I wandered out to the garden last night to discover, much to my annoyance, that deer had eaten off 16 of my 27 tomato plants. GRRRR!!! It looks like they stuck their heads into the cages like a big salad bowl. DOUBLE GRRRR!!!
I've still got a few little seedlings that I didn't set out- my 'backup' plants but I'm thinking that I'm not going to end up with the variety I planted since I had more seedlings of some varieties than others. But at least we'll have something. I just hope I don't have to resort to buying tomato plants this year. I'm going to have to figure out a deer repellant system.
I just hope when I head out this morning that they haven't eaten any more.
But amazingly, they didn't bother the peppers or eggplants. I've had trouble with deer before but only with lettuce. In all my years of gardening I haven't had trouble with deer eating my tomatoes. sigh....
Every year, i have lost loads of tomatoes to deer. last year i planted 19 tomato plants and only got about 5 tomatoes...in all...yes, 5! not only do they eat them, sometimes they leave half eaten ones on the vine. the food waste angers me as much as losing what i've worked so hard for.
ReplyDeleteOne year, they ate all but one pumpkin. (hubbard squash, acorn, 5 pumpkins and 3 sunflowers gone in one night.) i tried planting corn for 5 years in a row but last year my son told me not to bother since i was 'just teasing him into thinking he would have fresh grown corn'. he's right.
This is my 5th year gardening on this spot and this is a first. They've eaten the lettuce before. Lovely heads of romaine ready to be picked all gone in one night.
DeleteWhy this year is different, I don't know. The dog can go to the edge of the garden but not in. Maybe I'll have to walk him along the fenceline.
My mom swears by hanging out mesh bags with a bar of Zest soap around the garden as a deer repellent.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of using Irish Spring. Or maybe I'll just send the boys out to pee along the fence. Teenage boys should like that... right?
DeleteUp here we simply could not garden without adequate deer fencing.
ReplyDeleteI've heard gauze bags of blood meal hung on tomato cages work to keep deer away. Or a high fence. Also human hair (from a barber shop or beauty salon) scattered at the base of the cages. Or a high fence.
I would be in tears to have lost all those tomato plants. So sorry your deer have developed a new taste.
It's always something, isn't it? Deer have been trimming my hybrid willow bushes - the ones that I am counting on to block the road dust. I ended up hanging Irish Spring soap in old knee-high stockings and that seems to have worked. If it was me and MY tomato plants? I would put Irish Spring soap on the cages, have someone pee around the bed AND put up a high fence!
ReplyDeleteMy parents had four deer in the yard this morning. Usually they take the tops off young trees and flowers. Mom put out those little whirly gig things in the tulips this year and they left them alone.
ReplyDeleteThe deer ALWAYS end up eating my tomato plants that aren't netted....and I thought nightshade foliage were poisonous.
ReplyDeleteOh no! I'm sorry to hear about your tomatoes!
ReplyDeleteWe have spent a lot of time and $ here to keep the deer out. This year we got our lower garden - 30 x 40 - fenced with six foot high dog kennel panels that we had been picking up on Craigslist. Our aspen grove is shrouded in plastic deer net fencing and our main garden area is fenced with cattle panels that have been extended in height with flexible plastic fencing. We have used Liquid Fence deer spray - it worked but it also smells pretty bad and attracted our dog! We plant deer resistant plants everywhere we haven't fenced. And every year new deer come by to taste whatever they can. Sure do wish you luck - hopefully it was just a roving herd passing through on their migration elsewhere!
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