Will Deer Eat Patatoes in the Garden??

[jobguy]

I will have a 60/90 ft garden this year. What can I plant that Deer do not like to eat? I know if starving they eat anything but that is not a problem here during the Summer.
I appreciate your help.

 

[KTurner]

We had a section beside the house last year with potatoes, sunflowers, a couple tomatoes (late) and pumpkins. Early last spring, I saw a group of 16 deer about 250 ft from the house, so there's a deer population here. I tried using some of the deer ___ powder repellent around the edge of the garden and a couple fruit trees. Didnt stop the deer from nibbling on the fruit trees. They didn't mess with the potatoes or sunflowers at all. When young pumpkins started appearing, the deer started eating both the pumpkins and leaves. The powder either stopped working, or never worked and they just weren't interested until pumpkins came along. They also ate at the tomato plants. I started covering any new pumpkins I saw with a tomato cage. If not for that, they would have eaten them all.

This year, I strung up some 4ft chain link around it. I know deer laugh at 4ft, BUT - we also have a small garden section in the back yard in a 4ft fence that the deer haven't touched in the past two years. I'm thinking the fence is just enough discouragement that they go eat something else. I know they're coming right over it if they get hungry, but there's plenty around for them to eat. My plan is if I see any signs of deer inside the fence, throw up another layer, fishing line, probably 5 feet out from the chain link fence.

Keith

 

[Chuck52]

I will have a 60/90 ft garden this year. What can I plant that Deer do not like to eat? I know if starving they eat anything but that is not a problem here during the Summer.
I appreciate your help.

I don't THINK deer will eat potato greens...I was under the impression that the greens are somewhat toxic to other than the insects that chew on them. You may not be able to grow it, but I have had okra out where deer could get to it and they didn't seem interested. Having told some of my friends that, they replied that they were surprised anything would eat okra, but those folks are just just ignernt. I figure the fuzzy texture of the okra discourages the deer.

Chuck

 

[keegs]

Living in NJ I have lots of experience with those pesky deer getting into my veg garden. Potatoes are the only plant I can think of that they haven't eaten. Well on second thought maybe they stay away from the kung pao and habneros too.

 

[studor]

Deer will not eat the potato plants but if you leave the potatoes on the ground at harvest they will eat the potato. I watched a lot of deer in Manitoba eating potatoes left on the ground at harvest but have never heard of them touching the plant itself.

 

[crankshaft21]

They will if you have some mustard greens and corn bread to go with them, oh and a glass of cold tea

 

[jobguy]

Thanks for the good info. I will try potatoes outside the garden fence and everything else inside a 8ft deer netting fence. I ordered the netting yesterday.
I have lots of tall thin buck-thorn that I will cut and use to get the height for the netting. Plus I have a weed burning electric fencer and lots of wire from old horse pastures.
It is so darn wet here "Blaine MN just north of Minneapolis, that I don't know when we will be able to plant.
I love this site, the info and help from all of you is terrific!!

 

[MaineTWLSB]

My father and I planted a small patch (maybe 15x20) of just potatoes years ago in a back field (up in the woods out of sight of the house). Plants came up like normal and sometime in August the deer came in and wiped them out. My grandfather (my fathers father) was off the boat Irish so my father grew up growing and eating potatoes and he had never seen this. Not sure what the deal was, there was more than enough other options for the deer to eat but it did happen. However I think it was a fluke for the most part. I'm betting you won't have an issue.

Good Luck!

 

[KTurner]

Plants came up like normal and sometime in August the deer came in and wiped them out.

Are you sure it was deer and not insects? Our plants were hit pretty hard last summer. First by potato beetles, then blister beetles. The potato beetles caught us off guard and probably ate well over half of the leaves. This was in an area that hadn't had a garden of any kind close to it in the last ten years.

Keith

 

[bp fick]

We fence with deer fencing. Yes, they'll eat just about anything and everything, at least ours do. I put up 400' of fencing the last two days.

Here's little video I made last June, just for fun. It shows the vinyl deer fence and the potatoes. YouTube - Plants2b.mov