Schobs

for those of you who plant pumpkins out in the woods for either personal use or natural deer food, how do u protect the plants while the pumpkins mature? ive heard the deer love to eat the blossoms and even the small pumpkins, and i was hopin to have em growup a lil before the deer get to eat em. i only have a few rows, and im not lookin to spend alot of money. thanks alot

~Schobs~

1sagittarius

Pumpkins are not a huge draw for deer. Yes they will eat some new yound leaves and blossoms. But they do prefer clover, soybeans, and corn. Occasionally I see some teeth marks on pumpkins from deer, but that is about it. After Halloween, I bust up any left over pumpkins and jackolanters in the back field, then the deer clean them up.

I plant pumkins and gourds. Along with clover, sunflowers, soybeans, corn, and buckwheat. The pumkins get very little attention from deer,a littlebrowsing yes, but there is so much more that they prefer.

Schobs

that might be the case in your area, and might be the same in the food plot where i have a few pumpkins and watermelons and squash, but on our property up north there are no farm fields anywhere nearby and i would think the pumpkin blossoms and young fruits would be pretty appealing to them. i was thinkin of just putting netting over the plants like they use for strawberries, but my dad is convinced that wont work, he's dead-set on building a fence. what do u think?

psandhu

i planted 260 pumpkins on 260 mounds this year. i'm ina civic group and we are selling them. i spray them once a week for insects and fungus. they are in a 12 acre field surrounded by woods. there are deer in the area, but they hit some of my volunteer sunflowers and some clover plots 100 yards away from the pumpkins. i see deer tracks in the pumpkin patch, but they are just walking through. the pumpkins were planted over a 6 week period. the smallest is the size of a dinner plate, and the largest are a little bigger than a sofa.

psandhu

building a fence to surround a pumpkin plot sounds like alot of work and money just to protect something that's marginal in value.

kevin1

Make an emulsion of water , dishwashing liquid , vegetable oil , beaten raw egg whites, and the hottest dried peppers you can find . Strain the mix into a small sprayer and apply at least once a week , more frequently if it rains .
Propotions are:
1 gallon water
2 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
1 dozen egg whites(whole egg can be used for stronger smell)
1 cup vegetable oil
pepper powder to desired level of heat

As the eggs break down they create hydrogen sulphide , deer are revulsed by the smell . The few who overcome their revulsion long enough to take a taste quickly regret it .

MikeVT

Deer don't bother my pumpkins, but they played havoc with my cabbage and peas. I bought this stuff called Invisible Fence. It comes in a 32 oz spray bottle for around 10 dollars. Smells like a cross between rotten eggs and rotting garbage. Smell goes away in a few days, but the deer/rabbits/other varmints will stay away long afterwards. Apply once per week for the first 2-3 weeks then every other week after.

hornhound

How About the Plot Saver? Pretty inexpensive and supposed to work.......

kevin1

Rotten eggs areway cheaper than $10 per quart , if youask the manager at your local grocery store you can even get unsaleable eggs for free , see my recipe above .

The only ones I've heard say anything positive abot Plot Saverwere the folks selling it , everybody I know who's tried it said it was a waste of money . I haven't tried the stuff personally , but based on what I've heard and what they charge I'll stick with my homebrew . It's cheap and it works .
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Tree climber

I plant sugar (pie) punkins every year to sell.they are about the size of valloy balls.I plant them in our hunt club on the beds they put up to put the pine trees one.good dirt and usually pretty moist(if not I take a gal. of liquid fertizler to them once every two weeks if it doesn't rain).I grow 250 to 300 punkins every year and the deer are there ; lots of deer. the tracks are in and around the patches, with no eating at all. once and a while they will have teeth marks on one, but never eat them.
I always pick them around Oct. and a few left over.when they freeze sometimes the squirrels cut a hole and eat the seeds,then the deer will finish the rest. thats the only time they bother mine.


to your question ; I don't think you would have to worry about them till they are mature and in late winter.
"JMHO."