geese in the garden

[Ambiguity]

Does anybody here have experiences of this being beneficial? I have two geese they are currently penned because I fear they would squish my corn plants. They roamed the yard until I put in the garden and I would like to turn them loose again, because its easier on the feed bill. (and I think they are happier that way) So I was wondering if any here had any tips or tricks to making such a thing work.

Thanks!

 

[Shanay235]

Put deer netting around your garden area. You can get a 100' x 7' roll for under $15. My geese ran into it a few times before they figured out something was there but it's worked great so far. Another advantage...........it keeps the deer out to.

 

[fowlmood]

I agree, fence the veggies in and turn the animals out.

 

[Haley_LinckHillPoultry]

Last year when I allowed my geese to freeroam they absolutely destroyed our flowerbeds, this year they are penned, so the flowers are fine.

 

[BigPeep]

Geese supposedly work really well around corn. They won't eat the corn once it gets a bit large as they just want new succulent plants (no teeth). I had given up on sweet corn due to raccoons and was planning on putting my goose to work to both weeds and fertilize the corn and keep out the raccoons.

I was planning on using the 7 foot deer netting. This may also deter the racoons a bit as they can't climb it but they can bite through it. Hopefully the goose will come over at that point and intimidate them from going any further with it.

It would be nice if they also ate the Japanese beetles. I expect they can't get up to the silks where the beetles go to but if they fall off, maybe the geese will go for them.

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[goosedragon]

Don't bet money on that no teeth thing, I used to have a banana plant 4' high and 1 1/4 inch in diameter. I was repairing the fence when I cut myself and spent about 20 minutes on first aid. When I got back the only thing left was a short stump. there were marks where they had chewed through the plant. On the other hand when I had small weeds in my rose beds I would open the fence and herd in the weeders and stand and watch them eat the weeds. They did a great job but I would herd them back out when they started to nibble on the roses.
Japanese beetles, are they the green ones? my geese wouldn't eat them but would knock them down where the ducks would.
Good luck!