About 70% of my plants got nibbled on in the last 2 days.

[GreatGazoo]

I have seven 40-foot rows of beans and edamame going and they are mostly nibbled to about 6 inches. Like a giant deer lawn mower passed over the patch.

I have been planting successively one 40-foot row about every 7 days. I am trying to learn more about timing beans, seed to harvest, etc. Comparing germination methods, soil amendments, spacing, varietals. Not sure how to handicap the deer damage but I guess it is time to learn more about deer!

A frustrating year so far.

[lpbk2713]

1. I can relate.

Possums got into my tomatoes a couple of weeks ago. And now it's too late to hope for more. This time of the year tomato plants usually start to burn up here in Central Florida. They didn't seem to want the SuperSweet 100's so that's probably what I will plant the most of next year. I really like the flavor of that variety.

[elleng]

2. My roses (leaves mostly)

are being devastated by INSECTS! I don't have 'plants' as in vegetables, but my neighbor does. He has elect fences up, but I think critters have gotten in anyway. We all contribute to the cycle of nature!

[GreatGazoo]

8. I don't mind contributing. I plant extra and expect to share some but wow

they went right down the row and nipped every single one on some rows.

And I really didn't expect them to go after the flowers as well. My host lost about 50% of her earlier zinnias.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. Sounds like what happened when I tried planting glass gem corn.

But I'm in town, in a place with lots of fencing, so I don't think it was deer, but something much smaller. I tried twice, frist time they got to about 5 inches tall and got mowed down, second time I caged them up, only took off the cages when they were big enough, I thought, to be safe - 3 or 4 feet high with small ears starting up. Should have left them caged. Absolutely devastated.

[GreatGazoo]

10. It may take a full on cage to stop them

Edamame is a deer magnet. Last year they left everything else but went straight for the edamame.

Had to Google glass gem corn -- that's like corn designed by Louis Tiffany. Too cool.

[jtuck004]

4. Do they like garlic? Couple of bulbs can make a good concentrate - would be interesting

to see if they avoid areas where it is sprayed. Keep some bugs off too...

[GreatGazoo]

9. I have seen some on the internet who advocate male human urine or other human scents

like sweaty clothing, as a deterrent.

A neighbor farmer used a double fence -- just the tape at about 4 feet high like on horse pastures but two, one about 3 feet inside the other. It is a way to play on the deers' lack of depth perception. They don't like to jump into something narrow, supposedly. I'll have to ask them how that worked.

There is an 8 foot fence on this farm but parts are weighed down by grape vines -- not my farm so I can't cut those back.

[enough]

5. Where are you? Where I live in PA, the deer are so bad that we do vegetable gardens

inside tall heavy fences. After living and gardening in the same place for fifty years, I have come to see the deer as simply part of the current eco-system and never expect them not to destroy whatever they can find.

[GreatGazoo]

11. I'm on two farms in Eastern NYS

Both have 8' fences (and dogs). On the bigger one they spent $32K on an 8' fence but the young farmer they hired can't be bothered to close the vehicle gate every night and there are tracks there. On the smaller one they have let grape vines grow on parts of the fence so 8' gets knocked down to about 6' or less.

I knew the fences were ineffective but wasn't ready to see deer this early. Last year they didn't come until mid July. I may try to plant a couple double rows (bush beans) really dense and cage or tent the rows. Indeed it is a deer's world and we're living in it.

Next up -- Japanese beetles...

[Mr.Bill]

6. Tall fence.

That's all you have to know about deer.

[postulater]

7. Woodchucks will do that too.

I had it happen to a dozen rows of soybeans in my garden a while back.

[PADemD]

12. Some of these ideas might help.

How to Keep Deer Out of Your Yard
http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Deer-Out-of-Your-Yard

How to Keep Deer Out of a Garden
http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Deer-Out-of-a-Garden

[NJCher]

13. "Deer-Out," Dearie

I've used it: highly effective.

Non-toxic.



Buy the concentrated. It will last you forever. I've had mine for about nine years now.

http://www.deerout.com

My neighbor and I planted about 40 or 50 hostas under her huge magnolia tree, which is a lovely sight on my way out of the property. Since I had the Deer-Out, I used to spray for her.

Now the new neighbor in that house does her own spraying with Deer-Out, and I just noticed as I drove out today that she missed one hosta plant. If my regular computer was working (this one has no card slot), I'd post a picture, because it's funny to see that one plant chewed up and the rest growing away nicely It's one of those shots that doesn't need a caption.


Cher

[B2G]

14. Liquid Fence works great too. nt