Friday, December 10, 2021

BAD WEATHER COMING


 17.4° right now, a slight wind and a few snowflakes. By 3 AM tomorrow morning things will have warmed up and freezing rain will be approaching. Use care, plan according and do tomorrow's chores today. When the State/Vermont Alert puts out warnings, it usually means something not too pleasant is coming. Plan to stay home and think about gardening and make a list of all the things you need for Christmas that you didn't get to yet. Be safe!










Thursday, December 09, 2021

DEER  CONTROL


I have written many articles about deer control and sometimes resort to sharing thoughts from other authors. Here's an article I just found in Country Folks Grower. Vermont is just now ending its various fall deer seasons including rifle, archery and muzzleloader and reports suggest a good success rate. Even though there are now fewer deer in Vermont by thousands over a couple months ago, if your property appeals to deer, they will be moving in now that the snow is falling.


My greatest success has been with the use of Tenax fence which is easy to install even for one person. The trouble is that many communities prohibit fencing via zoning so your gardens and landscaping will be challenged. A couple years ago I spent a week in the fall hiking the upper Maine coast above Machias. Each night after dinner I'd go for a ride down a peninsula adjacent to Roque Bluffs State Park. The first night I went just to see where the road went but I quickly became interested in the landscaping, architecture.....and the high deer count. I'd see 25-30 deer a night on a mile ride and along the way it was obvious what trees, shrubs, and gardens were dear to people..... as well as deer.


Read the article and see if it offers any ideas. If you happen to be out and about come spring, stop at Vermont Flower Farm, 2263 US RT 2, Marshfield, Vermont and I'll show you my strategy. 


Managing deer - Country Folks Grower (cfgrower.com)