Seedling Defense against Deer & Rabbits
Seedling Defense Against Deer & Rabbits
I'm harvesting the first round of sunflowers and planted a second succession this week, focusing on branching varieties for more blooms per plant. My top picks include Black Beauty, Terracotta, Sunburst Greenburst, and Vincent’s Choice (see all sunflower seeds here).
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 Starburst Greenburst
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To protect these sunflower seedlings from deer and rabbits, I've angled stakes topped with floating row cover and weighed down with rocks. I'm hoping these human contraptions will be enough of a deterrent. I’ve also applied Plantskydd, in granule form, it's a blood-meal-based deterrent that works for a couple of months (and doesn't need to be reapplied after rain).
With no fencing around the cut-flower gardens, these practical steps are helping. It's been 2 days, so far, so good. However, when food is scarce late in the season, the deer and rabbit pressure can be too much. Fingers crossed!
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