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help: 'living fence' ideas

Posted by matt79 5a (My Page) on
Mon, Sep 6, 04 at 2:33

I’m posting this in several forums…

I’m looking for some help. I’ve been asked to come up with several plans for our community garden’s "living fence". A fence has been constructed around the gardens, and now we’re planting various vines and brambles to grow up/around the fence. Grapes are already being put in along some sections, so that’s a non-issue. There’s a strong interest in raspberries and currants, and I’m looking into hardy kiwis.

I already have a good idea of what to do with raspberries (i.e. planting, and control of canes inside and outside the fence). What I’m looking for are:

1. Pro’s and Con’s of planting currants and kiwis, and how much space to give them, and

2. Other ideas of edible, perennial vines/short bushes that we could plant.

Things to keep in mind:
-there’s hundreds of feet of fence, so we have room for several things
-this is zone 5a Madison, Wisconsin.
-maintenance must be easy, not much more than an annual pruning and a shot of fertilizer once or twice a year.
-the fence is only around 5 feet tall, with "rabbit fencing" on the bottom 2 feet, and just a couple of wires between posts on the top few feet.

Your help is much appreciated!

-Matt


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: help: 'living fence' ideas

What about hyacinth bean vine?


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RE: help: 'living fence' ideas

I planted two kinds of pole beans, purple and kentucky, by our chain link fence. Many people have said how much nicer it looks. The purple flowers and leaves are quite striking. I must say though that I'm not looking forward to cleaning it up after frost!


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RE: help: 'living fence' ideas

Espaliered fruit trees?


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RE: help: 'living fence' ideas

There is a spinach vine you could grow, but not sure of the proper name. There is also an italian bean vine you could plant which is edible. You could plant passionflower vine. They have "Maypop" fruit on them after they flower that can be harvested and made into jelly but the vine is VERY INVASIVE, so you might want to plant it in a good ceramic pot. I had one planted in a whiskey barrel but it tore out of it and it's all over my neighbor's yards now. It is absolutely beautiful though and very fragrant. Hope this helps.

Mary Ellen


 
 

 

 


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