Oh, Deer!
As spring nears, my mind starts thinking about getting ready to fend off the deer. They made their presence known by eating some of my prize shrubs. I have two columnar Euonymus 'Green Spire' that flank the stairs to the back door of our house next door. Well, the faces of the shrubs are totally eaten away. They've never eaten them before. They did in an aucuba and a new rhododendron. But I am not discouraged- yet. By the end of the month I'll be on the attack!
I had a few very bad years where the deer ate nearly everything! I was so frustrated! Then, I discovered a consistent regimen that I start early in the spring has made a tremendous difference. We have herds of up to five or six deer that visit our five acres. In the winter, I haven't sprayed, but I probably should. My deer deterrent routine is pretty simple. First, I put Milorganite around all the hostas, lilium, phlox, echinaceas and daylilies. Milorganite is a brand of fertilizer produced by treating sewage sludge. It is composed of the microbes that ate the waste, not the waste itself. Sounds absolutely disgusting, I know, but after processing, all the pathogens are killed and it is dried and pelletized. The deer don't like the smell of Milorganite. It doesn't bother me and it dissipates quickly. Next, I start spraying with Liquid Fence. I spray all the foliage of the plants that deer favor. When the daylilies and other plants start budding up, I concentrate on their buds. I spray often, maybe every two weeks, especially after heavy rainfall. What has made my spray program easier is a battery operated sprayer. I have over 650 cultivars of daylilies and more than a hundred varieties of lilium and hostas along with many companion plants and shrubs that deer favor. The cordless sprayer has been a lifesaver! I was so disgusted that my husband took pity on me and fenced in a 40' x 40' area with 8' high deer fencing. So, that area needs no attention. I hadn't seen that predominately daylily garden bloom for years. My biggest problem right now is timing the spraying. You need to apply when the spray can dry for a few hours. I try to hold back on watering immediately after I've sprayed. Liquid Fence is supposed to be somewhat rain resistant. If you miss spraying a plant, the deer will find it! |
I remember when it was just the garden and me...
~Chris Petersen
~Chris Petersen