Deer Deer Deer

Deer…dear deer, at least I used to think so. This year the deer were not nice to us. They pillaged our gardens on a daily basis. They became a nuisance early on, ignoring our shouts and chomping away on those lovely zucchini blossoms. This was the first year that we tried eating zucchini blossoms. I baked them into a frittata and they were delicious! I had planned on trying some stuffed with cheese, battered and fried. The deer decided that they should have them instead.

I do like watching deer. Fifteen years ago when we moved into this house, we set out food so we could watch them. I guess that so many years of living in Saint Paul and not seeing much wildlife got the best of our common sense. The deer became quite tame, coming in for apples and carrots, showing off their babies. What fun it is to watch fawns play and cavort out in your yard! We’d watch them racing around and around the house…what a hoot!

When we started vegetable gardening I always planted more than we needed. I’d say to the deer, “You can have some, but don’t take it all.” There were days that I’d be four feet from a buck, he’d be contentedly nibbling around the edge of my garden, but he’d never venture into the middle, even when I was watching from the house. This went on for well over ten years. The deer would stay out of the middle of my garden and eat around the edges. Everyone was happy. I do use “Liquid Fence” quite liberally as insurance. I got into the habit of putting bamboo stakes down either side of my rows of beans, and suspending netting over the top. The deer weren’t able to control the temptation of green beans, so I learned to protect them. I also use predator tape, which is a mylar ribbon that you attach to poles and place around the garden. It works well in the spring but the deer seem to get used to it.

This year we had several does that would trounce right into the middle of the garden like it was planted for them. They ripped down deer netting, crashed through fencing and basically just ate anything they could reach. We lost a lot of squash, they ate whole squash! Not just little bites. Then they ate the leaves off of everything except the potatoes and cucumbers. They ate zucchinis and squash blossoms, pumpkins, beans, beet greens, carrot greens, lettuce, broccoli, beans, strawberries, strawberry plants, and peas. They took bites out of a lot of tomatoes, ruining them in the process.

I think I’m paying for all my years of gloating. People would ask me, “Do you have a deer fence?” I’d reply, “No, I plant enough for the deer too. They never take too much, we coexist.” Now I’m asking myself, “Bigger garden or beefier fences?” I have resorted to a slingshot and small pebbles. But that doesn’t help when I’m not at home. I’ve also said to the deer, “Keep eating! I’ll get my veggies from you in the fall!” Only problem is that we are in the city limits, and I can’t shoot ‘em. So, we are researching an electric fence. I’m tired of sharing, and they aren’t giving enough back.