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.

Back in the day before I realized that we had moved into the "hood", where deer pillage and terrorize, I naively planted pretty things like...






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!

If you're game (hehe), mix up a batch of sweet manure tea.  

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