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Runner's High Yesterday And My Garden Was Stolen

by: Curtis Abbey

Mon Jun 15, 2009 at 11:09:01 AM PDT

For the first time since I badly sprained my ankle, I was able to run three miles on the treadmill! I stepped off that baby 35 minutes later and wow, I was so high! The runners high is a great feeling!

Over on La Vida Locavore some of us are doing a vegan diet challenge for 45 days. I'm interested in their results and part of me would like to join that challenge. In the end I just don't want to give up meat, fish and eggs.
But instead I'm going to try and reduce my intake of factory farmed meats, cut out any sweetened beverages, add exercise and yoga 10x a week for 45 days. (I think the best combo would be exercising 6 days a week and yoga 4 of those days) I invite any and all of you to join us in one or more challenges. Or to assist by submitting vegan or other healthy recipes, and or weight loss/exercise advice.

Curtis Abbey :: Runner's High Yesterday And My Garden Was Stolen

I'm 6'4 250 pounds and my goal by August first is to be 230 pounds and 6'5 :). I've done it before and I know I can do it again, I just need discipline. I need a goal...

and now I have it. I want to be swift enough to chase down the deer that robbed me blind this morning.

Yesterday I had a runners high and a garden full of luscious plants. Today I'm staring at leafless branch after leafless branch. 5 grape vines are 1/2 way to completely striped, my top producers the english peas were hit hard. My 25 tomato plants were given anywhere from a trim to a full shave. The volunteer tomatillos that grew from last year are mostly stalks. Probably my most valued assets the volunteer tomatoes that sprouted from nowhere are half sized. Strawberries, my beautiful blackberries, eggplant, more beans and lettuce all devastated.

I can't say I didn't know, because I chased one out yesterday before he did major damage. I was going to go to the store today to take care of it because yesterday I went to the A's/Giants game. I'm headed over to the store pretty soon, I can't let them take anymore of my hard work... my future snacks and meals.

Here are the pictures pre-attack.

I heard that Liquid Fence stuff works well. I have an exterior fence of chickenwire, I guess I could add a second fence, or raise this one. Both of those options would be hard work. Your thoughts?

UPDATE: Garden Theft CSI
We have confirmation on deer as the suspect.

This basil should survive the attack, looks like he was only collateral damage. They avoided the citrus, onions, basil, fennel, other herbs, artichokes, peppers, boysenberry/raspberry, watermelon.

I was really looking forward to these...

Tags: Pests, Gardens, Deer, Liquid Fence, nutrition, Health, Veganism, diets, Vegan, Gardening, Exercise, (All Tags)

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Runner's High Yesterday And My Garden Was Stolen | 9 comments

OMG, Curtis that's terrible! (4.00 / 7)

I've heard of deer jumping 6' fences. Can't venture an opinion about Liquid Fence. Maybe others have experience with it. My worse problem is the porch bums pooping in the garden and not burying the poops. They kill the occasional plant. But as soon as I see the scats, I bury them and the worms go to work.

Yankee Frugality: use it up, wear it out, make it last, or do without.

by: Anonymous Bosch @ Mon Jun 15, 2009 at 18:24:55 PM UTC

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check the book Small Scale Grain Raising (4.00 / 6)

they have a great section on this in the corn chapter. p. 36 or so. He doesn't seem too impressed w liquid fence. He says an electric fence w/ a wire 4 ft off the ground MIGHT deter deer (and 1 a foot off the ground for smaller animals). But he says that if a deer is hungry enough it can jump 8 feet high. And says a deer might run through a single strand of wire and drag it back to the woods with them. Or jump over it if they see it. He noted that you might want to bait the wire w/ aluminum strips smeared with peanut butter. That'll give the deer a good jolt and send 'em away.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Mon Jun 15, 2009 at 18:43:12 PM UTC

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You could adopt a dog (4.00 / 6)

A small but alert dog could probably make life miserable enough for deer that they go eat someone else's garden.

This is another example of how major league sports damage your health- you could have saved the veggies and your blood pressure if you had fenced the yard instead of watching the ball game.

I agree with you about vegan diets. I have formulated a diet that works for me, lots of vegetables, some dairy, eggs and fish, and see no need to change.

by: la motocycliste @ Tue Jun 16, 2009 at 05:14:09 AM UTC

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unintended consequences of vigorous spectator sports (4.00 / 4)

Too bad it wasn't crows. You could have popped one, put him of a 9' pike and planted him in with the tomatoes.

Worked for me. Crows stayed so far away I couldn't even hear them. (Small dogs don't eat much though and they're yappy as hell.)

[raining again]

Yankee Frugality: use it up, wear it out, make it last, or do without.

by: Anonymous Bosch @ Tue Jun 16, 2009 at 06:11:23 AM UTC

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Protecting Against Deer (4.00 / 4)

The following idea was suggested to me by a nurse when I was hospitalized a year ago. She said a relative of hers not too far from where I live surrounded his garden with a single strand of bailing twine and that kept them away from the garden. I'm guessing it was the smell of the twine. She said that she did it herself on her own garden and again stopped the deer depredations.

I used a version of the idea last year and again so far this year. By the way we have lots of deer in our neck of the woods (literally) here in central Wisconsin. I strung two strands of twine around my garden at about 5 feet and 7 feet above the ground. I did have some wire fencing around my garden that ran about 3-5 feet depending on where you are around the circumference (I had used several different kinds of wire fencing as I expanded the garden). I attached white fladry (hanging, narrow, white flags) to the twine to flap in the wind.

I had no problems with deer - none whatever. I'm doing it again this year but with only one strand running around the garden. But this year I'm using nylon string rather than the twine, hoping it will be stronger and last longer.

I can't guarantee it will work, but I've had no deer problems. And it's a lot cheaper than most any alternatives.

by: DennisP @ Tue Jun 16, 2009 at 22:52:43 PM UTC

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liquid fence is keeping them away here,, (4.00 / 3)

but u have to be vigilant and I noticed that some of my daisies have been eaten
Sorry for your loss..

by: LeeN @ Tue Jun 16, 2009 at 23:34:46 PM UTC

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berry wierdness. (4.00 / 3)

I wonder why they attacked the blackberry bushes but left you the raspberries. The difference wasn't because of ripeness of the fruit, was it? Perhaps they thought to return for the raspberries another time.

by: count @ Thu Jun 18, 2009 at 01:57:02 AM UTC

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There aren't any fruit on the raspberry (4.00 / 4)

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong there. Now that I've really inspected the damage, they did take a munch of one of my raspberries. They nearly striped the blackberries clean though, and left intact one of the biggest boysenberries. I sprayed some liquid fence and beefed up the fence from 4 feet to 7 feet in places. Not done yet though. They haven't been back. I also brought the dogs down the hill to sleep in the cottage with me, so they are close in case anyone returns to the scene of the crime.

by: Curtis Abbey @ Thu Jun 18, 2009 at 02:02:30 AM UTC

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These links might help you figure out why (4.00 / 4)

you didn't get any fruit:

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/qu...
http://forums.moneysavingexper...

HTH!

I wish I knew half what the flock of them know
Of where all the berries and other things grow,
Cranberries in bogs and raspberries on top
Of the boulder-strewn mountain, and when they will crop.
--"Blueberries" by Robert Frost

by: wide eyed lib @ Thu Jun 18, 2009 at 14:47:42 PM UTC

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