The Deer Are Eating My Garden - Boring, Maryland

Discussion in 'Plant Pests, Diseases and Weeds' started by OrganicAlan, Feb 16, 2009.

  1. OrganicAlan

    OrganicAlan New Seed

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2009
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Boring, Maryland
    Hi,

    Thanks.

    I'm hoping to get some ideas of greens - lettuce, Collards, spinach, Kale I can plant that the DEER do not like.

    The Groundhogs eat all the brassica - cabbage or brocoli

    I've tried all the prevention products.

    A - They wash off in the rain

    B - They kill the plants

    C - They do not work and the deer eat things anyway.

    So after 40 years of gardening...

    I'm planning a radical new Strategy. Since the deer think my 3 gardens are JUST for them. I'll test lots of varieties and FLAVORS of each plant.

    Make a LIST of the ones the Deer do not like the Taste of...

    Then Plant Mostly DEER-PROOF stuff. With a few rows and raised beds for the deer to eat.

    Radical Plan, huh?

    Alan
     
  2. Loading...


  3. gardengater

    gardengater Young Pine

    Joined:
    May 30, 2008
    Messages:
    1,544
    Likes Received:
    6
    Location:
    NC
    I suppose an experienced gardener like you has tried them all, but I've heard that cayenne pepper sprinkled on plants will keep critters away.
     
  4. john

    john New Seed

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2009
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Ogdensburg, NY
    you may have tried them all but try this again anyway. because it works. next time you go to the barber or better yet a hairdressing shop you go to..ask them to put a few days worth of hair off the floor into a bag instead of the garbage and save it for you. spread the hair around the garden by putting small amounts in a piece of cheesecloth and tie onto stakes or plants. works for me.
     
    Cayuga Morning likes this.
  5. kuntrygal

    kuntrygal Texas Rose

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2007
    Messages:
    3,436
    Likes Received:
    19
    Location:
    Texas ~ Zone 8
    Alan, I had a huge garden about 28 years ago, thanks to my dear FIL. The deer ate the corn and peas for sure, the vegies never got to my table! :-x . But I have heard the above two responses do work well. give it a try, it can't hurt! Good luck with your gardens. :stew1:
     



    Advertisement
  6. gardenmama

    gardenmama In Flower

    Joined:
    May 26, 2008
    Messages:
    575
    Likes Received:
    4
    Location:
    Vermont
    I had deer attack my hostas last summer. Maybe you could plant some of these away from your veggie patch and the deer will get drawn there. I also hung up a rope around the veggie garden with shiny plates on it and that kept all the big critters away.
     
  7. mtathome

    mtathome Seedling

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2008
    Messages:
    148
    Likes Received:
    6
    Location:
    PacNW of US
    I tried all the tricks to keep them out too, and the only thing that worked was putting up a very tall fence.
     
  8. Netty

    Netty Chaotic Gardener Plants Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2006
    Messages:
    18,339
    Likes Received:
    5,156
    Location:
    Southern Ontario zone 5b
    I've been battling the deer for years in our veggie garden at work. They loved all my different greens...leaf lettuce, Romaine lettuce, Napa cabbage, Pak Choy, radish tops, carrot tops, beet greens, you name it. The only 2 things they wouldn't touch were leeks and Arugula.
     
  9. OrganicAlan

    OrganicAlan New Seed

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2009
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Boring, Maryland
    Thank you to all-Alan

    Hey John,

    Thanks.

    I'd almost forgotten about the hair gambit.

    The cheesecloth is a good idea.

    I quit using the hair because it too washed away.

    You're saying that tying chunks of hair in a cheesecloth bag and tying it around the plants will keep the deer away.

    Did I get that right?

    Alan

    P.S. - GroundHogs too?
     
  10. pattysoo

    pattysoo New Seed

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2009
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    western WV
    deer

    I live in the WV forest. The only safe effective remedy against deer is a tall fence. We used steel fence posts and plastic deer net (60" tall). Then I added extension posts to each fence post to give an appearance of insurmountable tallness. This also prevents all the other mammals from destroying my garden. Without it, it's a waste of time and $$ to try to grow anything. I have found that even the plants that deer dislike are often sampled by them and ruined - they bite them off at the stem and THEN decide it's not for them.
     
  11. daisybeans

    daisybeans Hardy Maple

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2009
    Messages:
    3,695
    Likes Received:
    78
    Location:
    annapolis md
    Cayuga Morning likes this.
  12. waldeneffect

    waldeneffect New Seed

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2009
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    southwest Virginia
    Deer deterrents

    Deer are absolutely awful where we live. At this time last year, we barely had anything left in the garden. We tried every deterrent and repellent we could think of, to no avail. We were starting on a fence (very expensive for two acres!) when my husband stumbled across a deer deterrent which actually works. It uses a drill to bang a golf ball against a piece of tin. The combination of motion and sound has been 100% effective when placed in deer paths. We had to build six to protect our entire perimeter, but we scavenged the parts and barely spent anything on it. I still feel like I'm living in a dream when I go outside and my sweet potatoes have all of their leaves....


    moderator's note: removed website link, see point 1.1 of usage rules
     
    Cayuga Morning likes this.
  13. glendann

    glendann Official Garden Angel

    Joined:
    May 19, 2006
    Messages:
    9,512
    Likes Received:
    134
    Location:
    Texas
    Do you have a fence around your garden if so go to walmart and purchase enough of the black plastic and make sure the plastic is from the top of the fence to the bottom.Deer want jump over somethig they can't see on the other side.They also wont walk on wide plastic because of the noise it makes.
     
    Cayuga Morning likes this.
  14. DirtisCool!

    DirtisCool! New Seed

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2015
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    6
    yeah, I have issues with the deer, too. they say hair works, but I don't know. I started interplanting with plants that I know deer don't like.
     
    Cayuga Morning likes this.
  15. Big Red

    Big Red New Seed

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2018
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    8
    Location:
    Springfield, Tennessee
    I read a tip after loosing over half our sweet corn crop last year to raccoon and tried it this year. It seems to have worked as our first crop was “unchewed”.
    Take rags, tear them into long strips 6” to 12”. Dip them in apple cider vinegar. LIGHTLY wring them out so they’re not dripping but well saturated. Lay them around the perimeter of the area you’re trying to protect. Every 5 to 7 days you’ll want to “refresh” the rags.
    Even though the vinegar dries, the scent is still there.
    It’s worth trying around the garden edges!
     
    Cayuga Morning and Frank like this.
  16. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2011
    Messages:
    7,074
    Likes Received:
    6,813
    Location:
    New England
    I have read that using two fences works. They don't even have to be tall. Just 30" (1 meter) or so. And it can be just chicken wire for one and two courses of rope for the other. Deer don't want to get trapped between 2 fences, so they won't jump over them..... This is a lot cheaper than a 6 foot tall fence.

    Our community garden uses this approach. One of the fences is electrified....or WAS electrified many years ago. The other is just rope. The deer stay away even though the electric fence has not worked in at least 3 years. This spring, a large tree fell into the garden, knocking down both fences. Deer began coming in until we got rid of the tree & reconstituted the fences.

    Keep in mind, deer are creatures of habit. If you can find something that works early in the season, keep using it.
     

Share This Page