You folks are making me drool and envy reading all the post about pantry full of goodies. Now if someone can give me an advice on how to keep deer eating everything in the vegetable garden I am most grateful.
Have tried in the past hair, gum ,soap, manure, someone give me a recipe with lots hot pepper mix and spray on plants, that didn't work. Put a 5 ft. wire around the garden, still manage to get in,any advice everyone?????..I am very frustrated here
Thanks,
Cora
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- rainbowgardener
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Deer are the gardener's nemesis! They are beautiful creatures, but an absolute menace in the garden.
Have you tried deer netting? (The same stuff is sometimes sold as bird netting). Very light, thin, but strong. I use it to fence in my raised beds. (I don't actually have deer, so I can't give any personal guarantees about how it works. I use it against the raccoons, groundhogs, etc). I just put up stakes all around the edge of the bed and wrap the netting around the stakes (and over the top). That way the netting isn't touching any of the fruits/ veggies you are protecting.
It's a bit of a pain since it means to weed, harvest, etc you have to unwrap the netting, but if I didn't do it, I would never eat anything from the garden. I would be more willing to share with the animals, if they would share with me!
Have you tried deer netting? (The same stuff is sometimes sold as bird netting). Very light, thin, but strong. I use it to fence in my raised beds. (I don't actually have deer, so I can't give any personal guarantees about how it works. I use it against the raccoons, groundhogs, etc). I just put up stakes all around the edge of the bed and wrap the netting around the stakes (and over the top). That way the netting isn't touching any of the fruits/ veggies you are protecting.
It's a bit of a pain since it means to weed, harvest, etc you have to unwrap the netting, but if I didn't do it, I would never eat anything from the garden. I would be more willing to share with the animals, if they would share with me!
I too have a major problem with deer- a herd of 10-15 regularly walks through a field in my backyard. That number dwindles by the end of hunting season, but is back in the 10-15 range after the fawns are born in the spring.
I have a 4' high split rail fence surrounding a 30' x 60' vegetable/herb/flower garden. While deer can easily jump a 4' fence, this is enough of a deterrent to keep them out. You could also try your wire fence with taller posts (8'). Plastics banding attached at 12" intervals will deter the deer. Farmers use this material above the wire sections of fence, (electrified and non-electrified) available at farm supply stores.
Another trick I have found that works well is to surround the plants that the deer like with plants that they don't like. Russian Sage, Lavender, Monarda, and Yarrow work well to repel deer.
I have a 4' high split rail fence surrounding a 30' x 60' vegetable/herb/flower garden. While deer can easily jump a 4' fence, this is enough of a deterrent to keep them out. You could also try your wire fence with taller posts (8'). Plastics banding attached at 12" intervals will deter the deer. Farmers use this material above the wire sections of fence, (electrified and non-electrified) available at farm supply stores.
Another trick I have found that works well is to surround the plants that the deer like with plants that they don't like. Russian Sage, Lavender, Monarda, and Yarrow work well to repel deer.
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Thanks for moving it here .applestar wrote:Barnercora, I've split your post from the Tomato Forum thread https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21154
I expect you'll get better response regarding deer prevention here.
to: rainbowgardener and Pineville, thank you for for the advices.
Cora
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I'm not sure if this actually works (I plan on trying it on the garden I'm planting this year), but I've heard that bloodmeal will cause deer to shy away from gardens that it's used in. As an added bonus, it acts as a natural high nitrogen fertilizer. I have a small herd of deer (a matriarch and her offspring, about 5 deer in all) that frequent my backyard that I'm hoping to keep away from my veggies and flowers.
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I live close to bucks county and we also have a nice sized herd that moves through our yard.Pineville wrote:I too have a major problem with deer- a herd of 10-15 regularly walks through a field in my backyard. That number dwindles by the end of hunting season, but is back in the 10-15 range after the fawns are born in the spring.
I have a 4' high split rail fence surrounding a 30' x 60' vegetable/herb/flower garden. While deer can easily jump a 4' fence, this is enough of a deterrent to keep them out. You could also try your wire fence with taller posts (8'). Plastics banding attached at 12" intervals will deter the deer. Farmers use this material above the wire sections of fence, (electrified and non-electrified) available at farm supply stores.
Another trick I have found that works well is to surround the plants that the deer like with plants that they don't like. Russian Sage, Lavender, Monarda, and Yarrow work well to repel deer.
I faought them for years but last year put up a 4 foot fence around the garden. This really did the trick. As for the rest of the yard I just gave in and planted stuff that will not eat.
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