Deer Resistant Plants

Many of you have asked for a list of deer resistant plants to grow in your gardens. Of course, if you put in a 12 foot high fence around your garden and electrify it, that should do the trick. Also, if you put up two fences, one that the deer cannot see through, they will not jump and get into your garden area. This is what we do to keep our deer population out of our garden. David grew up around deer and his theory when we moved out here was that if the deer can't see where they are going, they won't jump the fence. So far, it has worked. We have been living out here in the country now for three and a half years. We see deer over in the field next door, but none come here.

There are so many deer in the field next door but they don't jump the fence because they don't know what is over here.

When David was twelve, his family moved from San Antonio to Leakey in the Texas Hill Country where deer roamed all over the ranch. His parents kept a deer feeder in the front yard to fatten those deer up when it was deer lease season. David has had a lot of experience watching the deer and seeing how they act so he understands them. He has also spent a lot of time in deer blinds watching the deer's behavior.

Deer Resistant Plants - 3/6-3/12/2023

This family of deer was spotted in the field next to our farm. Hopefully, some of that field will soon belong to us by the end of spring.

Monday, March 6, 2023 - Deer Resistant Plants

Some of my plants from my greenhouse that are hardening off so they can be sold and planted.

Good Monday morning! It is 9:28am and I am in the Farm Store writing. There is always so much to do in a business on a Monday morning. I have done a lot but Saturdays are so busy in the store and then with Sundays off, I don't come in here much.

I have two dozen eggs for sale for anyone who wants to know. We cannot find any baby chicks for sale around here. I was hoping to snag some but just like the predictions I saw on YouTube videos, no one has any.

I am going to restock the store now. I hope my discussion this week on deer resistant plants helps some of you out. So many customers come into the store asking for this information so here it is...

Well...it was a very busy day with a lot of customers snapping up a lot of tomato plants. There are still quite a few left so come on over and get some tomato plants. There are also lettuce, eggplant, peppers, herbs, and more.

The shade cloth on the top of my greenhouse was taken down today. It was making it too dark in there for the plants to grow right. David had one of our new guys get it down.

Deer Resistant Plants

We put up a privacy fence to keep the deer out. If they can't see what is on the other side, they won't jump over. So far, it has worked for 3 years.

Again, deer eat tree bark so chances are, if you don't put up some fences, the deer are going to eat whatever you plant. There are no completely deer resistant plants and if a deer is hungry enough and it has been a year of drought, There are a few tricks you can try.

First, the deer don't like strong smells so plant some deer resistant plants with strong smells, either sweet or pungent. Plant them around the edges of your garden to discourage them from walking inside and devouring your food.

Plant some seeds that grow hairy or prickly leaves as well as plants with sap or milky stuff coming out of the leaves because deer don't like those types of plants.

Plant root vegetables. Deer don't like to dig up the roots but they will eat the leaves of the roots. At the point where all of the leaves are gone, that veggie is done.

A family of 5 deer playing in the field next to us. Deer resistant plants and solid fences help to keep them away from your garden area.

Tuesday, March 7, 2023 - Deer Resistant Plants

It was a bit foggy this morning. Here is a good look at our privacy fence that the deer in the field beyond never jump over.

Good Tuesday morning. It is foggy and 61°. The fog is not very thick. We didn't have any customers until lunch time and then there were a lot of them. The plants are moving quickly. If you want tomato plants, it is time to come and get some before they are all gone.

The shade cloth was taken down from the roof of my greenhouse so that the plants are getting enough light. When it was taken down, it revealed a broken, clear, plastic panel that one of our team members recently said was fixed. It was not so we had to pay someone to do it since the guy who was supposed to covered it up with extra shade cloth instead of replacing the broken panel.

Nacho came out late in the day and will be back tomorrow to do some more projects for David.

We started moving plants from the greenhouses to be hardened off. There are some plants in the parking lot and others in our plant areas in the back. Soon some of my herb plants and other things will be moved to the front as well.

Deer Resistant Plants

One of the workers harvested the asparagus, cutting it in 3 to 5 inch pieces. It is just better for me to do it so it is done right. I just wish I didn't always have to be in the store.

A lot of customers come into the Farm Store asking what they can plant that the deer won't eat. That is when I tell them that a high fence is a good thing and that they deserve to grow and eat the food they plant for their family. An electric fence is even better.

When my in-laws moved to Leakey, they installed a 12 foot fence that was electrified to keep the deer out of their apple orchard and their garden. Keep in mind that deer eat the bark of a tree when they get hungry enough so it goes to follow that they will more than likely eat your garden vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs. Deer are pretty and they are nice to have around if you lease your property out to hunt deer like David's parents did, but everyone should be able to have a garden to feed their family that is not eaten by deer.

So you can see the lists of edible plants that deer don't like further down this page under Friday and again on Sunday.

Wednesday, March 8, 2023 - Deer Resistant Plants

Weeds, bull nettle, and wild poppies grow naturally out here in the sand.

Good Wednesday morning. It is 8am and David has already gone to his office. Nacho should be here. I have two dozen eggs in the refrigerator for sale. I will be moving plants out from my yard to the parking lot plant pavilion for sale. I have been keeping plants going all winter long and they want a permanent home. Come and get them. I have thyme, rosemary, chocolate mint, parsley, and rue (aka ruda) plants, not seedlings. $6.95 a plant. I have more but cannot think of them at this moment. I need more caffeine right now!

It was another busy day of customers coming to buy our tomato plants. At 1pm, David and I went into Pleasanton to do a whole list of errands. Then we bought groceries for the first time in weeks. We got home after 5pm and everyone but Matt and Nacho were gone.

Deer Resistant Plants

A butterfly taking a rest on sweet smelling David.

Milkweed is something that deer do not particularly enjoy, especially the following:

Antelope Horn Milkweed (Asclepias asperula)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

Pretty pink Swamprose Milkweed attracts the butterflies.

So if you want to do your part and keep the monarch butterflies around, feel free to plant them in your yard. The deer should stay at bay and the butterflies will keep on coming.

Thursday, March 9, 2023 - Deer Resistant Plants

My roses are blooming. These lilac roses are stunning!

Good morning! David and I are leaving the farm by 8am to go to the dentist in San Antonio. I hate the whole idea...

This morning, we had some employee drama while we were gone so we are not sure exactly what is going on. Of course, another employee had the day off so we are having to go around and water more than 1,000 plants, trees, garden spaces that we don't have time to do, essentially doing the jobs of the two who are not here as well as our own jobs.

Running a business is a full time job plus and that is why we hire employees to help us. It is so hard to find good, dependable people who want to work. I really believe Covid and the quarantine spoiled workers by letting them sit at home. Now they just want to stay at home and get paid. If we hire you, we need you here.

I survived the dental chair, although I hated it at the time. No cavities, etc. On the way back, we stopped, got gas, and coffee. I did not have any coffee this morning since it raises my blood pressure. I have white coat syndrome which means I hate going to the doctor and dentist. It makes me extremely nervous so my blood pressure jumps up high and I am on blood pressure medicine. So, of course, it was high when I got in the chair but she finally cleaned my teeth anyway.

We got back to the farm and I had to take the next hour just to move more plants out of my greenhouse and water everything in my own personal area. Then I had to get some lunch for David and myself. The mailman came with four returned packages. How do you not know your own mailing address? This boggles the mind.

It is bright, sunny, and hot at 2pm. Alexa says it is 85°. I need to go let the dogs outside so they don't have accidents in the house now. Matt said we had three customers earlier but none since I have been in the store.

Some customers came but they wanted serrano peppers. Those are sold out. We planted more but they have not yet germinated. They left.

Three different vehicles with sirens on went blazing by all within five minutes so I wonder what is going on in our usually quiet part of Texas. I never did find out. Sometimes there is information on Facebook but I saw nothing.

Two days in a row now we have had beautiful harvests of asparagus. I think I need to start picking it instead of our employees. They are cutting it off three to five inches long. LOL! Then they pick long, hard stems. So I have to go through all of that, separating it out for us and for the chickens.

Deer Resistant Plants

Here are some more deer resistant plants that hopefully will keep the deer away:

Bachelor Button Mix is such a pretty group of colors.

Bachelor Button
Blackeyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum)
Blanket Flower
California Poppy
Candytuft
Columbine
Evening Primrose
Forget Me Not
Foxglove
Godetia
Lance Leaf Coreopsis
Lemon Beebalm
Perennial Lupine
Purple Coneflower
Sunflower Annual (Helianthus annuus)
Vinca
Yarrow

We carry the seeds for some of them but not all. Since these are all flowers, you can see what we have at this flower seed link.

Friday, March 10, 2023 - Deer Resistant Plants

We hung our decorative plants back up this week since danger of frost has now passed.

Good Friday morning. It was a miserable night. I was uncomfortable, too hot, too cold, bed, couch, bed...I was happy when Alexa said it was time to get up. It is still dark. All of the indoor animals are fed and I am enjoying some coffee.

I actually still have more planting to do in my greenhouse, as well as transplanting. The first of the Big Dipper gourds I planted has started to come up. It took about three weeks. Most of my melons are up and my Boston cucumbers. It is so exciting.

In the Farm Store, all but one pod came up. I should probably replant that one pod. In just over two weeks, the lettuce leaves are getting big. Everyone coming in has something good to say about the grow tower in the store. Outside the Farm Store, the snapdragons are growing fast. Some are already flowering. They are so pretty and delicate.

Most of our customers are so nice, so courteous, that it is a pleasure helping them and talking with them and then there is that one that shows up once or twice a year, is nasty, does not want to wait his turn, etc. You know they type. Well, he showed up today behind three other customers but demanded to be helped immediately at lunchtime. Matt had a family out in the greenhouse and I had a line at the register. He wanted me to stop checking customers out and walk him out to the greenhouse. I said I was sorry but everyone else was eating lunch. Meanwhile, my lunch was sitting right there, stone cold because I was waiting on folks. He said then we are not open at lunch. What? I finally got someone to take him back and he refused saying he did not want to go out to the greenhouse. He wanted to drive out there.

Sorry. We are not rich. We don't have trams or little cars to run people out there and we are down an employee from yesterday. We would have to charge a gasoline price if we did with the price of gas now. He grumbled, got back in his vehicle and left. I was embarrassed that my other customers had to witness that. I went back to ringing them up. Then more nice people came in. I finally got to eat around 2pm. Fun times!

Turns out that the employee drama from yesterday is over. The employee was ten minutes late with no call or text so missed David's directions, we were not here as we were on our way to the dentist. The employee was here for 21 minutes, clocked out and left and never answered phone calls or texts. The employee never showed up today or called. End of story.

Deer Resistant Plants

Here are some more vegetables that are deer resistant plants.

A raised bed filled with beets.

Beets
Chili Pequin Peppers
Cucumbers
Parsnips
Peppers
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Radishes
Scallions
Squash
Sunflower
Tomatoes
Zucchini

Did you know that zucchini are deer resistant plants? Probably because of the tiny sharp prickers on them. But I am pretty sure if they are hungry enough, they will eat them. I mean, they eat tree bark.

Zucchini is a deer resistant plant probably because of the tiny sharp prickers on them. I am pretty sure if they are hungry enough, they will eat them. I mean, they eat tree bark.

Saturday, March 11, 2023 - Deer Resistant Plants

Some of our pepper plants and herb plants were moved into the parking lot for sale.

More of the plants in the parking lot from the greenhouse.

Good Saturday morning. I woke up before 6am with horrible abdominal pains. Fun times. Anyway, four hours later, I am feeling much better and finally managed to get all of the animals fed. No help on Saturdays, especially now that the new Saturday helper quit this week. Made it two whole weeks.

It is now 9:25am and we have had no customers yet. Last week, we had two customers before opening. So I opened an hour early today but no one. LOL! I cannot figure folks out.

Anyway, we moved a bunch of plants to the shade cloth area in the parking lot. There will be no tours and no endless trips to the greenhouse. First, there is no one to do it. Second, someone got upset yesterday that he would have to walk back to the greenhouse so he left. That is okay. It really takes up a lot of our time having to go back there but at least customers got to choose what they wanted out of a whole lot of plants. Now we have a few hundred in the parking lot. I have one beautiful, large citronella plant for $21.95. There are others that I was going to bring out but I was in too much pain to do it and there is no one here to help me with any of that right now. The big citronella sold on our first sale.

The temperature is supposed to hit 90° today. It is too early for that kind of heat.

Somewhere around 10:30am, the customers started showing up but we did not have a lot of them. I think we had just six groups. I am not sure why because it is time to plant for spring now. We sold a lot of plants.

I was not feeling well the whole day so I closed up at 2pm and went home. It did hit 90° by the way.

I took a nap and felt better. The Svengoolie movie was not very entertaining to me. It was The Island Of Lost Souls. I fell asleep halfway through and woke up towards the end.

Set Your Clocks Ahead One Hour Tonight!

The sun is dropping fast. Time to set those clocks an hour ahead so you are not late to church in the morning.

Yes, it is Daylight Savings Time again! (NOOOOOooooooo!!!!) Make sure to set your manual clocks ahead one hour tonight. It is the night we lose an hour's worth of sleep. These days, most clocks and appliances with clocks automatically set themselves, like phones, TVs, etc but we still have some that don't like our oven, our vehicle clocks, coffee pot clocks, etc.

People keep saying it is the last time but it is not yet. Unless the bill is passed in both the House and the Senate and is signed by the guy in the White House, it is not happening. So far, the Senate passed it but not the House.

Deer Resistant Plants

Good news for those of you in Texas! Most of our native Texas wildflowers are not liked by deer. The following list has Texas natives that the deer don't normally touch:

God blessed Texas with early spring bluebonnets.

Bluebonnets
Damiantia
Indian Blanket
Mexican Hat Coneflower or any Coneflower
Sage Mealy Blue
Sage Scarlet
Shrubby Boneset

Sunday, March 12, 2023 - Deer Resistant Plants

Now that the time has changed, the sun comes up to the left of the tree which I hate. It was a little hazy this morning.

Let me just say something. Daylight Savings Time is so stupid.

Happy Sunday. It was dark when I woke up but an hour later so it was that much later before I could go out and feed the animals. I am not going out in the dark and step on a snake, especially in the spring when they are all over. I got everyone fed and we are ready to go to church. Our accountant called last night and he is coming out this afternoon to do our income taxes. Boo! I hate paying out ridiculous amounts of money when we work so hard so others can get free money plus a tax return. We haven't had a tax return in many, many years. The government is spending more and more of our money on foolishness.

Our store this morning while I was unlocking things.

Time for church.

Our accountant showed up and did our taxes. He took more out of our checks for last year than he has before so we don't owe that much more which is great news. We have not had such a good tax visit in a long time. Matt came over and his taxes were done as well. Now David and the dogs are napping. I have to go out and collect eggs and feed the fish. It is 88° right now at 4pm.

Deer Resistant Plants

Below is a list of plants that deer do not like. Just remember that if they get hungry enough, they could eat them.

Mint growing in my greenhouse.

Artichoke
Asparagus
Carrots
Chives
Cilantro (Coriander)
Dill
Eggplant
Fennel
Figs
Garlic
Lavender
Leeks
Lemon Balm
Lemongrass
Marjoram
Mint
Onions
Oregano
Parsley
Rhubarb
Rosemary
Sage
Tarragon
Thyme

Now once again I will say that if the deer get hungry enough, they will eat all of the plants on this page. I have had some customers come into the store saying the deer will eat everything during a drought that they can find because there is nothing left for them in the wild. We do have a lot of droughts here in hot Texas so you must consider that. Being deer resistant plants means that they won't be the first choice for a good meal but when food gets scarce, they will eat whatever they can.

Return from Deer Resistant Plants to Our Fourth Year

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