Have an occasional problem with deer and perpetual problem with birds liking the blueberry bushes and other berries. The birds were beating me to the berries. This year the deer ate the leaves and blossoms on newly potted strawberries. The jays really liked the few first year raspberries earlier this summer. Then my dog decided she liked chewing on the blueberry bushes. Is she part deer? Last year I got large tomato cages to encase most of the blueberry bushes. I was going to use bird netting, tried it and did not like it. Too stiff and hard to get on and off. Had mosquito netting from camping and decided to give it a try. Cut each netting into four pieces for four cages. Worked like a charm. Easy to remove, held in place by bankers clips to the cages. For the strawberries I will later use PVC pipe to make a hoop in a bed (I am currently growing out some bulbs, perennials and garlic and plant strawberries there). For now they are potted between blueberries to double duty some of the netting. Plus I also think the netting provides a little extra protection from the sun during these hot days. This is the second summer I’ve used the netting and it appears to be holding up well. I’ve also used a whole mosquito net for the cabbage and cauliflower. No problems with white moth larvae so far. The netting is easy to see the fruit and you can easily water through it. Who would have thought?
Clever way to protect fruits and plants. The deer had the same idea to visit my garden as an all you can eat salad bar twice a day. Not any more…. Determined to sneak in an eat the roses and hydrangeas… not anymore.
This year it's a 60/40 split with daylilies. The deer get the 40%...so far. The campanula(last count 9), sheltered by daylilies and hosta remain an elusive snack from the Oryctolagus cuniculus crowd. The gopher never admits to eating anything. Jerry
Jerry so sorry. Those wild beasts think your garden is their salad bar. Plantskyyd works well to keep deer away and pro-mint spray keeps ground squirrels and rabbits away. Tried and true here at my place. Of course the only solution is not to grow food for them. Mostly deer proof plants are high in alkaloids that are toxic to them. Of course that doesn’t leave many choices for the summer gardens. Don’t get me started on wild critters I have lived next to a forest for 30 years and have had a lot of practice with watching the animals take their share more than a few times. It’s a battle every year setting up post zones and battle stations with weapons of mass destruction , usually intended for gophers and moles/voles and ground squirrel’s. And the battle continues some years I win, others they win and this year I may break even
The deer are animals of convenience. Daylilies placed for show from the street are so easy for the deer to munch. Groupings have the front eaten leaving the furthest flowers alone. They did leave my grandmothers daylilies alone She bought them in 1905 and they are still going strong. I will check out Plantskyyd. Thank you. Jerry
@Jerry Sullivan your welcome. Yes plz check out Plantskyyd.. I get the grannuals and sprinkle around some of the deer’s fav snacks. They leave everything alone, one container lasts for the entire season. Since using Plantskyyd in my garden I see flowers that I haven’t seen in years. (At Amazon.) Stretching out and dividing your grandma’s daylilies since her 1905 purchase is an Extraordinary effort . Would luv to see a pic of them.
