Just an FYI to all who grow radishes. Beware. Deer love the tops. They've pulled most of my nice fat radishes up just trying to nip off the greens. I didn't expect this since radish tops are hairy but I was wrong. Also discovered that deer like the Jerusalem artichoke leaves that are just emerging from the ground. Again, very prickly, hairy leaves, yet the deer like them. There are plenty of other goodies to eat around here - non-veggie garden treats, but apparently what I am growing is delicious. Additional fencing is going up even as I write. Deb
Have you tried hanging bars of soap around your garden? I was at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller national park a couple of weeks ago and they had soap hanging on poles around all of their gardens. The ranger said that it deters dear. I don't know if it actually works but you could give it a try.
I'll try the soap. I have heard that before. We've got the fence up, rather slap-dash but it is working; just not pretty. That is surprising about your okra plants as they are prickly, too. Next year I will be better prepared. At least I am getting a nice crop of squash, tomatoes are growing well, and I have replanted my radishes and chard.
I don't know if it works (in town, no deer) but folks have told me that deer do not like rosemary and to plant it at the borders of your garden. If you have ample rosemary or know folks who do, you might try attaching branches of it to the fence or even laying it among your garden plants the deer are preferring. If it works, great; if not, you've not spent beaucoup bucks on rosemary plants and time planting them.
LOL!!! And silly me planted THREE of them! The fourth I had put in a large pot and gave away in its third year; what I gave was a small tree which had replaced the small bush I started with.
The first year I had one, I harvested from it so it stayed very small which is why I bought three more the following spring and planted one of them just six feet from the first one. Oh, well. The third one I planted near the asparagus, not good either. That second one (near the first one) I planted next to a favorite rose because someone told me it would keep pests off roses - Ladybugs would have been enough. As you can imagine, my poor rose has its entire lower part covered by rosemary branches. I'm hoping to get out there this fall and correct the situation by thoroughly soaking the roots and trying to separate rose and rosemary. If successful, I'll start a rosemary hedge along the front sidewalk.
The best way we learn seems to be trial and error, and I have a lot of trial and error learning!
If I were close enough, I sure donate a wheelbarrow full of rosemary branches to Deb so she could see if it is, indeed, a deer repellant. A bit of cayenne pepper on the deer target food might be beneficial. Some folks have had success with electric wire, say the deer don't see it and make contact, twice and no more. Again, we have no deer here so I cannot personally vouch for any of those suggestions.
For those how don't know and have an abundance of rosemary, the branches (stripped of leaves/needles) make great shish kabob sticks. Might want to soak them in water just before putting the food on them depending on how long the branches/stems have been cut.
Thanks for all of these ideas, especially the shish kabob sticks. I am curious now about the rosemary tree. It must take years for a plant to get that woody. right? Yes, I do have a rosemary plant which is small as I purchased it in a 3" pot just this spring. I will start more for next year and place them strategically. We have a terrible deer problem here - I think this is deer capital of the NorthWest. People move here just to hunt them. Poor things. I say that until I see my ravaged garden. Then I use other adjectives. Come to think of it, the chard was right next to the rosemary and they scalped it anyway. Hmm. Maybe I should sit up nights in my rocking chair just waiting with a slingshot. The problem is, while we might scare one deer with electric fences or repel them with rosemary and cayenne, there are dozens more to take their place. I speak quite literally. LOL. Perhaps I should give up gardening and just eat venison.
Billy mentioned motion sprinklers; they do work quite well. That brings to mind another device that works for the purpose designed. There is a cat control device, battery operated like the sprinklers, that has a laser light connection like a garage door sensor, and emits a high-pitched sound that keeps the cats from crossing it. The frequency may or may not work for deer, but it, or something like it, might be worth a try. Mine came from Wilco (or Cenex, whichever it is, I forget which way the name change went).
My poor cat - One day I picked him up and walked over to the gate to go out it and he about went nuts trying to get away. I had forgotten the sensor (not audible to me); he knew as we approached the gate that the sensor was about to sound and he didn't want to be there. So it works for cats for certain; it's been over a year the battery has needed replacement and he still doesn't go over that gate.
The "secret" of the the rosemary is to not harvest the first year so it can become well established (no one told me that part, hence the additional purchases). By the third year, there should be more than enough branches to harvest for shish kabob sticks leaving lots for the next year. Your bush will likely be a tree year after next. I say tree, not so much for height (mine are 3-4 feet) but more for the thickness of the main branches and the trunk; it won't be cut down at the base with standard pruning shears, loppers would be needed. This is all said with the thought you do not have the low-growing or miniature rosemary; I've not seen what they do. Also, when they bloom, they are quite lovely, and are great for kitchen bouquets; I wish rosemary and chives blossomed at the same time with a few sage blossoms added. The rosemary blossoms are quite lovely in a tall, slender vase; I often add some fennel for the fern look though it is prone to wilt.
Where in the Northwest are you? I'm 120 miles south of Tacoma. When it cools off a bit, I will be trimming each of the three rosemary plants by about a third (I think everyone says to only prune 1/3 of a plant), and if you are close enough, you can certainly have all the trimmings, either for starts or for shish kabob sticks (or both).
Actually, Billy, where I am it was 104 F yesterday. The record was 103 F in 1926. I grew up in eastern Washington and it has been hotter here this week than it is there. Today was supposed to be considerably cooler, but they missed, I've not heard the official high yet but it is at least 96 F. As you can imagine, I am staying inside after 10 a.m. as much as possible. I turned on the air conditioner three different times yesterday for a couple hours each. I step into the garage, it's warmer, then on to the covered patio, warmer still, then outside and it's an oven. This is so not typical for southwest Washington. I've not looked at my lettuce today but I suspect it will be bolting now. It's been so nice to have salad every day for the last several weeks, but I suspect that's about over. :-( I still have tomato plants to put in the ground, but what doesn't happen before 10 a.m. doesn't get done. I've been giving them away to everyone who wants any, but still have some. The last may go next Monday.
Yes, it is rather unusual. We get into the high 90s but that is not the rule. In this area, high 80s, low 90s is considered hot. Temps 100 and above are the exception. My first years west of the Cascades, I thought that was a bit odd, but have learned it's normal; however, our 95 is far worse than east of the Cascades 105 because of the humidity. Thankfully, it's not like Georgia and Louisiana (not that humid). Our weather is generally mild but totally unpredictable. In any two week summer period that temps can range 65 to 95, that's high day temp, not night and day (sometimes even a 4-day period). Our 104 yesterday was the highest in Washington state (I think Oregon as well but not sure); that might very well be a first. If it wasn't a first, it sure was the exception! Portland's high yesterday was 102; even the northern coast of Oregon was hot. One coastal town set a record high of over 20 degrees higher of any past year; usually the coast is much cooler than we are at 100 miles inland. Astoria was 92, usually mid 70s like the day before when it was
70 and 66 today. The southern Oregon coast was its usual 60s and 70s. Yesterday, even Mt. Hood was only 20 degrees cooler than Portland, not worth the drive, me thinks.
I clearly remember a week in May, 1973, when we had cold weather (60s); my middle son caught a cold on Monday, almost died with bronchial pneumonia when the temp shot to high 90s on Tuesday and Wednesday; when he was out of the hospital three days later, the temps were down again into the high
60s.
Today, Pasco got the 104 which is more like it (eastern Washington).
Weather patterns are so peculiar with one part of the country plagued with dry, heat and wildfires and another being washed away by unusual rains.
If one were to review a history of our high/low temps in this area, the thing that would stand out is that there really is no pattern. In 1966, my husband's aunt and uncle visited the area for two weeks from Virginia. We had not a drop of rain from the end of May until the end of September . . . except the two weeks in July they were here when it poured the entire time. The uncle worked on a dam back east and wanted to visit Bonneville Dam but did not because of the downpour we had. I don't even remember any time in the 40+ years I've lived in western Washington that it was that extreme. Usually, our Octobers are fairly wet, but October of 1988 was dry to the end - my ex counted on the early October rain to not have to paint the house, he delayed until the first week of October. (Do you hear me laughing for the next four weeks as he had to finish as there was little rain?!! There are reasons he is ex.) So really, the only thing you can say about western Washington weather is that it is unpredictable times ten. It makes the growing season a bit unpredictable as well.
As an aside, this is the first year we've gotten to actually pick our cherries, both types. The starlings didn't strip the trees as they usually do. I see few apples on the trees and only half the pears as usual. There seems to be not too many honey bees though an ample supply of bumble bees. I wasn't paying attention to the mason bees earlier so can't say about them. It may be a bit early for the garden spiders (orb, I think they're called), but there doesn't seem to be as many of them. (All this applies to only my own yard.) With the planted crops, it's difficult to tell as I'm not consistent about when, where and what I plant. I did harvest my first tomatoes yesterday, but they were sun golds so don't really count. Often by July 10th (my grandfather's birthday), I have multiple ripe tomatoes but then I get them planted earlier than I did this year.
This last couple of days, the two birdhouse gourd plants and luffa plants have actually started growing, one each in the ground and one each still in the pot. The heat has been good to them. Maybe, this will be the year I finally get something on a gourd or luffa plant! One can hope. The Jerusalem artichoke is doing very well, a good five feet tall - it was mis-tagged three years ago as a comfrey plant. (Maybe the deer would like this one?)
As I type, the clouds have moved in, the humidity has risen very much and it looks really dark though it's only 8:30 p.m. We have thunder and lightening storms predicted for tonight and tomorrow night. Unpredictable is the norm, but it's still a great place to live.
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