I now have the opportunity to do gardening in an area with a lot of deer presence. We’ve seen the deer and as my son has said, “There is a lot of deer dung in the yard.” (I just love his choice of words because it’s obvious how much reading about dinosaurs we do.)
There are already a lot of trees and perennials planted, so I have not done as much research on that as I have done on what kind of edibles I can plant.
I wanted to share the information I obtained from my research with you and see just what the readers of Northern Cheapskate have to say. So please help! What can I plant in my garden that deer won’t eat?Through my research, here’s the list of garden edibles I found that deer don’t like to eat.
Have you had good luck with planting any of the following?
Herbs:
- Chives
- Dill
- Lavender
- Mint
- Oregano
- Rosemary
- Rue
- Sage
- Tarragon
- Thyme
Veggies:
- Hot peppers
- Onions
- Leeks
- Garlic
- Horeseradish
- Tomatoes (if you can keep deer from eating the blossoms)
- Tomatillos
- Eggplant
- Squashes and Cukes that have thorny stalks
- Potatoes
- Rhubarb (Did you know this was considered a vegetable?!?!)
I have also read a of tip to deter them from entering your garden is to plant either hot peppers around the edges.
What other kind of edibles to do recommend planted that deer have left alone? Are there any fruits that can be planted?
What other tips do you have for keeping deer from your edibles?
Some of the tips I have read include:
- Plant marigolds, zinnias, or hot peppers around the perimeter
- Have a fence around the garden that is at least 5 ft. high
- Net your garden
- Spread human hair clippings around the plants
- Hang some metallic tape from a pole
- Sprinkle grated soap around the edges of the garden
- Add a scarecrow
- Homemade deer repellant sprays (I have read so many recipes, does anyone have one they swear works?)
I think this year I will start out with a small raised herb garden, probably 4×4 raised bed. Although, I wouldn’t mind planting some squash or pumpkins, if anyone has any varieties they can recommend.
It is time to start planning your garden. (And for you more technology-minded, you can try these free online garden planners). For my garden at our home I will start planting seeds that need to be grown indoors, but for my new garden at our cabin I just need to figure out what I can plant that the deer won’t eat.
Stephanie says
April 10, 2015 at 11:44 amDeer will not touch cucumber or zucchini. They will however eat all your pumpkin and tomatoes!
Jessica says
April 10, 2015 at 2:03 pmThey don’t eat the blossoms on the zucchini?
Amy @ A New Old House says
April 10, 2015 at 11:52 amThanks for sharing the research you’ve done so far! We also have lots of deer that nibble our plants, so I’m encouraged to see a veggie garden isn’t totally out of the question!
I planted a deer resistant picking flower garden…
http://www.new1790house.blogspot.com/2013/05/picking-garden-update.html
I’d think that planting any of these around the outside of a veggie garden could also help keep the deer away.
Jessica says
April 10, 2015 at 2:05 pmThe previous owner of our cabin has many of those flowers planted and has it beautifully landscaped. The deer seem to leave them alone. I do need to divide some of the plants, so maybe I will plant them around the raised bed.
Sandra K says
April 11, 2015 at 1:54 pmI guess our deer didn’t read the part about not eating tomatoes. They sliced them open with their hooves and ate the insides. So the next year we tried growing some tomatoes on our deck in pots and found out about the lovely tomato hornworm. We gave up.
Jessica says
March 3, 2016 at 4:07 pmWell, we tried planting hot peppers and they would eat the leaves off. So that doesn’t seem to work. They were just hungarian wax peppers, so not very spicy. I wonder if they need to be a hotter pepper.