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Cutting a 4-Foot Gate Opening into an Existing Woven-Wire Garden Fence with Bolt Cutters: Braced 5-Inch Posts First, Staple Before You Cut, and Six Tight Wraps per Line Wire

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Set and brace both gate posts before touching the wire, staple the fence to them, and only then cut. With 24-inch bolt cutters , snip the vertical stays between the line wires, cut each line wire at the center of the opening, and wrap each tail around its post and back onto itself with six tight wraps . Can you cut a gate into a stretched woven-wire fence without losing tension? Yes, if the new gate posts carry the load before any wire is cut. Set two braced posts, staple every line wire to them, then cut. The staples and posts hold the stretch, so the rest of the fence stays tight and only the opening goes slack. The USDA NRCS Washington woven wire fence specification requires every line wire to be dead-ended on gate, corner, or pull posts. At an end point, you remove vertical stays, cutting them between the line wires, then double wrap ...
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Testing a 164-Foot Electric Net Around a Vegetable Garden with a Voltage Tester: 5,000 Volts at the Energizer, 3,000 at the Free End, and Walking the Net for Shorts

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. On a single roll of electric netting around a garden, test the energizer alone first and look for about 5,000 volts , then test the net's free end , which sits right beside the gate but is electrically the farthest point. Hold at least 3,000 volts there; anything under 4,000 at the energizer terminals points to the energizer or battery, not the net. How many volts should electric netting read at the far end? Electric netting should read at least 3,000 volts at the end farthest from the energizer. Read the energizer by itself first; if it shows more than 4,000 volts with the net unhooked but the net reads low, the problem is in the net, usually grass or a strand touching a post spike. Premier1 Supplies' Fencing FAQs guide sets a minimum of 3,000 volts at the end of the fence and 5,000 volts between the energizer terminals. With t...
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Building a Two-Wire Thornless Blackberry Trellis on T-Posts with a Clip Tool: Wires at 3 and 5 Feet, Posts Every 20 Feet, and Five Plants on a 40-Foot Row

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For a 40-foot row of semi-trailing thornless blackberries, drive three 8-foot T-posts 20 feet apart, run 14-gauge high-tensile wire at 3 and 5 feet , and close the clips with a T-post clip tool . Five plants set 8 feet apart fill the row, and 6 clips hold the wires on the posts. What wire heights work for a two-wire blackberry trellis? Put the lower wire about 3 feet above the ground and the upper wire at 5 feet for erect and semi-trailing blackberries. The low wire shapes the plant, the top wire carries the fruiting canes, and you tip new canes once they reach the top wire. NC State Extension's home garden blackberry guide recommends a two-wire system with wires at 3 and 5 feet for erect and semi-trailing types. It says to tip canes at the top wire, prune laterals on erect types to 12 to 16 inches in winter, and keep 6 to 8 cane...
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Running a Wire Garden Fence Past a Live Tree with Fence Staples: A 1x4 Oak Nailer Board, Three Pole Barn Nails, and No Wire on the Bark

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. When a healthy tree stands on the fence line, nail a 1x4 oak board to the tree with at least three pole barn nails , then staple the wire to the board with 9-gauge galvanized fence staples . Nothing is stapled or wrapped onto the bark, and a 54-inch board carries a 48-inch fence with room to spare. Can you staple fence wire directly to a tree? No. Stapling or wrapping wire onto a living trunk lets the bark grow over it, cutting off sap flow and leaving a weak spot. Fasten a board to the tree first and staple the wire to the board, so the wire never touches the bark and can be removed later. The USDA NRCS Vermont Fencing Code 382 practice standard says wire and insulators are not fastened directly to trees and wire is never wrapped around the trunk. It calls for a treated 2x6 , a fiberglass or plastic strip, or an untreated red or white ...
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Staking a Newly Planted Tree with Two Stakes, Grommeted Straps, and 16-Gauge Tie Wire: Stakes 18 Inches Out, Straps 18 Inches Up, and No Wire on the Bark

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Drive two stakes 18 inches from the trunk on opposite sides, loop a flat grommeted strap around the trunk about 18 inches above the soil, and use 16-gauge tie wire only for the short run from each grommet to its stake. The wire never touches the bark, and the whole rig comes off after one growing season . How far from the trunk should tree stakes go, and what should touch the bark? Set the stakes at least 15 to 18 inches out from the trunk and never closer than 6 inches. Only a flat, wide strap should touch the bark, attached loosely so the trunk can still sway; tie wire belongs between the strap and the stake, never wrapped around the tree. Colorado State University Extension's tree staking guidance calls for flat, grommeted straps rather than rope, wire, or hose against the trunk, with two to three posts and one strap per post. Po...
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Testing a Two-Wire Raccoon Fence Around Sweet Corn with a Voltage Tester: Wires at 5 and 12 Inches, 2,000 Volts at the Far Corner, and Splitting the Wires to Find the Short

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Run two hot wires around the corn patch, one 5 inches and one 12 inches above the soil, and read both at the corner farthest from the energizer. Hold at least 2,000 volts there every evening the corn is near picking; if the number falls, unhook the low wire first, because grass under it causes most drops. How many volts does an electric fence need to keep raccoons out of sweet corn? Aim for at least 2,000 volts on both wires at the far corner of the patch. Raccoons sit in the nuisance-pest group that needs 1,000 to 2,000 volts, so the top of that range gives you a margin for dew, weeds, and a weakening battery before the ears ripen. Zareba's voltage minimums by animal list 1,000 to 2,000 volts on the fence line for nuisance pests and note that smaller animals need closer wire spacing. Predators such as coyotes sit much higher, at 4,0...
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Building a 16-Foot Freestanding Apple Espalier Trellis with 12-Gauge Galvanized Wire: Posts 8 Feet Apart, Wires at 18, 36, and 54 Inches, and 54 Feet of Wire

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Set 3 rot-resistant posts 8 feet apart, run 12-gauge galvanized wire between them at 18 , 36 , and 54 inches , and tension each wire with an eye screw and turnbuckle. Plant 2 dwarf apples of different varieties, one in the middle of each 8-foot bay, 8 feet apart. What wire and spacing does an apple espalier trellis need? Use 12-gauge or heavier galvanized wire between posts 8 feet apart. Put the first wire 18 inches above the ground and add two more, each 18 inches higher, for three tiers. Tighten each wire with eye screws and turnbuckles, and build the whole trellis before the trees go in. Oregon State University Extension's espalier article sets posts 8 feet apart with 12-gauge or heavier galvanized wire. The first wire is 18 inches above the ground, with typically three levels 18 inches apart and a 1- or 2-year-old dwarf t...
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