Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Garden
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-22-2012, 11:27 AM
 
Location: Virginia
18,717 posts, read 30,948,293 times
Reputation: 42988

Advertisements

This year I made several trips to Starbucks for coffee grounds and I've probably raked about 70-100 pounds of these grounds on top of my garden (maybe about 1/4" to 1/8" thick; I have a very large garden). It certainly smells like coffee, which I like. It's a strong smell, so I wonder what the animals think. Will this attract or repel them? In particular, would it repel deer (I hope I hope). I have several bird feeders nearby and I was also wondering if the birds will eat the grounds and become revved up?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-22-2012, 03:04 PM
 
Location: denison,tx
866 posts, read 1,131,751 times
Reputation: 1537
can't find any info in any of my garden help books about the birds eating coffee grounds or deer being repelled by it either...this is what I could find out...
1. coffee grounds are naturally acidic and will help balance the soil ph if it is alkaline.
2. slugs don't like caffeine, so mulching with coffee grounds will keep slugs away from hostas. use no more than one inch deep around the plants,though.
3. can be used to help nourish house plants. only use 1-2 spoonfuls mixed lightly into the soil surface.
4. coffee grounds can be spread around azaleas & rhododendrons as these are acid loving plants...

some ideas for deterring deer:

perfumed or deodorant soap
athlete's foot or baby powder sprinkled on a cotton cloth
dog or human hair
cougar or bobcat feces--see if the local zoo will give you some
smelly socks, dirty diapers, or old shoes spread around the areas where they frequently destroy plants can help...

hope these suggestions are of help...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-22-2012, 03:40 PM
 
Location: Swiftwater, PA
18,754 posts, read 17,961,406 times
Reputation: 14730
I don’t know how many deer you have hanging around your neighborhood? However; if you get one dominate doe, that has it’s eyes on your garden - there is nothing short of a six or seven foot fence to keep her out. I used to have forty to fifty of the critters hanging around and it was impossible to keep them out - even with all the available products. The spray on products and soil treatments might work for deer new to your area or buck - but, if your deer already know what your garden taste like; most products will not discourage the return trips and the wash off or become weak over time.

The seven foot tall deer fencing from Lowes is pretty reasonable. It is a soft plastic fence and cost less than $20 for a 100 foot roll and seven feet high. Here is a link to a K-mart site for similar fencing: http://www.kmart.com/dewitt-7-foot-x-100-foot-deer-fence-netting/p-043V063733835000P Of course; you can always buy heavier and more expensive fencing. I just get 2X4X8 and rip them in half and then point them on one side - these are my fence post. I just staple the fence to my upright post. The cheap stuff works pretty good for a season (unless you get a raccoon with it’s sharp claws that wants to enter.

The coffee grounds are great for your earth worms - which in turn is good for your soil. You will keep your robins happy and any fishermen in the family.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2012, 08:25 AM
 
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
11,078 posts, read 15,019,047 times
Reputation: 3936
Human hair in pantyhose helps alot with deer....Hang it on stakes around your garden...you can get it at a beauty/barber shop although they may look at you kinda funny until you explain
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2012, 11:08 AM
 
Location: Swiftwater, PA
18,754 posts, read 17,961,406 times
Reputation: 14730
Quote:
Originally Posted by muleskinner View Post
Human hair in pantyhose helps alot with deer....Hang it on stakes around your garden...you can get it at a beauty/barber shop although they may look at you kinda funny until you explain
If you have deer, that already know what your garden taste like, no human hair will stop them. I used to have one large doe that I had to physically shoo out of the garden - only for her to wait for me to leave. My first garden only had a four foot high fence. Some deer are not even afraid of humans - let alone human hair. If this would be the case; you have to go with high fencing. The exception is that high fencing will not keep out raccoons, squirrels, voles and field mice.

Squirrels can be especially frustrating to gardeners with only a few short rows of corn. If you find the ear that you think you will pick tomorrow; the squirrels will pick it first. Squirrels also know when that ear of corn is just about ready for picking. They are great at being one step ahead of us. A raccoon family can also wreck chaos with your garden.

This is part of gardening and you live and learn.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2012, 11:21 AM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,061 posts, read 80,100,596 times
Reputation: 56845
We had a problem with deer stripping the leaves off the roses, and we also suffer from blackspot on them. I discovered that the fungicide I used for the blackspot is distasteful to the deer, if I spray regularly it reduces the fungus and keeps the deer away.

Coffee grounds are not good to use here as we have naturally acidic soil due to the fir trees. Also, if you pile it on it will get moldy underneath, repell water and keep air from getting into the ground. It should be mixed into the soil with a rake. On the other hand, a thin layer works wonders for eliminating the slugs in our shady areas where they like to eat our Hostas.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2012, 01:31 PM
 
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
11,078 posts, read 15,019,047 times
Reputation: 3936
Quote:
Originally Posted by fisheye View Post
If you have deer, that already know what your garden taste like, no human hair will stop them. I used to have one large doe that I had to physically shoo out of the garden - only for her to wait for me to leave. My first garden only had a four foot high fence. Some deer are not even afraid of humans - let alone human hair. If this would be the case; you have to go with high fencing. The exception is that high fencing will not keep out raccoons, squirrels, voles and field mice.

Squirrels can be especially frustrating to gardeners with only a few short rows of corn. If you find the ear that you think you will pick tomorrow; the squirrels will pick it first. Squirrels also know when that ear of corn is just about ready for picking. They are great at being one step ahead of us. A raccoon family can also wreck chaos with your garden.

This is part of gardening and you live and learn.
Hair seemed to help at our old place..I can't say about the new one as this is the first year for a garden there...I know it's overran by them and they graze right in the yard like livestock in the mornings and evenings...well,if they mess with my garden they'll end up in the freezer like the rabbits do here and I'll win either way
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2012, 03:13 PM
 
Location: Virginia
18,717 posts, read 30,948,293 times
Reputation: 42988
Our deer aren't a big problem. Liquid Fence seems to mostly keep them away, although 3-4 times a summer they'll have a part and eat maybe 1/3 of my roses or black eyed susans. But if the pungent smell helps keep them at bay, all the better. I've noticed my cat will no longer walk through the garden, so I suspect it keeps cats away. I'm very curious to see if the birds get a coffee buzz.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2012, 05:39 PM
 
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
11,078 posts, read 15,019,047 times
Reputation: 3936
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caladium View Post
Our deer aren't a big problem. Liquid Fence seems to mostly keep them away, although 3-4 times a summer they'll have a part and eat maybe 1/3 of my roses or black eyed susans. But if the pungent smell helps keep them at bay, all the better. I've noticed my cat will no longer walk through the garden, so I suspect it keeps cats away. I'm very curious to see if the birds get a coffee buzz.
Liquid Fence? Who makes it? I've never heard of it, but if it works I'll sure give it a try.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-26-2012, 11:51 AM
 
Location: Virginia
18,717 posts, read 30,948,293 times
Reputation: 42988
Quote:
Originally Posted by muleskinner View Post
Liquid Fence? Who makes it? I've never heard of it, but if it works I'll sure give it a try.
I'm not sure who makes it but they sell it in the Big Box stores. I like rotating between three products, Liquid Fence, Bobbex, and Deer Out. By the time I've gone through a bottle of one brand, my deer seem to become used to the smell of that particular product and start nibbling again. But if I switch to the next one, the slightly different smell of the new brand makes them go away again.

Deer Out, by the way, has a minty-fresh smell. That's the one to use if you're planning to entertain out in your garden.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Garden

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top