October 22, 2014

Feeding the Neighbors




When I got home yesterday after 8 days away and looked out toward the vegetable garden I could see that something was amiss: leaves were missing. The full broad leaves of the brussels sprouts had been chewed away, though happily the sprouts were untouched.




The sorrel was gone.....




.....as was the swiss chard.




The beets remain, but not their greens.




Of course I knew that deer had gotten into the garden while I was gone; they begin to jump the fence when the weather cools down, hoping to fill their bellies before winter. I saw the tracks of a large deer....




....and those of a small one, perhaps a doe and her young offspring.




At the very end of the garden season, sometime in later November, I lower the electric fence and invite the local deer in to finish what remains; but I'm not yet ready to do that, so I put some fresh packets of peanut butter on the fence: if a deer goes close for a taste, a little shock will tell her "not now". My animal neighbors will have to wait a while longer for their treat, and meanwhile, brussels sprouts for dinner!



10 comments:

  1. I just had to pop in to tell you I am about to sit down to some brussles. :) Sneaky baiting the deer to teach them to stay away from your veggies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brussels sprouts are a highlight of my fall eating.
      I had tried all sorts of other ways to keep the deer out of the garden, then a friend told me about the peanut butter on an electric fence: it works wonders.

      Delete
  2. I love Brussels sauted in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Yumalicuous

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your "Peanut Butter Surprise" is much nicer than mine, which I had to concoct once to rid the cabin of flying squirrels. My recipe included...well let's just call it 'blood-thinner'.
    Your electric-fence is one solution.
    Mine is to plant the whole garden in horseradish, which the deer will not touch, and trade jars of it for proper vegetables.
    I wish they hated Jerusalem artichokes, too. I just discovered them, and would like to grow them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my, I once tried horseradish, but it's so invasive it began to take over the garden; it took years to get rid of all of it. I'll stick with the electric fence.

      Delete
  4. I had childhood nightmares of sticking TO an electric fence. A big hog was running toward me, never arriving, but always charging full-tilt toward me. I grasped an electric fence with both hands and could not let go.
    I'll stick with the horseradish...sounds like I'm stuck with it...but it's ok...I love the stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Getting stung by an electric fence is definitely not fun.

      Delete
  5. Loved the post. Transported me back to all those childhood books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Julie. I didn't think of childhood since the deer are so much a part of my life now.

      Delete