Local Gardening: Deer in the Okra

The deer at my place must have moved in from Louisiana, because they keep stealing my okra, tomatoes and green peppers.

Lots of folks complain about deer eating corn in their garden. But the deer at my place walk right past the corn patch straight to the okra, where they have eaten most of the leaves off the stalks.

Luckily, it’s not too late to replant okra. I think I can save most of the plants, but I’ll probably replant a few okra seeds for insurance.

First, I have to get these deer under control. The best method is with a good fence. It needs to be at least eight feet high. You can also keep them out with two four-foot fences spaced about six feet apart, but that takes up too much space. I’ve heard people suggest hanging strips of aluminum foil at the top of a six foot fence, but I have no experience with that method.

The fence around my garden is a little over six feet high, so I plan on rigging some kind of wire about a foot above the fence before I start over with a taller fence. Plus, its getting too dang hot to build fence.

I’ve been trying a few other things as well.

I heard that deer hate those fabric softener sheets that make our clothes smell good when they come out of the dryer. I have been hanging one of those sheets in my okra patch for the past week, and to my amazement, it seems to have kept the deer away. They must not like the smell.

I have also read that deer do not like the smell of human hair or human urine. When I have to “go” in the garden, I never walk back to the house. So I’m not sure the advice about urine works that well. Barber shops and hair salons will usually give away the hair they sweep up every day. Spreading some of it around the garden might be worth a try.

There may also be a secondary benefit to using hair. Texas organic gardening guru Howard Garrett says that human hair is good for keeping squash bugs and vine borers out of the garden. It also adds silica to the soil, which is an important nutrient for some plants.

Some people report success with using garlic pepper tea to keep deer away. They apparently don’t like the spiciness. To make some garlic pepper tea, use a blender to combine 2 bulbs of garlic and 2 hot peppers (the hotter the better). Then fill the blender half to two-thirds of the way full of water and mix. Strain out the solids. Use the liquid in a pump-up sprayer and cover all of your plants. You will have to reapply from time to time as the scent fades.

I haven’t tried this yet, because my really hot habanero peppers are not yet ready to pick. However, I’m not sure it will work on these cajun deer. The peppers they keep eating are Anaheim chilies, which do have a little spice.

Are you having deer problems? What are you doing to keep them out of the garden? Let me know by sending me an email to andy@fayettecountyrecord.com.