umsami Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 We recently moved back to a house which has space for us to garden. I have a brown thumb, but the kids would like to grow cucumbers, tomatoes, and strawberries. I think we can manage that. Big problem is that our neighborhood has a bunch of deer. My neighbor even said they jumped her fence and ate off the orange blossoms on her tree. Any ideas regarding growing/planing the stuff we want to grow? (Or something else easy?) What to do about the deer? Is it a lost cause? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 What about getting a small greenhouse to fill the space? For low plants you can always create a cage to grow them under and keep the deer out if you want to do outside. Our family just recently went on the Living With The Land tour at WDW and it sparked several ideas on how to garden on our enclosed porch here, relying on creating trees by growing cucumbers and tomatoes vertically instead of horizontally. We keep the pests out and take up less space, plus can do it even inside our home next to a sunny window. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 We don't have a deer problem but have relatives in Longwood who do (and bears too - it's Seminole County!). They eventually gave up I'm sorry to say. Still, there are plenty of people who garden even though there are deer in the area. Gardening, especially vegetable gardening in Florida is not easy. As you know our "soil" is really just sand. You will need to amend it. If you have a local gardening center, find out what they recommend. Second choice would be the garden department at Lowe's or Home Depot and hope you get someone knowledgeable. Dh grew some delicious cucumbers last season, as well as tomatoes. His bell peppers and eggplant didn't do too well. I recommend this website: http://floridagardener.com/ It seems to be abandoned, but the good information is still up. Poke around there and learn. The University of Florida's extension service is a big help too (and check with your own Ag center) http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/lawn_and_garden/calendar/ This book is our gardening bible: http://www.amazon.com/Month-By-Month-Gardening-Florida-Tom-MacCubbin/dp/1591862353 You'll have some trial and error. Just keep trying. Cherry tomatoes are pretty easy, but you're heading into the hot season where you won't be able to grow much besides some hot peppers and a few herbs. August and September are good times to plant. The summer is a good time to plan. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Thanks both of you. My across the street neighbor used to be a Master Gardener but sadly she moved. I will try the local gardening center and maybe see if I can find a class for the kids (or me). Thankfully no bears, but my Mom and Dad live in Seminole County and for the past few years they haven't been able to put out their trash at night. A few months ago, they started requiring bear-proof trash cans. A bear ate my Mom's bananas off of her banana tree, too. Who knew. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 My only knowledge of deer and FL comes from The Yearling. And the only place I successfully grew veggies while living there, was in the compost :p 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 We have done some square foot gardening within our pool cage (there is a great book called - Square Foot Gardening). Is that an option for you? I am too afraid to garden outside because of all the snakes. :leaving: :svengo: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Not in Florida, but we love square foot gardening. It keeps the work reasonable, and ours is always very productive. After having the deer make a nightly picnic of our garden, we put up a 9' deer fence for the beds they liked. They generally left our beans, tomatoes, and potatoes alone, so those are outside. One year we had a drought, and they ate nearly every tomato and destroyed the vines in the process. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn in FL Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 This is a fabulous resource published by UF. It conveniently captures most of the info contained on their (IFAS) web site. http://ifas.ufl.edu/ http://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Gardening-Florida-James-Stephens/dp/0813016746 Have fun! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Successful vegetable gardeners in central/south Florida take the summer off! You can prepare your bed, amend the soil with manure/whatever, and cover the garden patch with black plastic sheeting staked to the ground. The heat can kill weed seeds. Fall crops start in September and you can have a three season garden, just winter in place of summer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Successful vegetable gardeners in central/south Florida take the summer off! You can prepare your bed, amend the soil with manure/whatever, and cover the garden patch with black plastic sheeting staked to the ground. The heat can kill weed seeds. Fall crops start in September and you can have a three season garden, just winter in place of summer. My zone is 9A, if that helps. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 What sort of neighborhood? Can you erect a fence? That's probably the best idea. Or get an outside dog. Also " deer scram" repellent helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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