Take a good look at these pictures and tell me what you see.
That's right, no gardening season would be complete without a visit from Bambi and his friends. Those little patches of white you see on the squash and cucumber are taste tests that occurred in my garden last Tuesday night (not a great pic of the cucumber bite - it's on the end of the one at the left of the shot). It's almost adding insult to injury when the deer decide to just take one bite f
rom each vegetable!
rom each vegetable!I have already picked the majority of bounty from our garden, but there are still three squash, 1/2 dozen cucumbers and one honey dew melon that are maturing. So, since the visit, I have used a big tarp to cover the areas at night - this is effective for the frost warnings that are occuring, too.
So far, Bambi has not been successful at finding his way under the tarp - unfortunately he is knocking all the tomatoes off their vine in his attempts! I'm not too terribly concerned about the tomatoes as they were very poor production this year - so I will sacrifice those as long as I can bring in the squash, cucumber and melon!
As a side story, I must tell you that last year most of neighbourhood thought I was crazy - one night, at about 1 AM, I was chasing a buck down the street. I was wearing my nightie and throwing my green Croc shoes at him. Never have I been so mad at an animal, he would run about 10 feet away from me and stop to wait for me to go back in the house so he could return to my garden! Even though I won the battle that particular night, he just returned the next...sigh.
If anyone has suggestions on dissuading these monsters from my garden, I would love to hear them.
(BTW, I'm not on a country lot - our house is two minutes walking distance from downtown, and the deer still come and eat from the back yard buffet).
For more Show and Tell, go here.
13 comments:
YUM I love winter squash! And keeping the deer away is just part of the joy!
Wow! Deer so close to town. We live in the city limits and had a bear come down the street a few years ago. However, I thought dear were more worried about contact with people. I think your tarp idea is smart.
Blessings,
Dawn~4sweetums
I'm from a hunting family. They would probably tell you (or your hubby if you're like me) to wait with either your shot gun or your bow. The bow helps at night. It's much quieter!! : } he he he
On a serious note, I wish I could help. Would an internet search help? It might produce something like... putting amonia around the edge of the area to keep them away.
Anyway, just a thought!!!
Oh, and the nightie story... ROFL!!!!!
Thanks for sharing!!
Robyn
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/sonoranstamper/
Oh my! We're from Michigan, so I know how aggravating deer can be. They're great at a distance, in the woods, away from civilisation, but are horrific on the yards, etc. A deer and her fawn managed to get in my parent's yard (1 acre) in the city one year, but the fawn couldn't manage to get out, so it stayed in my parent's yard until it grew enough to get out. They too had a garden, up 'til that point.
Sorry, no pointers. Just commiseration.
Have a lovely weekend, and enjoy the last bounty out of your garden!
Blessings,
Shani
Maybe you could put a real croc (odile) in your garden??? I wish I could have seen you chasing the buck. :-)
My MIL has done two things to help with the dear issue. Make the garden lay out like a maze to make it hard for the deer to go in and out of garden easily. Two ....have a dog that can really bark and scare them away. [0= I am thankful to live next to MIL for these reasons.
I know what you mean by chasing stupid deer away. We had one before we move next to MIL.
Blessings and ((HUGS))
In Him<><
-Mary
YUM!
Oh, Kim! The thought of you in your nightgown throwing shoes at a buck! Wow. It makes me laugh now, but I know that, at the time, you were NOT laughing. We've never had dear, but every year I contend with rabbits, and this year the Japanese beetles decimated my green beans. AND THEN, the huge black and yellow orb, garden spiders moved in to eat the beetles, and let's just say, I'm too squeamish to go into my own garden any more, since I must have at least 20 half dollar sized spiders lurking in there.
Do you have a bb-gun or wrist sling shot? Either might work...good luck. My hubby chased down the neighbors HUGE pig with an old buggy whip! LOL
I hope you get some good ideas, because I have no clue. I'd probably head to my library and see if there is a book on the topic. Otherwise, great garden shots.
Jenn
What a funny picture. Crocs and a buck. We have them making a mess of young little evergreens. I think they're going to end up looking like Dr. Seuss trees if they survive. All weirdly shaped.
bethanyrae
Hi Kim...
I visited your blog from Janet's blog. I tagged her, she tagged you - and the journey begins...lol!
I have heard of two ways to deter deer from the garden. I don't know if either work, but they are worth a try.
#1 - Put the hair from your hairbrushes around the perimeter of your garden. If you cut your husband's hair (or anyone else's) save the clippings and sprinkle them around.
#2 - This will have to be done very late at night, or early in the morning. You could have your husband (and/or sons) 'mark' the garden - 'nuff said. Just around the perimeter.
Blessings -
Camille
Camille...your #2 made me do a spit take with my hot chocolate! LOL!
Thanks to everyone for their advice.
Post a Comment