The deer found my garden. I'm CRUSHED.

I just went out to water my garden and was merrily moving along until I got to my raised beds and...it's decimated. The deer got to both of my tomato plants, the sorrel, all the little baby scabiosa plants, the raspberries, and even pulled up a bunch of radishes and left them!!! (I'm pretty sure it was deer because of the nature of the bites on the tomato plants, and because I've seen them in the yard in broad daylight this year for the first time ever.)

I'm so, so sad. This was the first year I'd really planned and organized my garden, and I was hoping to be able to share a lot of my cut flowers, in particular, with friends. Is it worth starting over on the tomatoes (with starts) and scabiosa, or is it too late?

And does anyone have any deterrent tips I could try moving forward?

in pnwgardeningby Ok-Perspective4237

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Baked_potato123

21

6d

Deer fence is really the only thing that works, IMO. You can get some fencing and poles from a hardware store, probably $15-$20/bed and a day's work. Kind of an eye sore, but it works.

That deer spray isn't 100% effective and it is expensive and stinky. The reflective light things are a joke. I do have a neighbor that has the motion sensing sprinkler which might work, but then you have a primed hose 100% of the time, doesn't seem great long-term.

"Deer Resistant" plant strains don't take into account the young deer that are vandals and don't know any better. The deer in my neighborhood chomp everything and spit out what they don't like. The NET result for the plant owner is the same.

Wise-Quarter-6443

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6d

If I didn't have 5 foot fencing around my raised beds, the deer, rabbits and woodchucks would eat everything.

The fencing is lined with butterfly weed and lavender. When you drive by, all you notice are the flowers.

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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That's a lovely idea.

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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Yeah, that's why I hadn't gotten around to putting up fencing, actually! I was afraid my neighbors would think it was too ugly...but now that I know how brazen the deer are, I don't care anymore lol. I thought about the sprinklers too but for various reasons that's a pretty impractical setup for my yard. Seems like after doing some research, it'll be a better use of my time just to skip to fencing instead of messing around with the other stuff.

5

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My mom uses Dried Blood Granules and Deer Off Repellent Stations to keep the deer from eating everything, and it's the only thing that works.

3

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Metal poles with wire fencing are almost invisible.

10

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Deerterrents aside, definitely not too late for toms, just go find some bigger starters and hope for a longer season.

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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Thank you! That's encouraging! I'm going to keep them on my upstairs deck until I can get the deerterrents (nice one ;) ) up.

4

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Look carefully at the maturity dates on the tomatoes. Some are 60-75 which should be ok but a few are 90 and that might be a little too optimistic

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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Good call, I'll pay attention to that for sure!

Walking_tightrope

6

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I tried everything to keep deer away from my garden too. The only thing that reliably worked for me was motion sensitive sprinkler I ordered from Amazon. You just have to be careful not to be sprayed on yourself!

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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I'm not sure I have a great setup for a sprinkler, but I wonder if some other motion-sensitive device might scare them off?

6

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Heartbreaking.😢 They run rampant in my yard until I purchased a motion activated sprinkler. Its been fairly effective. I have a fence too but I'm looking into pole extenders to increase the height.

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Yup , sounds like my last year. Lil deers ate stuff as fast as I could plant it. The only thing that stopped them was fencing. I’ve 6’ fencing all around my inner yard ,the house , garage, and garden , and they finally stopped getting in. Now this year , we’ve got grasshoppers. sigh

3

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Sorry to hear that!! Yikes. I can imagine the sadness. I’d be mortified.

I’d start over but first put some fence posts in and some fencing. Metal fencing is better but once the posts are up, you can tie thick twine that should deter them.

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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Thank you! It was such a horrible surprise, lol. I was shocked they went for the scabiosa plants because I thought those were supposed to be deer-resistant! They must just be trying everything at the buffet until they find what they like here. I will most definitely be setting up some fencing ASAP!

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I am sorry for your loss. Heck, Lowe's et al have tomato plants with tomatoes on them so why not put some in after deer proofing.

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

4

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Thanks! I had better luck finding new tomato plants at Lowe's than I did at the bougie nursery...they look fine, so we'll try again after my garden is fortified

BadgerValuable8207

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Wait until a gang of thug raccoons strips your cherries off the tree when they are just this close to ripe and shits cherry pits on your driveway.

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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omg so rude! raccoons are suuuuch jerks.

Loki_Nightshadow

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Deer fencing is your only option. I met an old fellow in rural Enumclaw that had Irish spring bars around his plants and he swore by it keeping deer away. Good luck but honestly i like the deer wondering around, even if they scorched earthed a few of my gardens in Tacoma, UP area.

2

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Welcome to my world. The only thing I can grow is herbs: sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc. Everything else is a waste of time and money

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

1

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Ugh sorry you're in the same boat. They're definitely not touching my herbs either, and they're avoiding the marigolds and zinnias. It might just be an herb growing kinda year.

1

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I hope your luck is better for the rest of this growing year!

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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Thank you!

2

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GeeDee Deer turned my pretty new pear trees into palm trees. All of the baby apples on the lower branches are gone. My neighbor suggested hanging small sachets of lavender near the fruits. Anyone know if that works? No way can I fence a tree.

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I feel your pain. Deer destroyed my garden last year and couldn’t get my raspberries and blackberries to grow above ankle height. Still everything came back this year and I got the rows looking really nice in April then made a twine fence while I worked on a better permanent solution. One of the younger ones made it in and destroyed the vining berries plus the strawberries I planted this year. I kept trying additional deterrents and they still kept at it. I’m taking a year off while I figure out a permanent solution and hope that my berries come back next year.

In my experience, fencing is the only thing that works. I’ve tried just about every deterrent and they might work temporarily but the deer are persistent. Fence what you can save this year and plan better for next year. Deer are the worst garden pests.

Sorry for your loss! I’m feeling defeated this year. This gives me more time to focus on other yard projects I’ve been neglecting so there is that.

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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That's a good attitude to have! I have plenty of projects too so if I can't work this out this year, oh well. Such a bummer about your berries! I hope your plans next year take care of 'em.

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If the fence is see through and low enough, they can jump it. If they can't see the other side, they won't jump. I had a beautiful garden they ate, and now have a privacy fence and no garden. I live in Texas: it's TOO hot for a garden!

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I'm so sorry you had to go through this. If it makes you feel any better, I grow sorrel too and I pretty often chop it down to the ground. It grows back pretty quick. I'm not too sure about scabiosas, but there are other flowers you can try that will quickly grow from seed like cosmos.

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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Thank you! It was a valuable lesson. Luckily I have plenty more things that haven't flowered yet that I can keep an eye on, but it sure was a rude awakening. I do have some cosmos already and the deer left those alone, so there's still some hope!

mentallyillustrated

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Awe that sucks so bad. I know that feeling and it really hurts and it’s a painful lesson in protecting your crops. Reflect on how awesome it is that you live somewhere that other wildlife can thrive, which helped me a lot when I lost my first garden. The only deterrent I know of are physical barriers. Double fences work really well.

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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I definitely cried a little, lol. I'm a new gardener and was SO proud of their progress and excited for a nice little summer of growing things—you know how it is when each new leaf or inch of growth feels like a win! You're right though, that's a good attitude to have. We live in a semi-suburban area with a lot of wildlife, and it's all fun to watch until your paths cross a little too closely. I'm going to set up fencing for sure, cause I definitely don't think these deer will be scared off by anything else. I can even see their hoofprints in the raised beds, shameless rascals!

mentallyillustrated

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You’re doing so great and the first year is often the hardest… Keep recovering from the hard times and you’ll get better every year :) I live next to an island with deer that have particularly rampant, and sell a lot of “deer resistant” plants. If they’re hungry enough, or bold enough, they can be the most devastating pest…. Many of the gardeners over there have settled on 2x 5+ft fences, spaced 5 ft apart. I’ve also learned they must be visible, not black plastic but light wood works best. Can be worked in to an outer perimeter path nicely, good luck!

Btw… it’s quite early in the season still. Don’t rip too many out from anguish, many can recover from their roots.

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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Thanks for your kind words! I do already have some row cover material that will hopefully be annoying enough to deter them for a couple nights til I can get my actual fence up, and some of the flowers look like they might be able to bounce back. Now I'm afraid of what the deer might try to eat next, but we'll see how this all goes!

GoatInTheGarden

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We have a half-acre garden in Tracyton. After years of having deer help themselves, we found what works for us. They hate the black plastic sheeting we put down to control weeds. We found this out by accident, my husband saw one jump the fence, land on the plastic and jump back out just as quickly. We also have THE ENFORCER, should any develop an immunity to the plastic. Don't hurt 'em, squirt 'em!

Good luck!

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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Ooh that's interesting...do you think they'd react the same to tarp material? I've had one down next to the beds as I'm trying to do some solarization for weeds and had recently pulled it back...I didn't notice deer damage until I'd done that, so maybe that was kind of keeping them at bay. Of course, they can just eat from the other side of the beds, haha, so my tarp won't be a permanent solution!

Confident_Sir9312

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The type of deterrence, and how far you have to go with it is dependent on the location. If its an urban area you'll need proper heavy duty fencing (i.e. one they cant jump over or break). The reason for this is because the deer are specifically targeting your garden rather than acting opportunistically. They've adapted to urban areas and recognize those plants as a food source along their foraging route.

If its a rural area though then this would actually be easier to solve. Deer tend to travel on specific paths, if that path cuts through a property they might feel compelled to eat some of your garden, but it wouldn't be the primary reason why they're there. In that scenario a chickenwire fence and perhaps some food sources planted away from your garden (tree saplings, beans/peas, other plants they like eating) would be enough of a deterrence. This used to be an issue for me, but once I gave them an easier food source they've pretty much left my garden alone. Path of least resistance.

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I have had good success hanging Irish Spring bath soap (cut in 1/3rds) and hung around the beds, or fruit trees—even though tracks show they’ve been here, nothing has been eaten—-

Overtons_Window

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6d

Get a hunting license and consume your plants indirectly

ExcitementOpening124

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You got to share your flower with your new furry friends. It’s an everlasting battle

Ok-Perspective4237

OP

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I've seen what I believe to be the main culprit and it looks like a fairly young buck. I'm choosing to think of it like a teenage boy just trying everything at an all-you-can-eat buffet and pretty soon I'm going to have to cut him off, haha.

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Have you tried a shotgun approach?