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PRESS & DAKOTAN n TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013
PAGE 14
Yard & Garden
Deer-proofing a garden
around your area.
Keeping deer at bay involves
some work and maintenance on
the part of a homeowner. There
are safe and humane methods to
repelling deer, or at least blocking
access to the plants worth protecting. Here are the main ways
to deer-proof a garden.
Fence It
Creating a beautiful and
bountiful garden is a popular
pastime for people all across the
country. It is important to keep
in mind that aesthetically appealing plants may be appetizing to
area wildlife, including deer.
Those who do not want their
gardens to turn into all-you-caneat buffets for deer, rabbits and
other wild animals can take a
more proactive approach to gardening.
Deer are opportunists who
will no doubt see your garden as
a salad bar ripe with all of their
favorite foods. As housing developments continue to encroach
on the natural habitats of deer
and other animals, these animals
are becoming more visible. Deer
may not be able to forage for
food effectively in their smaller,
natural surroundings, or they
may become accustomed to the
easy pickings they find in
neighborhood yards. Either way,
you may encounter a deer in or
Fences are one way to deter
deer from entering a yard and
dining on your garden. Keep in
mind that deer can jump fences
that are quite tall, but they have
to be especially motivated to
jump an eight-foot-tall fence.
Still, they tend to be weary about
scaling a fence when they cannot
see what is on the other side.
Therefore, if you are fencing out
deer, choose a fence that camouflages the garden well and completely encloses the area to be
protected. If you do not want the
fence to be solid, consider putting stakes or thorny plants
within the garden so that the
deer will hesitate to jump into
the garden.
Scare Them
Deer are naturally skittish
around people, but over time
they can become quite complacent around human beings.
Once a deer decides that something will not present a threat,
the deer can adapt to its presence.
Motion-activated devices
may not work, nor the presence
of pets. Predator urine is typically
an effective way at keeping deer
at bay. Bottled coyote urine can
be quite effective, although
human urine may work as well.
Reapplying the product weekly
around the plants is a good idea.
have been successful in certain
instances. The use of blood meal
or even human hair around the
garden may repel the deer and
keep them on a different foraging path. However, remember
that any deer that is very hungry
may ignore unpleasant tastes or
smells for a quick bite.
* Snapdragons
In terms of perennials, plant these
items once, and deer could stay away:
* Ageratum
* Anemone
* Astibe
* Bearded iris
* Catmint
* Honeysuckle
* Lantana
* Monkshood
* Rock rose
* Rosemary
* Soapwort
* Wisteria
Plant these herbs alongside flowers
for even more protection:
* Chives
* Eucalyptus
* Garlic
* Mint
* Thyme
* Wintergreen
Gardeners who use a combination of methods to keep deer
out of their yards and gardens
may have a higher success rate at
deterring these animals.
There are many organic or
chemically-based products on
the market that deer may find
offensive to the taste or smell.
Hot pepper, sulfur and eggs
or even the use of soapy water
Change Plants
If other food sources are
available, there are some species
of plants and trees that deer will
avoid. Filling your garden with
these plants can help you maintain a beautiful, albeit untasty,
environment for deer.
When planting annuals, select
among:
* Alyssum
* Begonias
* Calendula
* Celosia
* Dianthus
* Foxglove
* Geraniums
* Parsley
* Poppy
by fostering a tougher, more
drought-resistant lawn. If you
water early in the day, less water
will be lost to evaporation. Limit
watering to a few times per
week, and less if you have had
adequate rain. Avoid watering at
night, which can expose the
lawn to bacteria and attract insects.
*Mow when the lawn is dry.
It s not adviseable to mow the
lawn when it is wet. Slippery
conditions can not only make it
more dangerous to push a
mower, but also slow down the
time it can take to tackle the
chore. The mower blades can become clogged and coated with
wet grass clippings, necessitating
stopping and starting the task.
Another thing to consider is lawn
diseases spread more readily
through wet clippings. Stick to
mowing when the lawn is completely dry.
*Let clippings fly. Mulching
mowers, or those that just distribute clippings on the lawn as
you go, can be healthier for the
grass. They will serve as fertilizer
and redistribute nutrients to the
lawn as they breakdown into the
soil. According to The Organic
Lawn Care Manual, leaving
clippings on the lawn will fulfill
about 25 percent of fertilizer requirements. Plus, you save time
bagging up clippings.
*Mow less often. Raise the
mower s blade so that the grass is
longer in between cuttings. The
taller grass will shade the soil and
block weeds from germinating. It
also helps improve soil s moisture retention.
*Don t cut corners. Adjusting a landscape design to have
arches and curves can reduce the
time it takes to mow and edge a
property. Hard corners in a landscape will require more time to
keep straight and pristine.
Caring for a lawn can take
less time and effort than you
think.
damage the grass, which is then
forced to use valuable nutrients
to treat torn grass, weakening
the lawn over time. When mowing, make sure you re not cutting
too low so the soil can retain as
much moisture as possible. This
will necessitate more frequent
mowing, but this, too, can pre-
vent bald spots, as it ensures
those parts of the grass that contain chlorophyll will not be removed.
Bald spots can turn a pristine
lawn into an eyesore. But treating bald spots can be easy and,
when done effectively, the lawn
can be restored quickly.
Repel the Deer
Shortcuts to a lush lawn
There are one million acres
of lawn across the country. Many
homeowners aspire to having a
lush, green lawn as the showcase
of their properties. The front
lawn can make a statement and
indicate to passersby the property owners personalities and
design preferences.
Lawn care takes some dedication and hard work, but there
are certain ways to cut down on
the amount of effort required to
maintain a landscape. By employing a few different shortcuts,
you can have a healthy, lush
lawn without spending all of
your free time cutting the grass
or pruning the trees.
*Stop weeds at the start.
Weeding is one of the most timeconsuming parts of maintaining
a lawn. Weeds can proliferate
throughout the lawn if not addressed in a timely manner.
Once weeds take root they can
become a nuisance, so it s best to
treat weeds before they even
have a chance to sprout. Apply a
preemergent weed control product as soon as possible in the
spring and then reapply it about
three months later to ensure
weeds are eradicated. That
equates to much less tedious
lawn maintenance during the
season.
*Plant a urine-resistant grass.
Having a dog and maintaining a
lush lawn has always been a par-
ticular conundrum for homeowners. Dog urine is high in nitrogen. While nitrogen, when
applied in the correct ratio, can
be a lawn-growth stimulant, in
the large concentration that occurs in pet urine, it causes the
grass to dry up and burn, resulting in bare spots. Replanting with
urine-resistant grasses can help
cut down on the level of damage
to the lawn from your own pet
or pets that happen to make
potty stops on your property. The
grasses most resistant to urine
tend to be perennial ryegrasses
and fescues.
*Wake up and water. Watering in the early mornings saves
time and energy in the long run
How to repair unsightly bald spots in your lawn
Lawn care aficionados know
how a single bald spot can make
an otherwise luscious lawn look
worn down and poorly maintained. A bald spot can stick out
like a sore thumb, while several
bald spots can compromise a
home s curb appeal.
Treating bald spots typically
depends on what is causing the
bald spot. Bugs, dryness, pet
waste and damage from mowers
are some of the more common
causes of bald spots. The following is a breakdown of these different causes and how best to
address each situation so you can
restore your lawn to its natural
beauty.
Dryness
A lawn can go dry because
of drought in the summertime or
during the winter months when
there is not much rain or snowfall. Homeowners cannot change
the weather, but they can help
their lawn avoid becoming the
burned or yellowed turf that
often results after extended periods of dryness. Fertilizing the
lawn during the spring and summer is a good first step. This helps
the lawn grow in healthy and
thick. Once you have fertilized,
don t cut the grass too short.
When grass is cut too short, the
soil struggles to retain moisture,
which can eventually lead to
bald spots if weather conditions
are dry. During especially dry periods in the summer, watering
might be necessary. You won t
have to water frequently, but be
sure to water deeply so the water
can reach the roots of the grass.
Pet Waste
Waste from pets can cause
bald spots on a yard. This might
surprise some homeowners, but
pet waste contains a high level of
concentrated nitrogen that,
when applied to a lawn, can
burn the grass and cause bald
spots. Urine is most likely to
cause bald spots, but fecal matter
can as well.
When addressing the problem of pet waste on your lawn,
make sure no one else s pets are
the cause of the problem.Neigh-
bors out walking their dogs
should be discouraged from allowing their dogs to use your
lawn as a restroom. If this does
not work, then erect a fence or
some type of structure that
makes it difficult for other people s pets to access your lawn.
When it s your own pet
causing the damage, address the
spots where your pet relieves itself as quickly as possible. Watering the area within eight hours
can significantly reduce the risk
of lawn damage by diluting the
nitrogen levels. Another way to
address the issue is to encourage
the animal to use various spots in
the yard, rather than continually
using the same spot. Flush each
area with water immediately
after the pet is finished. If the
damage is already considerable,
remove the damaged grass and
reseed the spot.
Mower Damage
Sometimes Mother Nature
and man s best friend are not the
culprit with regard to bald spots
on your lawn. Human error can
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cause bald spots, too. Dull
mower blades or grass that is cut
too low can cause bald spots.
Fortunately, this is easily remedied.
To avoid bald spots, make
sure mower blades are sharpened at the beginning of each
mowing season, as dull blades
