The garden is starting to explode. It's a great time to show how things have evolved.
As gardeners grow more and more food, the pressure from pests can increase too. So I'll show a basic
walk-through of my perimeter and garden. How can you keep deer away from your plants?
What can you do about rabbits? What about rodents and squirrels? How can you keep birds away from
your berries? And what about nuisance cats and dogs that use your property as a toilet?
I've dealt with all of these & I'll share my tips for keeping critters at bay.
First up: this public facing sidewalk. Most pet owners are considerate and respectable.
But it only takes one rogue, lazy dog owner who refuses to clean up after their dog.
On a sidewalk like this, just expect it to be a public latrine. Even still, there are things to
do so you don't step in a pile of poo. Step one was to edge my sidewalk with
a slightly raised bed topped off with some ornamental fencing. It's enough to keep dogs
on the path and off of the grass. Oh but they do love grass. Removing it altogether
can further discourage dogs from squatting on your property. And it cuts down on maintenance!
One of the most destructive animals can be deer. Some folks won't even try to garden
because the deer would just destroy everything. But there are many plants that deer avoid.
In these beds I'm using lenten roses, lily of the valley, painted ferns,
jack in the pulpit & periwinkle. Here I have sweet woodruff (which they never touch) and comfrey.
Deer love daylilies. So I yanked mine out. But they won't touch my crocosmias.
And daffodils are very deer resistant. Lovage, yarrow, feverfew and baptisia are all left alone.
Deer avoid alliums too. That includes garlic, chives, nodding onions and garlic chives.
Then you have aromatic herbs like oregano or also lavender and salvia.
The whole way down this strip I have hyssop. So much of my perimeter focuses on these.
A few things are vulnerable though. I've caught deer nipping on my gooseberries
and currants. This red twig dogwood was sampled too. But as soon as I saw the damage,
I took steps. Irish Spring soap is said to be a good deer deterrent. The strong smell can really
overwhelm their senses and keep them away from vulnerable plants. To be extra safe, you can also
apply these sprays that smell and taste revolting. These two steps have worked quite well for me.
Here, these rugosa roses were also in danger. The large one was getting constantly browsed.
But a temporary fence was all it took to keep things safe. Once these young plants are
established, I won't need this here anymore. Technically, deer can jump pretty high.
But this four foot chain link fence has been enough to keep them out. They need to see
the other side with a clear spot to land. By planting things in front or behind the fence,
even this short fence has been sufficient. At my mother-in-law's, we protected young
trees with metal fencing until the trees got established. For her garden we used
fencing which also doubles as trellising. If you can't afford to fence of your entire property,
something like this might work. Keeping out deer is one thing. But rabbits offer
their own challenges. I've been plagued by beds that were dug up in attempts to make a burrow.
And my strawberries were continually mowed down. My lettuce was never touched.
That's the advantage of raised or elevated beds. If you can get them a couple of feet
up from the ground, then stuff is safe. But I realized, with a little effort,
I could completely rabbit-proof my inner yard. I needed a minimum two foot tall barrier.
Three feet for jackrabbits. Since I already had chain-link fencing,
I just needed to attach galvanized wire mesh. When placed in front of fence slats, 12 inches is tall
enough to stop rabbits from chewing through. And yes, they will gnaw right through plastic. In open
areas of fencing, I went up 32 inches. But you also want to stop them from undermining the fence.
So include a 6 inch lip that is folded outward and pinned down to the ground.
Other than that, I just had to seal up every little opening and crack. This porch step was
a problem because of where the gate hung. So I actually extended the step outward, sealing
things up tightly. Perhaps this will also keep the neighborhood ground hog away. So far so good!
Young trees might be especially vulnerable to rabbits or other rodents that may gnaw at the
base of the trunk. Wrapping it in wire mesh offers protection. Some animals habitually dig at the
base of a plant. At times, I've actually buried a layer of galvanized mesh to stop them in their
tracks, preventing damage to feeder roots. Squirrels are cute but can be destructive as well.
Every Spring I dig out walnut saplings. One after another, the squirrels bury these all over the
place in the Fall. I'll lay down either metal mesh or even plastic netting to discourage them.
This approach has also stopped nuisance cats from using my Autumn garlic beds as a litter box.
Another big problem can be birds. They offer benefits to gardeners, snatching up
destructive caterpillars. But once they spot your beautiful strawberries or blueberries,
you might see all of your hard work quickly evaporate. You could start by considering special
varieties of fruit. Alpine strawberries never turn red, so the birds don't know they're ripe. There
are pink blueberries, golden raspberries, yellow grapes and yellow cherries. These hardy kiwis make
tasty green fruit that the birds never notice. For those vibrant blue, red and black fruits,
there are gimmicky deterrents which might scare away birds. But I've had the best success by
using physical barriers. Bird netting, lifted off the plants has worked perfectly. For two years
in a row I got 5 gallons of blueberries from this small patch. These garden stakes are a nice way to
suspend the netting without ripping it. Be sure to secure the netting tightly to the ground though.
Otherwise birds will try to crawl under. And be sure to monitor the netting. If you see a tear,
patch it up and you should be fine. Here's one extra little tidbit to protect larger
fruits like apples or pears. When the fruits are still small, maybe one half an inch, you can slip
on these coverings. They'll stretch as the fruit grows, keeping away animals and insect pests.
I'll have links in the description to these and the other key products referenced this video.
Growing your own food can be such a rewarding experience.
And as food prices increase, it can even save you quite a bit of money. Sometimes animals
come in and wreck all of your hard work. But by learning what to do to keep them under control,
we can still enjoy a bountiful harvest! What other tips have you used with success?
Share your experiences in the comments below. Thanks for watching and supporting my channel.
Don't forget to like and subscribe. And as always guys, I'd like to wish you Happy Gardening!