Re: Vines for the shade....
- Subject: Re: [SG] Vines for the shade....
- From: E*@AOL.COM
- Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 11:54:24 EDT
In a message dated 10/7/04 7:44:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time, NardaA@AOL.COM
writes:
> Gene,
> I know it sounds pretty lofty to think that it would work that well. I
> guess
> we need to remember that we have had rain in spurts this summer and long
> periods of drought between.
Gene has a point here. No matter how often it rains, plants grow new foliage
and that foliage is not protected with sporadic spraying. There is also
the question of expense, around 40.00 for a gallon of concentrate which would
not cover a fraction of my garden. The work is tedious. I would not spray any
edibles. Another point is appearance. The "permanent" sprays are based on a
waxy formula which remains on some plants until the leaf drops (rhodies,
laurels, hollies). Some of these plants look diseased all the time covered with
sprays.
No matter how task oriented you are, one day you will tire of spraying and
the deer who never tire of eating will win. One of the comments in another post
referral from an opinion site stated that he had a bed of tulips by spraying
the emerged bulb foliage daily until bloom. I don't see any experienced
gardener doing that.
You can also spend lots of cash on bulb dip to deter voles. The bulb, most,
will renew itself with a new bulb each year and you have wasted you money for
one short show and that is not guaranteed.
The animals win because that is their job, to forage, to breed and to follow
instinct. Your time in the garden is not equal to that of the animal which is
a pest to you. You may have other things to occupy you so you cannot win
with any of these tricks. In the end you fence or you find some plants you can
afford to lose. Some gardens are not browsed in the midsummer, some only in
dead of winter. You observe your area and plan accordingly. The latest New
England study states succintly that you either live with deer or authorize the
govt. to shoot them. So far shooting is not popular here.
As Gene offers, I don't think there is anything new to write on deer and
ornamentals. Only a fence will work on some sort of permanent basis and a fence
needs some maintenance occasionally. BTW, don't be put off by fence articles
stating there is only one way. Almost all of them work more or less. Ours is
electric. If you have even a minimal fence, deer being opportunists to be
admired will just walk over to the next garden most of the time.
Another point on the opinion site was that of using sprays to "train deer" to
use other routes of foraging. I have lived on my small farm for 13 years and
the deer trails are the same now as ever. Again the deer is an opportunist
and I do not think you will succeed in training deer. The cost (in $$$) is
very high.
Claire Peplowski
NYS zone 4 ( with a herd of about 13 in the back field this am smiling at me)
