Buck Turgidson wrote:
Anyone know of any tricks to keep deer out of our back yard, and from eating
all our hostas? We have a 4' fence, but apparently thet're jumping over it.

I have been using "Deer Solution" made by Natural Pest Solutions for
the past year and it has made a HUGE difference in my yard. Last year
(my first year with a garden!), they ate all of my tulips, liles,
hostas and other tasty/expensive plants constantly. Now, they will
nibble when I don't keep up with it, but mostly leave my yard alone
now. It is systemic and should last 100 days, unless there is new
growth. They instructions say to re-spray for every 2" of new growth
and that seems about right. I did that throughout the Springtime on
the plants that needed it. Right now, everything is pretty mature and
I haven't sprayed in over a month. They nibbled one plant last week
and that has been it. I don't know if they were just tasing it and
found it to still taste bad or it is time for a touch-up of a few
plants. The deer do pass through my yard daily (ok, nightly) and leave
it pretty much alone right now.

It seemed expensive when I got it from my local garden center
($30/gallon), but is a lot cheaper than having to replace all of my
plants and goes a long way. Recently, I found a concentrate at an
online store (countrygardentsinc.com) that is more economical and will
last me for several years at the current rate I use it. One gallon of
concentrate makes 10 ready-to-use gallons.

Somewhere online, I have seen the list of ingredients, but I can't seem
to find it now. I think the primary active ingredients are clove and
cinnamon oil (and my yard smells yummy when it is freshly sprayed!) and
the base is vinegar. If you'd like, I can check the ingredients when I
get home and post/E-mail that. It is considered to be a category 25B
food product by the EPA and can be used on vegetable gardens safely. I
haven't tried that though. I'm still working on decorative
flowers/plants. Maybe somebody more ambitious than me can try to make
a home version?

Good luck!

Lisa
(who is a relatively new gardener who is lurking to learn more about
gardening and has NO affiliation with the product or any
nursery/supplier)