A “catch crop” is something you plant to catch the attention of an agricultural pest; it operates on the principal of sacrificing part of your harvest to safeguard the rest.
Photo courtesy of Zixii
at flikr.com.
This method is most often used for insects, but it works well for deer, too. Try installing some trellises along the edges of your garden, and plant them with fast-growing, climbing species like cucumbers, peas, and pole beans.
Photo courtesy of Green Wellies at flikr.com.
The deer will take advantage of the free meal they can reach and leave the tasty stuff in the interior of the garden alone — assuming you set things up so that they can’t get inside easily.
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Thanks for the great tip. I needed something to help keep the deer out of our garden. Any suggestions about rabbits? thanks, Kathy
Wear an old tee shirt and get really sweaty. Cut it into strips and put on your plants. Also try a strong smelling soap like Irish Spring for example. Cut into a chunk , put a small hole in it and add a string. Tie it around your garden. You can also use shavings of soap but hanging the soap around the garden works best and doesn’t mess with your soil. Also brush a dog around the garden or trees. Human hair also works. I brush my dog and leave his hair all around my garden and I haven’t had the deer bother my crops. To bad this doesn’t work for rabbits.