I just want some tomatos :(

[cordelia0704]

ok so where I live there are tons and tons of deer. They run around my yard every night.
My mother, who lives 2 houses away from me, tries to plant tomatos every year, and even though she has less woodlands bordering her property, they come along and eat her plants. I've had the same problem, but most of my land is surrounded by woods...and deer. and probably 20 other animals I'm not thinking of, but deer seem to be the big problem here.

I just want to grow some tomatos. My kids eat more than I can bring home from the store and a lot of the time the quality isn't so great. I looked into local farms and co-ops and the co-ops sound great, but paying 800 bucks up front isn't in my budget and we probably wouldn't eat half of the veggies you get. So I just wanted to grow some tomatos, only I don't know what to do about the deer.
Any suggestions?

[cheapdate29]

Plant rose bushes around the perimeter of the garden. The deer love roses and they'll be too busy chomping on the roses to snack on the tomatoes.

[JulieDB]

Can you do one of those Topsy Turvy things that hangs upside down? Hanging pots of cherry tomatoes? Can you grow them in the house? I bought an indoor plant a few years ago and did cherry tomatoes in my kitchen garden window. Alas the plant died and I haven't seen any since.

Another thought would be to grow them in an Earthbox or something similar and surround it with something like chicken wire so the deer can't get in. Of course you would have to devise a way that you could get in.

[$savingmomof4]

We have deer in our back yard also.... We've had to put up a fence aroung the entire garden.

[Jasmin71]

Put some fencing around it..... also there is some deer/ other Animal reppellent you can put around it look at your local Green Houses.... places that sell farm stuff they should have it there.

[savingsabby]

there is this stuff at lowes called deer off. we use it and works fairly well.

[3timesoccermom]

This would be a PITA but you could plant them in containers, let them be in the sun during the day and bring them into the garage or other during the night. But it sounds to me like it's going to be a continuing problem so I would put up some kind of sturdy, tall, permanent fence for that area. One investment and years of return.

Also google your problem and you may come up with some workable solutions. This is a very common problem and there are some very ingenius people out there.

[wemoon]

Some things you can try:

Grating Ivory or Irish Spring soap all around your garden
The smell of humans... it is slightly weird, but you all can start peeing around the garden
1 beaten egg and a quart of water sprayed onto the plants every 4-5 days
Human and dog hair sprinkled around your garden
Plant marigolds, onions, chives, they don't like the smell of them
I mixed up something once... basically dish soap and something spicy, like hotsauce

[tammyinwv]

Read my post here:
Buh Bye Pests
This stuff is cheap and has worked fantastic for me. No smell, no hastle. I tried sopas, hair, sprays and more. The only thing of those that worked was the home made sprays, but you had to be ready to spray every few days. I put mine out 2 years ago, and they havent touched my hostas, tulips, garden plants or anything. I just dont put in on my food plants, only around the perimeter of my yard.Even tho it is safe to do so.
Tammy

[Mama Stu]

I would suggest the human hair all around the garden area. You can ask your local beauty salon if they would save it for you. The animals smell it and and think it is people.

Also, my Dad use to take an old radio and put a washtub over it and play it, the noise kept the racoons out of his corn.