Yesterday, I did the math. The depressing math.
Six out of 13 tomato plants have been damaged by the deer. One of those plants is probably not going to produce any fruit, as it looks like the deer ate the blossoms. I’m leaving it in, though, in the hopes that it will produce more blossoms before the end of the season.
I’ve been applying a deer repellant (basically a liquid made out of rotten eggs, fish oil, and other stuff) that has worked in the past; unfortunately, it’s so wet lately that it hasn’t been very effective (ergo, the damage to my plants).
I think next year I’m going to move the tomato plant garden to a spot immediately outside the front door; the deer never come that close to the house. Until then, though, I’m trying different strategies in the hope that something works. This morning I scatted some of my own hair around the tomato plants, because I’ve heard that sometimes that works (seriously – at least according to this), although according to what I read it works better if you tie it in bags around the perimeter (what can I say, I don’t have that much hair. Guess I’ll have to save it up over the winter).
If anyone has any suggestions for non-lethal repellant they’ve used, I’d love to hear about it. Until then, I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
