Author: Henry Homeyer

Fences, repellent and other deer deterrents

Winter is near, and for most of us so are the deer. They need extra food now, to get ready for winter, and some of what they eat — green leaves and grasses — is not readily available. So they are eating evergreen plants like yew, arborvitae and rhododendrons in our yards. There are steps you can take to help save your shrubs.

What can you do? You’ve probably heard the solution, but might not like it: an eight-foot deer fence around the perimeter of your property. Even then you might get an occasional Olympic deer that can sail over it. But generally deer are kept out by such a fence.

You don’t have to have a steel fence — lightweight plastic fencing will work, too. And you can use poles to support the fencing, straight young tree trunks you cut yourself from the back forty. And you don’t have to fence your entire property. You could put up temporary fencing just for the winter around a tree or shrub that is particularly attractive to deer that has been browsed in the past.

Recently I helped set up barriers around a pair of large yew shrubs. The shrubs are about six feet tall and wide, and in the past they have been stripped bare by deer. I got four eight-foot hardwood stakes and drove them into the ground around each shrub. I needed a stepladder and a three-pound sledge to do it.

The widest burlap we could buy was 44 inches wide, so my wife Cindy sewed two strips together to make an extra-wide band. We draped the cloth over the stakes, and stapled the cloth to the stakes all the way to the ground. We did not cover the top of the shrub, just the sides, so snow will fall through and not weigh down the cloth. It worked well last year — the poor deer went hungry.

What else? There are numerous repellents that work to a greater or lesser degree. I’ve had great luck using little garlic clips that I get from Gardener’s Supply Co. Each has a clothespin type clip to attach it to a shrub, and has a little cylinder filled with garlic oil. When you poke the device with a tool they provide, it releases the odors for up to six months. I use two per shrub, or more for bigger things or more attractive deer food.

Coyote urine is sold as a deer repellent, too. It is sold with one-ounce plastic bottles that have holes in the sides, a hanger on top and a cotton ball in the bottom. Dribble a little of their magic potion on the cotton, and hang it in a tree. Of course, you can also just bring your dog around the property and let him mark trees and shrubs. Some people hang bars of Irish Spring soap to discourage deer.

There are numerous sprays, too. Bobbex, Deer Away, Liquid Fence and Plantskydd are some of the most commonly sold varieties. Most use rotten eggs, garlic, or fish oils. You might not want to spray your plants the day of a garden party, but most odors disappear to us after a few days. If deer pressure is high, you might want to alternate which one you use.

Deer are creatures of habit. If they know you have good browse, they will come. If they think you have a pet coyote, they will stay away. No dog? Get dog hair from your local pet groomer. Some people hang sachets containing human hair or bars of Irish Spring soap out in their yard to repel the deer.

There are ways to scare deer away, too, but most take some effort to set up. You could install a motion detector attached to a radio with an all-talk radio format. When the deer arrive, Rush Limbaugh comes on and scares them away, I suppose. I’ve seen motion detectors that attach to a hose and send out spray when deer are detected. That only works in summer, obviously.

In areas of high deer population, gardeners sometimes choose their plants based on their appeal to deer. People, Places and Plants magazine (now, sadly, out of business) asked its readers to rate plants eaten by deer. They published the results in Issue No. 45 (2004). Here is some of what they said: Seldom eaten shrubs include boxwood, dogwoods, forsythia and spirea. Occasionally eaten shrubs include blueberry, hydrangeas, lilacs, summersweet clethra and viburnums.

Trees rarely pruned by deer include birch and ginkgo. Their survey listed occasionally eaten trees as Japanese maple, pear, pine, magnolia, spruce, willow and crabapple. I raised an eyebrow when I saw crabapple, as I frequently see apple trees that have been browsed by deer. Crabapples, I assume, would be the same, but please let me know if I’m wrong.

In areas with lots of deer, it makes sense to plant perennials that deer love near the house, and those eschewed by deer farther away. So hostas and tulips, loved by deer, should be right near the house. The survey found flowers usually eaten include lilies, daylilies, hollyhocks, black-eyed Susans, and asters. Scented things like lavender, artemisia and oregano are generally of little interest, and those seldom nibbled include balloon flower, bleeding heart, astilbe, foxgloves, columbine, peonies, Russian sage, yarrow and monkshood.

For a more complete list of deer preferences, you may want to consult a book on the issue. One I like is Outwitting Deer by Bill Adler Jr. But remember, if you have a plant that is dear to you, put a fence around it — there is almost nothing a hungry deer won’t eat.

Featured Photo: Burlap can be used to keep deer away from tasty shrubs. Courtesy photo.

Try Brussels sprouts, broccoli and other fall veggies

Granted, I have a vegetable garden mainly so I can have fresh, succulent tomatoes from July until some time in October. But I also have grown, I think, all vegetables that will grow in our climate. Right now, in late October, my saved tomatoes are all eaten, but I am enjoying plenty of other fresh veggies, and I am storing others for eating later.

For late fall, nothing beats Brussels sprouts. The trick to having good Brussels sprouts is to cut off the top of the plant in early September. I say do it on Labor Day, but even a bit later is fine. If you fail to do that, the plants will use all their energy to grow taller and taller. If you cut off the top three inches and it stops growing taller, it sends its energy to bulking up those cute little green “cabbages” that pop out of the stalk. Some years I’ve continued picking until late December, despite snow and cold.

Now I realize that for many people, a serving of Brussels sprouts is as appetizing as dead skunk left on the side of the road for a couple of days before serving. Those are people who probably were served overcooked sprouts in public schools. Mushy, grayish-green sprouts are not appetizing.

If you cook your sprouts “al dente,” you may change your opinion. Steam them until just tender enough to spear with a fork, or cut them in half and sauté in butter or olive oil and walnuts, and you may change your mind. I happen to like steaming them, then sprinkling Marukan brand seasoned gourmet rice wine vinegar over mine — tasty, and without the calories of the butter preferred by many.

Kale gets tastier as the season goes on. A few hard frosts sweetens it up, and if the deer don’t get it after snowfall, I often have it until Christmas. I like it in a breakfast smoothie: In a blender I put two leaves of kale with midribs removed, a banana, a cup of orange juice and a cup of water, some fresh ginger (to taste), the juice of half a lime, and some frozen blueberries or raspberries from the garden and stored in the freezer.

Kale can also be used for salad. Our friend Eliza Bergeson makes a great kale salad: She removes the midrib and chops the kale. She then massages it for about five minutes with a dressing of olive oil and lemon. She adds honey mustard, salt and pepper. The massaging makes the kale tender and works in the dressing. She adds feta cheese crumbs, dried cranberries, walnuts and fresh red peppers for color.

My broccoli continues to produce side shoots, despite the frosts. If you keep on cutting them off, they keep on flowering. Some years I grow non-heading broccoli relatives. One is called piricicaba, the other Happy Rich. Neither produces a big head, but both produce lots of little florets and persist well into the fall. I get seeds from Johnny’s or Fedco and start them in April, as these are not readily available as starts in most garden centers.

I just harvested a five-gallon pail of celery root, or as it is often called, celeriac. This is a celery relative that is grown for its roots, not stems. The leaves look and smell the same, but celeriac does not produce edible stalks. I clean and chop celeriac roots and chop them to use in soups and stews. It has a nice celery flavor.

I start celeriac in March by seed indoors. It is a slow grower at first, but once in the ground it takes off if in moist soil and full sunshine. Spacing is important, too. Crowd celeriac and you’ll get little. This summer I spaced them six inches apart in three rows eight inches apart in one wide bed, and they did well. I watered in dry times.

I also just harvested a five-gallon pail of leeks. Leeks are great, in my book, because you can use them in lieu of onions when cooking, and unlike onions, you can freeze them.

Leek and potato soup is one of my fall favorites. I just made some, and here is what I did. I started by dicing and frying two or three strips of thick-cut bacon in a large cast iron, enameled pot. Of course, vegetarians can substitute butter instead. Then I added some olive oil and four cups of potatoes, cut into half-inch cubes. I browned the potatoes a little, then added four cups of leeks. Since I am rich in celeriac, I chopped up a whole one and added it to the mix.

Then I added eight cups of water and simmered slowly. I added 1½ teaspoons of a dried herb called herbes de Provence. That is a mix of various Mediterranean spices (savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, oregano and lavender). And I added a couple of tablespoons of vegetarian vegetable broth powder (Seitenbacher brand) to give some added flavor. Then I added a handful of fresh chopped parsley.

I cooked the soup until the potatoes were done. I used a red-skinned potato I grew this year, one called Fenway Red. It is a productive potato and holds together well in a soup. Just don’t overcook it. I like a milky leek and potato soup, but don’t like to cook the milk, so I just added a quarter cup to each bowl at serving time. Yum!

As with any soup, I vary my leek and potato recipe whenever I make it. Sometimes I add dried cherry tomatoes or peas. Kale would be good — it goes well with potatoes at my St. Patrick’s Day meal, colcannon. That’s the great thing about fresh vegetables. You can’t go wrong.

So when you plan your garden for next year, be sure to grow some veggies that survive frost and are tasty on a cold fall night.

Featured Photo: Leeks are easy to grow and a good substitute for onions when cooked. Courtesy photo.