No advice, sorry, but I have seen what I think are rolly pollies, but now I will have to go research and see if they can roll up. I always called them potato bugs as a kid, but I do not know if they like ... more »

No advice, sorry, but I have seen what I think are rolly pollies, but now I will have to go research and see if they can roll up. I always called them potato bugs as a kid, but I do not know if they like them or not... and I am not growing potatoes. I will have to do some research and see what I find. :) (less)

This is the first year I've actually ever used a planting schedule! I actually wrote all the dates in my day planner and it just makes the whole transplanting process SO much more organized and manageable.... more »

This is the first year I've actually ever used a planting schedule! I actually wrote all the dates in my day planner and it just makes the whole transplanting process SO much more organized and manageable. Plus it definitely forces you to be patient (i.e. last year I had tomatoes in the ground in March! which it was an unusually warm spring last year) But still, the plants definitely do better when you wait. (less)

I hope it works out well for you - deer can be so destructive to a garden!  I only have problems with them out in our community garden plot, so I'm trying to keep all the deer delicacies at home in th... more »

I hope it works out well for you - deer can be so destructive to a garden!  I only have problems with them out in our community garden plot, so I'm trying to keep all the deer delicacies at home in the backyard gardens, and am trying to put the things they don't seem to pay any attention to out at the community garden. 
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Yes I have tried many approaches the past few years and a fence is truly the only thing that will keep them out. I've tried the store-bought sprays (you'd probably end up spending as much $ as a fence cost... more »

Yes I have tried many approaches the past few years and a fence is truly the only thing that will keep them out. I've tried the store-bought sprays (you'd probably end up spending as much $ as a fence costs if you used those on a regular basis as they need to be reapplied after rain + at least 1x week). I always saved my hair after haircuts and put it out there. Bones from pork steaks and other animal bones tied up in the trees around the garden (this just tortured the dog). I also planted all the tall stuff I didn't care that much about on the outside of the garden hoping they would eat a little of that and then move on. Also some years I planted things and they didn't touch it (i.e. eggplant) then the next year they ate the eggplants to a nub. Ground cherries are supposed to be deer proof but they ate those to a nub as well! In your community garden you might try stringing some fishing line around the perimeter of your area. I tried this and actually had the fishing line hooked up to a wind chime. I actually do think this method worked as I could see they were avoiding the area I had "booby trapped" with the fishing line/wind chime apparatus. haha I had to take it down because it just was not practical (getting tangled in the mower, in the way, etc.) But that is a solution that might be worth trying in a smaller more square/rectangle community plot! (Just because deer can surprise you with what they will eat!)  (less)

We'll still have to do some preventative work for sure (even if they don't stop to eat, they can really mess things up by just running through and knocking things down).  We found some organic granule... more »

We'll still have to do some preventative work for sure (even if they don't stop to eat, they can really mess things up by just running through and knocking things down).  We found some organic granules that actually worked really well last year - the container went a long way, and with our dry summer, we didn't have to reapply much more often than once a week as long as we were careful with the watering.   I also started a couple of extra habanero peppers for the sole purpose of making my own pepper spray this year.  The good and bad thing about the community garden is there's lots to pick from.  Last year the first time the deer came through, it was all the beets that were gone from every garden.  Then the beans went... they just went around finding what they liked wherever it was and, as as things disappeared (or were protected), they had to move down the line of preference :) 
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