Raising a stink works
A full moon in September always alerts deer herds to eat my sunflowers. I was snoozing like Elmer Fudd when a local herd enjoyed a moonlit saunter through Drift Farm, leading straight to those precious sunflower buds. After I spied stems with severed heads, I shifted into deer suppression tactics.
Spy the sunflowers at upper right and the net on the ground, which is pulled over the hoops at night to keep out deer.
CUE THE HOOPLA…
Netted hoops are my toughest line of defense for annuals that critters like to eat. I bend metal electrical conduit and stick them in the ground over fiberglass fence posts. I can drape either frost protection or netting. When I see signs of an invasion, I drape netting to keep out deer, rabbits, birds and squirrels. The netting provides a 30% sun break, so it can be used to help new transplants acclimate. For the sunflowers and zinnias in the above image, I take netting down during the day to maximize sun exposure for earliest bloom time. Leaving the netting up during the day will slow down blooming times and increase stem lengths. I get shade cloth online from Johnny’s Seeds in a 100-foot bolt.
Cages in stages are another effective defense. The quail and rabbits aggressively devour tiny transplants of all types - even herbs and other rabbit resistant plants. The metal cages I buy online from Gardener’s Supply Company keep them out. I have to remove the cages when they plants reach 11 inches tall and survival rates go way up for critter resistant perennials. The cages, which have handles on top, are constantly being moved around Drift Farm to help seedlings get going.
Cages are a great defense against quail and rabbits who love tiny plants.
Stink is generally an effective strategy and requires the least effort and cost. Bobbex Deer & Animal Repellents live up to their claim of being effective, eco friendly and fairly long lasting. (Three weeks for me.) This product smells like garlic, mint, urine and more. I use it in succession with other stinks. Generally the deer will move through quickly and only munch native shrubs, which can use pruning. Until it’s September/October, and many annuals come under attack. Over time the critters grow accustomed to the same stink, so you have to keep switching.
Another aroma critters dislike is Milorganite, a slow-release nitrogen and phosphorus feeder. This reuse product is made from wastes and is intended for lawns. I sprinkle it around new transplants to keep critters at bay while also providing a boost to new plants. Milorganite buys transplants a few weeks to settle in and toughen up from wind and sunlight, so they aren’t so delicious to critters.
Chicken Manure is a one-two punch - it annoys critters while providing nitrogen and organic material. Plus it’s a worm magnet and under $5 a cubic foot. If you keep chickens it’s free to you. An inch of chicken litter on an empty planting bed in winter followed by a couple inches of mulch will protect your planting beds from erosion and rambling weed seeds over the winter. When spring comes, you can plant straight into improved soil.
Sorry, neighbors. Bobbex stinks. Wear disposable gloves when applying. I dip rags in diluted Bobbex and drape rags on branches at deer nose height.
STINK FOR THE WIN
Sometimes I mentor aspiring gardeners. Last fall I convinced a couple to layer their bleak soil with aged chicken manure and compost layers before digging in some some bulbs and perennials. They complained bitterly about driving home from the nursery with this horrible stink, but they reported a lack of critters while the plants were getting settled that fall and huge improvements in the size and vigor of plants in spring.
Raising a stinks works for me, and I know it will work for you too.