THE CANADTAN

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GROUND CHERRIES DETERRING DEER MULTI-FARM CSAs

for the market garden without going crazy & incubator farrns
 DETERRING DEER IN
DOWNTOWNGARDENS
By Dan Cooper
Lately my ravine garden in downtown Toronto has been plagued by an invasion
of deer and rabbits that treat my collection of carefully tenaed plants like an
exotic salad bar.
ike so many commercial and home garden-
I f'eel like I've been fighting a losing bar-
ers,
tle. Deer find the tender nerv grorvth of
lettuce and a wide range of vegetables just too
irresistible. And my lovely, green oasis in the middle
of Canada's largest city is under atrack.
In desperation, I've tried everything from lrish
Spring soap to decorating my rrees with shiny CDs
that are supposed to mimic the eyes of a predator at
night. I've even splayed select shrubs with coyore
urine-coyotes being one of the deer's natural preda-
tors. While this worked n ell againsr deer, it did noth-
ing to scat'e away the rabbits, and the frequent
applications were a bit too messy and smelly. you
have to wonder about the collection process as rvell.
My most successful homemade remedy has been
a spray of one part raw esg to ten parts water. This
rvorked very well and didn't even smell, but it only
lasted about three rveeks, or less if it rained a lot.
Apparently this works because deer and rabbits are
herbivores and don't like the tasre of rhe protein in
eggs. It's not, howeveq a solution for lar-se-scale
operations.
ww\Mcog.ca Our Nature
Cornrnercial organic gror,r,'erJohn van der Heyden
of Wooler Dale F'arm in Frankford, Ontario, has
found success l,r'rth a different tactic. FIe runs a ra-
dio under an overnlrned wheelbarrow to scare ar{ay
the deer that had been eating his strawberries. He
moves it around from patch to patch so the deer
don't get used to it. A por,ver pack lasts three days,
but he often attaches a timer so the radio runs only
at dusk and dar,rn, prirne deer bror,r,sing tirnes.
Merle Bolves, u'ho has farmed at l,imekiln Gar-
clens near Carleton Place outside of Ottawa for years,
\{as so frustrated after losing valuable crops to deer
that he rvas ternpted to quit farming altogether. "One
night alone, I lost $3,000 in vegetables, and once I
sar,r, 21 deer in a single two-acre plot. They jrrst over-
u,helmed us," he says.
Bor,r'es discovered deer r,r,ill eat just about an_v-
thing, including carrots, beets, beans and squash.
"They would even pull cooking onions out of the
grourrd, thenjust leave them on the ground and not
eat thertr. They r,r,ould take one bite out of a pump-
kin and then move on to the next one, renderins
thern useless for sale," he complains.
Over the years, he tried every solution recom-
rnended by the Ministry of Natural Resources:
noise, electric fences and dog scent. "Nothing
r,r,orked for long," he explains, "even the electric
fence didn't deter them for long-they w.ould take
the shock if they lvere hungry enough." He found
success rvith a nine-foot fence that cost $15.000.
"Only the nine-foot fence finally stopped them,
and it has to be strong."
Several effective deer repellents are now avail-
able for commercial grou'ers and homeol,r'ners. For
example, Plantskydd offers an easy-to-use spray
made from dried bloodmeal mixecl with a vegera-
ble binder that helps it stick ro planrs. it frightens
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away deer and rabbits by making them think a
predator has been in the area because of the sul-
phurous smell.
The makers claim that the smell is not offen-
sive to humans, but I found it mildly objection-
able. I used the spray on a sunny fall dav and
found that the initial unpleasant odour faded af-
ter about ten rninutes to something that reminded
me of strong red r,vine vinegar. After 15 nrinutes,
the smell was completely gone.
I would strongly suggest spraying only when
there is no r,r.ind or you'll end up smelling like a
butcher. The makers claim the environmentallv
friendly spray is effective up to six months, even
in wrnter.
Recently Plantskydd was approved by the Ca-
nadian Pesticide Management Regulatory Agenry
for use in Canada's tree farrns and commercial
gardens. Plantskydd is OMRI (Organic Materials
Review Institrrte) listed Organic. A product listed
by OMRI is considered suitable for the produc-
tion of organic food and fibre. Of the 55 deer and
rabbit repellents available in the U.S., only five
are OMRI listed Organrc.
Plantskydd is designed to be applied directly
to the plant material, but some growers have pro-
tected vegetable gardens by applying the product
to a rope or ribbon placed around the perinreter
of the garden at three to four feet above the
ground. However, it is not recommended to spray
edibles within a month of harvest, as Plantskvdd
contains a vegetable oil binder which keeps the
product from washing off in rain.
The product colles in a otre-quart, pre-mixed
liquid spray bottle or in a 454-gram powder for-
mat that you mix up yourself, both for around
$30. This quantity will treat roughly 100 and 400
plants respectively. For larger properties, a one-
kilogram box for $46 will treat 400 to 600 plants.
The 1O-kilogram package of powdered concen-
trate treats 4,000 to 6,000 plants at a cost of close
to $450.
The pre-mixed liquid urll last up to 90 davs
once opened and the powdered concentrate is
good indefinitely until mixed. I found the pre-
mixed forrnat much simpler to use and less messy.
Be warned, if using the powder, precise measur-
ing is essential or the smell can be very offensive.
A paint mixer is useful to ensure the water solu-
ble powder mixes completely and does not clog
the sprayer nozzle.
ww\Mcog.ca
 Iola Elder, o\\.ner of Sylvan Vale Nursery on \/an-
couver Islancl, B.C., uses Plantskycld to treat the Small Farmer's Journal
Douglas fir and red cedar seedlings she sror,r's for quTrterLy
0n uncommon
the logging companies. With six to eight rnillion Supporting family tarms .

seedlings produced annualll', Elcler has a huge in- srnce lvlo. EVery rssue
vestment to protect. "\\'e've even had yourrg deer features a wide variety of
subjects such as poultry,
u,ander into the greenhouses to bror,r.sc," she says.
barn plans. crops,
The new treatrnerrt keeps thern at bay. She sprays beekeeping. true horre-
the plants with a cornnrercial sprayer before ship- power, hogs, sheep, cattle,
ping thern out to the field. Elcler says, "Protection horses, kids pages, reci
Spically lasts r-rp to four months." implements, gzrdening,
A nelv organic product callecl Plant Pro:Tec Deer soil, organics, apprentice-
ships, tools, marketing,
and Rabbit Repellent uses highly concentrated gar-
& much more.
lic oil in a biodegradable plastic clip. A senri-perme-
One year
able membrane in the clip lets the repelling vapours
subscription
a- out u,'hile keeping air and lr,ater from gettine in. The
$3s u.s.
maker, Orcon ()rsanic Control, claims that the re- Foreign udd $20/yr posroge
al pellent is effective for six to eight months even if it U.S..ftutds

Lls rains. The biodegradable clips break don'n in 24 Satisfaction

:cl months. guaranteed
a- The product comes in easy-to-use tubes shaped 1-800-876-2893
like strrbby ballpoint pens. The pens have a clip on
rd
the side so thev can be attached to plants and shrubs. Small Farmer's Journal
P.O. Box 1627, Sisters, Oregon 97759
You can clip thern to a fence, to a single strand of
www.smal I { arrnersiou rnal.com
} wire, or sirnplv lay thern on the ground around yorrr
garden.
.ct Orcon anticipates that a bag of
25 clipswill sell for around $25 at
le horne and garden retailers in
a\ Canada. A larger quantity of 250
icl rrell be available for rrnder $200. from deer, rabbits, elk and moose
For cornrnercial garclens, the
rnanufacturer recornmends es- Plantskydd@ is proven the M0ST EFFECTIVE and
--l tablishing a perirneter r,r,'ith clips t0NGEST IASTING deer and elk repellent."
:{ |
Repels deer, elk and rabbits. Available as Beady-to-Use Spray
,r- every t\,vo feet. Initially, in a gar- {1 litre) and Soluble Powder Concentrate (1 lb and 1 kg).

r,l den u,ith heavy bror,r'sing, you

t, should double or triple the cov- # | ANIMAL
'

erage to break the habit. Once

1 REPELLENT
ll:. good protection has been
achieved, you can install the clips
>C more than tu'o feet apart.
In my Toronto garden, I'nr
looking fornard to a gronirrg sea-
son without the rar,ages of sharp-
toothecl rabbits and bror,vsing
deer.

For our RETAIL DEATER L0CAT0R, FAOs, testimonials. "independent research results, and to lrsten
DarL Cooper i,s a. Tbron,to Mctster toaninterviewwithBettyKennett,CBClnformationMorning's GreenThumb,visitourwebsite:
()a,rdener a.n,d a.freel,a,n,ce uri,ter an.d
www.plantskydd.com
photctgraplrcr u,itlt tlrc Gct rd,en, Wtite rs
Assoc'iation.

ww\MCog.ca Our Nature is Organic Spring 201 1 - 1. 9