from this site I believe) that human hair works in deterring deer. Maybe do a search.

It seems to deter the turkeys, too. They are getting in the clover plot next to the peas, but haven' t seen sign in the peas. Seen 5 there one day and 18 the next, but not in the peas. The hay field that they are next to was just cut & bailed after drying. The 18 were out there I guess looking for bugs. We just had an all day soaking rain which should give the peas (and Clover) a real boost.
Russ

One other thing I might add. The strings are not stretched tight. They slope from post to the other, almost touching the ground between posts. This may make them nervous about crossing it, I hope.
Russ

Keep us informed on how well the fencing works. Sounds like it could be good cheep way to deter animals. I am sure you are aware of the commercial products out there as well.

I got the idea from a couple of old farmers that have truck patches. One works around 5 acres. They plant a little bit of everything.I noticed that they use the bags aroundcertain patches, I guess the ones that deer would invade. I' ve noticed this for about 5+ years. Figured if the old timers were doing this that it just might work.I had a large spool of strapping bought at a yard sale for $3. The bags were free (except for the stuff they carried.) As the farmer uses mostly white, I guessed that they give off a UV glow, and this may what makes them work. I hope it does until I' m ready to take it down.
Russ

Update: Peas are now 4-6 inches. Planted 9/6. I still do not see any sign of the deer entering the plot. With the last rain, they are filling in nicely. I am going to try and keep them out until they start to branch out some. Maybe they will not pull them out by the roots, but just browse on the leaves. Just hope the bags keep working.
Russ

Whoops! Had a deer cross the plot last nite. Walked over the string where it was quite low, made a circle thru the plot and exited, jumping over a high string. Could not find any sign of browsing, as I followed his tracks thru the plot. No bags where he/she crossed, so I added more bags and adjusted the strings to match the rest. Some peas are at 6 inches. Will chack again tomorrow.
Russ

Well, the deer are getting braver. More tracks, but not much browsing. The peas are well established, being 6+ inches and starting to apread. They seem to have developed a good root system as the places they are browsed, show just the tops clipped. Maybe this will keep them from pulling them completely out of the ground. Had a little dry spell, but the forcast calls for rain the next 2 days. I' m keeping the ' fence' up for now. as our gun season starts 11/22. Maybe remove it a week before opening. Another growth spurt may give me a good stand that they may not wipe out.
Russ