Readers suggest how to keep deer away
A regular reader sent me this note with the subject line, “Container Gardening (or how I learned to like deer and groundhogs again).”
“I had to laugh at the latest column headline this morning about deterring deer. I happen to have a husband who buys 50 pounds of cracked corn at a time for the deer. Indeed, for his recent birthday, I bought him a salt lick. He’s not a hunter. He just likes to see them.
“Anyway, I use to have a garden with a fence and grow tomatoes and such. However, for the past perhaps, 10 years or so, I gave up gardening in the ground and turned to container gardening. There are multiple reasons why I have done this: Easier as I’ve gotten older, no more frustration over animal raids in the night, local farm stands within a mile or so. The most important reason why I gave up gardening is that spring is major birding time and I’m pretty avid about birding. I’d rather be on the trails with binoculars and camera on May mornings than weeding.
“So, in April I buy romaine lettuce transplants from a local store and plant them in window boxes. That plus herbs are about the only vegetable item I plant. In May, I buy flowers for the hummingbirds. I plant them in big pots. All of this I set up on shelves outside my kitchen window. The deer don’t bother the lettuce. (They’re eating their cracked corn anyway.) And the flowers attract hummingbirds which I can then photograph through the kitchen window.
“Specifically for the hummingbirds, I buy salvias, the varieties Rockin’ Purple, Rockin’ Fushia, and
Black and Blue. I also buy Cuphea plants, Vermillionaire. These work! I’ve also planted Pineapple Sage, but mine has always bloomed in October after the hummers have gone south, and I’ve never had any luck getting a late stray Rufus Hummingbird.
“I buy commercial potting soil and mix it with well-rotted leaves from our leaf piles. I mix in some perlite and a bit of fertilizer. The plants are in a location which gets strong sun in the afternoon, so I keep them well watered. Since everything is in pots, I can rearrange them to my liking.
“The hummingbirds are here now. The last week in April is when they seem to arrive. The males arrive
first. Note that the only hummingbird that nests here in this area is the Rubythroated Hummingbird.
“Always enjoy your column even though I’m just a container gardener now. Thank you for writing it.”
— Carole Mebus, Williams Township
A second email offered an alternative solution:
“Back home upstate PA. we used double electric fence to keep the bears from getting into the beehives and deer from the garden and for the groundhog and rabbits used chicken wire around the vegetable patch about 20” high with and into the ground an inch or two with electric fence around just above the chicken wire to
keep groundhogs out. Enjoy your fresh vegetable.”
— Alphae
I had read about using low-voltage electric fencing but have never used or even seen it in use. I did not find a good description of the project that I felt comfortable citing. However, I am sure that there are reliable resources familiar with electric fencing that can assist any interested gardeners.
I had intended to move on to dealing with groundhogs as requested in Randy’s letter received last week. But since we had two interesting reader responses about dealing with deer, the groundhogs can wait until next week.
Dusty Miller discovery
Another reader shares her observations on disappearing Dusty Miller after she read an older column:
“Hi. I just read an answer you gave to a question back in 2010. It was a question about a Dusty Miller was suddenly gone, down to a stalk.
“I think I just discovered the ‘problem.’ Let me explain . ... I have a wicker basket sitting on a bench in my yard. It’s planted with alyssum, pansies, and dusty miller. I’ve had it outside for at least five weeks and it’s gorgeous.
“Wednesday morning, I walked outside and my dusty miller leaves were gone, only about two leaves left. Just stalks, while the pansies and alyssum were untouched. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never had a squirrel, chipmunk, etc. ever go near my dusty millers.
“I then instantly went online to find information on why D.M. leaves suddenly are disappearing overnight. Well, this morning, I go outside and what do I see? A Robin standing on my bench with a dusty miller leaf in its beak ripping it off the plant in the wicker basket. Then it flew off with it.
“With that said, I have lamb’s ear in a flower bed beside the bench and that stinker came back and ripped off lamb’s ear leaves and flew off with that too! That’s my thief ! A robin. He or she is obviously using the soft leaves to line their nest. The same way I buy the softness linens for my bed.
“Just thought I’d pass my ‘discovery’ along. Have a great weekend!”
— Sissy Gemmill
Dusty Miller (Jacobaea maritima, previously and still sold as Senecio cineraria) is a perennial in warmer climates but the most commonly sold as an annual in Zone 6. The silver-leaved plant is popularly used for foliage interest in containers and annual beds. The column Sissy mentioned ran 12 years ago and illustrates that gardeners often face the same problems, even years apart.
In our garden
I managed to get a few hummingbird plants this week. My personal favorites, Black and Blue salvia and two colors of lantana have already been visited by our guest while still in the nursery containers.