My New Deer Deterrent, Manure Tea
To some, this photo is sweet. To others (namely, ME) this photo makes me want buy a BB gun.
In our neck of the woods, deer roam the streets and that's no lie! I live at the end of a cul de sac where my front yard is totally exposed. On a regular basis, I can look out the window and see a gang of deer swagger up the street scouting our gardens in the middle of the day...it's incredibly maddening! I'm reduced to a crazy person running down the driveway waving my arms and throwing rocks.
As a result of this futile situation, I've settled for planting catmint and grasses in my front perennial bed because our spoiled deer are after more exotic fare.
Delphiniums, gallardia, cranesbill, pansies, peach bellflower, shrub roses to name a few. They're still alive, but very short...
Every summer, hope springs...then hope gets chewed down to the nubs. It's just so sad.
However! This summer I seem to have stumbled onto something wonderful!
Since fertilizing with manure tea using a hose sprayer, I actually have delphinium blooms and cranesbill flowers and baby Aspen shoots coming up. There's something about the plants showered with tea that the deer are avoiding. I'm still holding my breath but wanted to share what's going on here in Wyoming.
This is what seems to be the secret weapon, some sweet manure tea concentrate (click here for the how-to) sprayed with an old hose sprayer/mixerator.
The true beauty of this? I'm fertilizing the plant and conditioning the soil while I'm repelling the darn deer!
Let me emphasize that this experiment is just that, an experiment. One that's working well for me but, none the less, every garden, every deer gang and every area is different. I'm not claiming that manure tea is the end all deer deterrent. But I am suggesting that it's an idea worth trying!
Spray your plants and potted plants twice a week with diluted tea. Please note that your sprayer will dilute the tea automatically with water...watch your container though, when the color of the liquid starts to go clear, it's time to refill your container with more tea.
Conduct your own deer deterrent experiment while you're fertilizing your plants and conditioning your soil...organically.
Is this a WIN WIN or what??
Please share your success and/or failure, because we're all in this together!
Rebecca
posted by Rebecca @ 10:13 AM
9 Comments
9 Comments:
There are going to be so many people love you for this. The deer are so beautiful, but not when they are chewings on your lovelys. And...your manure tea does so many other needful things when you use it, how can you lose? Very helpful post, Rebecca.
Thank you! My pleasure to share this, and I agree...the additional benefits are so great, you just can't lose.
Love this idea! I am going to try this... But I have a question... I am trying to do my own compost heap... I have been saving my coffee grounds, egg shells, etc. Do I have to use manure? I have no way to get some manure, so if I could do this using regular compost it would make it a lot easier!
That's a good question. If I were you, I'd try it! I wish I had an answer for you but I've only used manure tea. Have you made compost tea before?
I could have written this post, right down to running down the driveway waving my arms and throwing rocks, except for the manure tea...that is a new one on me. I will try it and let you know how it works here in the rural inland northwest. Scare Crow Sprinklers worked for 2 years, but last year, the deer enjoyed them like children running through sprinklers. Every year I sit in my garden and bawl like a big, silly baby. There seems to be no solution to getting rid of the herd of 20 or so that live on my property. Thank you for this post.
Annie
AWESOME! I have the same problem in Chesterfield, VA. I too live on a cul-de-sac only our deer are sneaky night ninjas along with rabbits and in the dat it is the squirrels! I am armed with a pellet gun with a scope for the brave daytimers...BUT THOSE night stalkers. Lol..pun..are a menace! Thanks for the post. Informative and hilarious. I saw a spot for another funny pun. BOOTY.....instead of BOUNTY.
There is a difference between compost and manure tea it would be interesting to see if it works. I have clients that have been hanging my tea bags in their fruit trees as well as using it as a foliage spray. Manure tea is great for ridding aphids, black spot and rust there are truly natural benefits to feeding natures nutrients to your garden and indoor plants
Annie, it worked like a charm last summer! Love the stuff, for many reasons :))
Milorganite spread over the garden where you do not want the deer nibbling also works. Get one of those hand grass spreaders and every couple weeks and after a big rains, get out the spreader and walk around the garden spreading Milorganite. It also works in the winter to keep them from eating the azalea buds. Another thing it works for is keeping the squirrels from pulling all your flowers out of the pots in the fall as they bury their nuts in that nice soft soil. Sprinkle a few tablespoons over the soil in your pots and no more digging or pulling plants out.
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