Karl Appleby

I got Minowase radish from Terroir Seeds. Im not sure wht you mean by "cheap", are there more expensive / effective radishes for this ?

Anyhow some are about to flower. Do I just cut the flower stem off and let drop every 2 weeks or all the leaves with it ?

Im using Daikon Radish in all 4 of my raised beds to draw nutrients from the subsoil. I dont plan to harvest or eat these and they are starting to grow large as a natural mulch. What I am wondering is, for slashing the greens to drop and compost in, when and how many times a season should I do this ? The plan is to also let the underground parts rot in winter.

Unfortunately I can't hunt this land, it's rented property. Although a nice, large rented property, one of the only agreements was that we would allow the habitat of animals to prosper. Which is why I'm trying to work in a number of passive methods.

J Ryan wrote:Hello Mr. Appleby,
We live in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in once of the most densely populated deer areas in the Northeast. One of the easiest tactics we use to keep deer away is also an all-natural solution. Deer Repellent Packs is the product name. The packs use the deer's inborn natural fear of predators to your advantage.
The packs are good for up to 90 days and can be hung right on the plants (raspberry/blackberry bushes) you want to protect. You can check them out at www.DeerRepellentPacks.com and they can be ordered in just the quantity you need.

Thank you Ryan, it seems as if you work for this company or know someone who does, could you tell me more about the product ? I'm not opposed to trying someones product so it's cool to be clean about selling something, it's how we make a living. What I am worried about is there are no public reviews on the webpage about it. Is the product sold on Amazon ? I'd like to see public feedback about it before I purchase it.

^^^ Thanks, if all else fails Ill be on Dog Hair and Mountain Lion Urine. I'm sure the NSA will wonder whats up when they see my Credit Card Transaction

Hey well great news, I came home today and I have a WOODCHUCK. Now Im back to square one, I heard they are a real pain and I have no option to kill it. I also heard if I trap and release, another is bound to come around sometime anyhow and that isnt a good tactic. I did read that planting clover / alfalfa close to its home might just keep it around the area, like giving it its own garden. It lives right under our deck. I also heard they HATE being sticky and will avoid sticky substances at all costs.

So ... anyone have Woodchuck experience ?

Scott Sigurdson wrote:Hi Chris - from what I understood it was to prevent them munching on a given plant, applied as a spray diluted with linseed oil

I don't really get the complexity of Sepp Holtzers method. I get that if you're living without electricity that's the way to do it, but I don't understand otherwise how it's any different then putting a thin layer of water in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven with the lid on and baking at a high heat for a few hours, leaving to sit for a day then taking the bones out.

John Wolfram wrote: I'll spray a putrescent egg solid mixture ...

To increase the effectiveness of the sprays, it's ideal to make your landscape into one where the deer will not like to hang out. Hunters have lots of information/experience figuring out deer patterns and behaviors, so just do the opposite. For example, deer tend to like to be at the edge of the woods and fields, so plant your garden away from that edge.

I don't have a choice unfortunately but to have the garden at the edge near the forest.

I found a recipe for an egg spray. but since you say egg solid is this using raw eggs or cooked eggs ground up into the mixture ? I get that the purpose is to just have a strong smelling odor that deer do not enjoy.

I am also finding in my research that there is not really one thing that will deterr deer. What works in some areas doesn't work in others, so I am planning to combine methods and hope for the best.

Scott Sigurdson wrote:They do like Hostas, although they never ate them all at once , but returned several times over the summer until they were all gone... don't know about the brambles tho. you might also try bone oil, a concotion Sepp Holtzer advocates as a deer deterrent

I read about the bone oil, but I read it was for trees and I didn't read anything about deer. How would I apply it to a garden bed ? around the perimeter ?

John Wolfram wrote:

chris meister wrote:My thought process is that, I've read that solar christmas lights will scare deer away...Thoughts, ideas ?

Most things will scare deer away, for a little while. Unfortunately, deer adapt quite quickly to things that aren't actual threats. For example, within a couple encounters last summer I was able to get within 20 feet of two deer while singing loudly (and off key!) without it bothering them in the least.

Did you have deer problems in your garden ? If so, what did you do to rid of them ?

So I've got my permaculture ideas flowing, and I just set a companion planted bed area with seeds. Now I am new to this land, and I know there are deer and have heard they've caused havoc before. I would like to do an open concept, but I am not opposed to a deer fence if I have to, and wanted some ideas / suggestions / feedback.

The current idea is three-fold. I planned to surround the beds with rapsberry / blackberry bushes, string up with solar Christmas lights, and plants hostas further back at the edge of the forest where the deer come from because I know they love hostas. My thought process is that, I've read that solar christmas lights will scare deer away. The Raspberry bushes / blackberry will grow thick and thorny and wouldn't be pleasant for them to walk through. And that the Hostas will hopefully keep them appealed before they reach the garden beds.

Now my main worry was that the rapsberry / blackberry bushes would take over the underground into the garden beds if planted too close.

Thoughts, ideas ?