Plant Gardens 101

Although it might be the quickest choice to just spray a deer repellent on your plants and shrubs then walk away and forget about it for a while, this is not the only choice obviously. It’s one of the quickest and in many cases the most effective. I wanted to let you know what others are trying. I constantly search the internet for what people are doing to deal with this problem. Here is what I found. Let’s start with the most effective:

Building a fence:

Obviously nothing beats a sturdy fence around your garden or home to keep the deer from getting to your flowers and plants. It provides the best results but it has some very significant draw backs. It is costly; although there are many different ones out there, it will cost you money and time to put them up. It’s labor intensive, you have to build it, but once you build it you are basically done. (more…)

This is a timeless struggle between the Gardener and Nature’s creatures.

Rabbits, Deer, Chipmunks, Squirrels, Gophers, Moles, Voles and Ground Hogs are probably our biggest challenge in the vegetable and flower garden world. Following are a few easy tips on how to get rid of these pests:

There are all natural repellents such as ShakeAway, Liquid Fence, Deer Away and Critter Ridder. These all-natural repellents all work well and all work in different ways.

Shake Away is a granular Predator Urine product. This is a fantastic product. It creates the scent of predators such as fox, coyote and bobcat. They will not wash away in the rain and do not evaporate. They are not messy or highly stinky, like their liquid counterparts. They even have one for cats. (more…)

Are you frustrated with deer defoliating your prized plants overnight? Are you ready to learn about some products that others have used that really do work ?

This summer we have tested some products that our local garden center and some catalogs offered to see which deer resistant products worked and which ones didn’t. The following are the deer deterrents that we tried and the results.

The first product we used was Liquid Fence. This is a natural deer and rabbit repellent. It is true what the cover states… “It really works.” Clark Kaskie , the inventor of Liquid Fence, developed this product out of frustration of having his plants eaten by all types of critters. After trying many different kinds of homemade remedies and expensive over the counter products, he decided to make his own repellent. Being a chemical engineer for over 60 years gave him a good idea of where to start. He knew he wanted it to be both environmentally safe and safe for the animals. After a few years of experimenting, he came up with this solution. His friends and wife tried it and told him that it worked “just like a liquid fence,” so that’s what he named it. All you do is spray the liquid liberally onto plants and their perimeter during a dry period. Repeat the process 1 week later and then approximately once per month thereafter. If areas where feeding pressure from deer and rabbits is intense, he suggests spraying it once a week for 3 weeks and then about once per month after that. You are really “training” the deer and rabbits to stay away. We found that this product smells pretty bad when you first apply it, but it really does work. We had some coneflowers that the rabbits where nipping at the stems. After applying this as directed, the nibbling stopped. We also had success with using it on our hibiscus trees and other annuals, perennials, as well as our gourds. (more…)

We call the Christmas rose, also known as the Lenten rose, one of the best deer-resistant plants for your garden. They are the best-known and best-loved of all the hellebores. These hellebores are the perfect plant for those areas in your garden where deer like to munch the night away. The deer steer clear of these plants because they are actually poisonous if eaten. They have a serrated leaf that would be very unpleasant to eat.We have thousands of them and I have never seen one eaten or munched on by a deer or a family pet. They are listed as being poisonous to animals.

Not actually in the rose family at all, but in the Ranunculus order, this perennial is a gift from nature that shows its glory in the dead of winter. They are a native of Southern Europe and grow well throughout the south

We like to call it the “plant it and forget it” plant because it is an evergreen plant that is virtually pest free, drought tolerant, and deer resistant. You absolutely need this plant in your garden as it can solve many of your problems and it reseeds readily which enables you to have knew plants to transplant once they get an inch or two tall and the ground is not frozen. Plant these gems in an area where you can see them easily in the winter because they will bloom for you from December through March (or Lent) and will cheer up the most dreary of days. They are also excellent for early color in shady herbaceous borders and areas between deciduous shrubs and under trees. None of the hellebores mind competition from tree roots. It grows into a wonderful clump about three feet wide and one foot tall and it makes a great ground cover. We love its pure white flowers (which turn to pink later in the season) and the fact that it is an evergreen. Each plant will have lots of flowers in a variety of colors from pure whites, primrose yellows, pure green, and dark midnight purples depending on which type you have. (more…)

If you are investing time and resources in growing a garden then you know full well how animal pests can destroy your efforts. Pests such as possums, rabbits, squirrels, moles, birds, and deer will often wander into a garden and eat vegetables and flowers. There are many methods available to keep these pests out of your garden such as fencing, traps, repellents, and new mechanical repellents that frighten the animal away. This article will discuss each method and examine what may work best for your animal pest problem.

Fences can be an effective method of keeping pests out of your garden and tend to work best when the animal doesnt know what the fence is protecting but while this type of large solid fence may provide a visual block, it will not block odors and can block desired views or violate local codes. A better solution for small pests would be to use a fence of woven wire or 2 inch poultry netting, 2 to 3 feet high and place around the area that you want protected. The bottom of the fence should be buried in the ground at least 6 inches to prevent animals from digging under the fence. Electric fences are especially effective for woodchucks and rabbits but if choosing this option, please make sure that you use a battery powered source that startles but does not injure the animal. While fences can be effective for some types of pests it is not the ultimate solution as larger animals such as deer can jump it and birds can fly over it. Another option would be to use a trap. (more…)

If you have a garden or expensive landscape then you know full well how animal pests can destroy your hard work and efforts. In the old days people used scarecrows, noise makers, traps, and other deterrents to keep animals off their land, and some of these devices where less then humane. With the advance of technology there has been new deterrent devices designed such as the scarecrow sprinkler system. Before deciding on any new deterrent device it would be wise to investigate what it is and how it works, its effectiveness, and above all that it is humane to animals. It is the objective of this article to discuss the pros and cons of the scarecrow sprinkler system.

The scarecrow sprinkler system was developed by a company named Contech Electronics L/G. The system is designed to protect landscape, gardens, fish ponds, and other areas of land from animals such as deer, cats, dogs, raccoons, rabbits, gophers, possums, and even crows and other birds. The scarecrow sprinkler system works similarly to the motion activated security lights around many peoples homes by detecting heat and motion. When it sees an intruder, it instantly sprays the target with a 3 second burst of water under full garden hose pressure which is around 2 cups. The fact that this is an automated system, the detector will not know what is shooting at so keep pets and friends clear. (more…)