I decided to take my annual vegetable plantings from my pots to raised beds this year. I live in a new home and it has something my childhood homestead does not;....deer. Yes, I have spent a good many years never dealing with four legged creatures. But when I moved here five years ago, the dropings I spotted throughout my lawn that first fall were good indicators that I would soon be experiencing what my friends have complained about for years.
I try to plant those things that are more deer resistant but I can not resist having a few things that I love, like tulips. Each year, my husband and I put up the deer netting in the fall to protect plants we know will become choice morsels for the deer. I learned the hard way the first year, when they took out one of my newly planted witch hazels, only to leave the main stem. But this year, while I thought I had covered all my tracks, I did not count on them eating my newly planted viburnums as they leafed out and I forgot to net the pink tulips in my back. One day there were dozens of buds and the next they looked liked like sticks.
So this year I am putting in three raised beds of veggies. And I hope I out smart the deer. I put them close to the house and I even bought little pop up netted tents to cover them. Now if the deer eat through the tents, I will have to come up with more drastic measures, like building a fortress. For now this should work for what I need. I will still help put in a big vegetable garden at my dad's house.
What has worked for me, is netting in prize flower beds or special plants throughout the winter and spring. Once the weather has warmed up, I put out Smart Grow mats that are made of human hair. I cut the mats in strips and than into short 3 inch sections and attach them to plants or stacks around the plants. I occassionally spray with a deer repelent too. But what has been successful over the past four years, has been putting up Scarecrows. No not the kind the farmers put in the field, but the kind that attach to a garden hose and shoot a spray of water and make a racheting sound. I started with one and will be installing my fifth one this spring.
They have worked wonderfully in keeping deer away from my planting beds. Actually it keeps them out of the yard all together. The Scarecrows have motion detectors that pick up movement and cause them to fire. On a side note, they have even kept teenagers from cutting through the yard and dog walkings from stopping to deposit their goodies.
