This is an idea that some friends use in their garden. They stick rebar in the ground, then put electrical conduit over that. Zip-tie bird netting to the “posts” and it’s too scary for the deer. Never mind that a sneeze can break the netting… They touch it with their noses and won’t try to jump.
The conduit is ten feet tall, placed approximately at ten foot intervals. We got four-foot rebar, 3/8″ diameter, two feet driven into the ground. We used metal conduit as it seemed it would be sturdier. And we can use it again later for other things.
I tied pink flagging tape at intervals as a way to show there is something there, and we are going to put twine along the top and bottom edges to strengthen the netting. This is a temporary fix, of course, but with a little bit of luck it will get us through the autumn and into the new year. At the very worst, we can mend or replace the netting as needed until we have the resources to build the sturdier fence.
With luck, the weather will be nice enough for another 6 weeks to give me a few small pumpkin before All Hallows’ Eve.