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News-January
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"Clippings"
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Hi,
Growing organically is all about
health: my own, my garden's and the
planet's. I know that I can walk
into my garden at any time, pick a
veggie, and sample it right there,
without worrying about what is in it
or on it. The same is true for my
flowers.
Organic growing methods feed the
soil, which feeds the plants. The
result is plants that shrug off
insects and diseases without the aid
of chemicals. Whenever possible, I
start with organic seeds. A seed
taken from a healthy organically
grown plant is more likely, itself,
to be healthy. Even when I buy
plants, I try to find organic ones.
A few companies that sell organic
seeds are Johnny's Selected Seeds,
Abundant Life Seeds, High Mowing
Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds,
Territorial Seed Company, and Seeds
of Change. Even browsing in Lowe's
Home Store, I see that they just put
out a whole section of organic
seeds.
For more information on the
"Importance of proper soil chemistry to
a healthy garden" click here!
Happy Gardening!
Barbara |
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Flower of the Month
Take this fun survey and find out
"What Flower Are You?"
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Oh!
Those Cute Deer
In the past year
there have been newspaper articles
regarding the presence of deer in
suburban areas. While a non-gardener
might enjoy the sight of Bambi wandering
through their yard, a gardener will not
be as appreciative. Deer damage is a big
complaint in both urban and rural
landscapes and it is a nation-wide
problem. According to Organic Gardening
magazine, the deer population has
exploded from 500,000 in the early 1900s
to 15 million animals currently, and
each deer can consume up to 10 pounds
daily.
There are a few options for keeping
deer from destroying your garden. They
include barriers, repellants, scare
tactics and growing plants that the deer
find unpalatable. It is most effective
to combine several methods and
periodically change the placement or
method. Deer eventually get used to and
ignore the deterrents that once were
effective.
The best method of
reducing deer damage is to put up a
fence – a very tall and well-anchored
fence. It should be minimally 8 feet and
possibly 10 to 12 feet if snow banks up
against it. The fence has to be
sufficiently high so that the deer can’t
jump over it, or have the capability to
confuse or shock them into avoiding it.
Gardeners in rural areas may be able to
use electric fences, which are quite
effective.
There are several commercial
repellants, such as Liquid Fence, Deer
Away and Plantskydd, which have shown a
significant reduction of deer browsing
on ornamental plants. These products,
utilizing rotten eggs or the capsaicin
from hot peppers, repel deer by taste,
odor or both. If they repel them by
taste alone, you may still have
considerable damage if there are 10 deer
each taking a bite. Change the repellant
periodically before the deer learn to
ignore one odor or taste. During the
growing season, frequent applications
may be necessary.
Homemade repellants made from garlic,
hot peppers and rotten eggs may be just
as successful as commercial sprays, but
may not last as long. Other methods that
offer protection include hanging nylon
stockings containing human hair, hanging
mirrors or other reflective strips,
spraying with human or predator urine,
and hanging deodorant soap, dried blood
in a cloth bag or even dryer sheets near
the plants. You can get hair from your
barber or hairdresser, and fox urine is
commercially available. These methods
may be more trouble than they are worth
once the deer realize they have nothing
to fear.
Scare tactics may ward away deer even
though they may have grown accustomed to
humans. It may help to leave a radio on
at night, and motion detection lights
can be employed to activate lights and
loud noises like a barking dog. Some
commercial devices trigger a radio and
spotlight to emit a spray of water when
motion is detected. A big dog is an
effective scare tactic. It was after my
son’s neighbor’s dog moved away that the
deer moved in.
While there is no such thing as a
deer-proof plant, there are some that
they don’t crave. However, they will eat
anything if the food supply is low and
the deer population is high. They are
selective eaters though, and during the
growing season there is a big menu. One
of their favorite salads is hosta
leaves, topped off with daylily buds.
Generally they dislike plants with fuzzy
foliage or ones with lemon, sage or
spicy flavors. They tend to stay away
from plants that are thorny, poisonous
or sticky.
Perennials that deer dislike include:
Achillea, Ajuga, Allium, Daffodil,
Bleeding Heart, Clematis, Coneflower,
Coral Bells, Daisy, Ferns, Peony, Lambs
Ear, Poppy, Goldenrod, Joe-Pye weed,
Monkshood and Liatris. Annuals they may
avoid are Allysum, Begonia, Dahlia,
Geranium, Marigold, Mint, Salvia,
Snapdragons, Verbena and Zinnia. Trees
and shrubs they generally dislike are
Barberry, Honeysuckle, Juniper, Lilac,
Potentilla, Ponderosa Pine, Raspberry,
Spruce and Russian Olive.
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Tip -For
your seeds to germinate, you must mimic the
conditions they would experience in nature. |
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