Use this easy guide for lots of tactics regarding How to Keep Deer Out of the Garden!

One of the problems with having a nice food garden, is that deer and other pests enjoy it right along with you. If you have deer getting in the garden, read about what we have been doing to get them to stay out! I work far too hard to get big garden harvests, to let animals get in there and take it away. Here’s one way that we are keeping deer out of the garden.

Since we no longer have a dog here on the property, the deer have been getting into the yard again. Especially starting in the early spring, since this is a time of high stress for deer.

They love to munch on our apple trees and other fruit trees, but I sure don’t want them getting into the actual veggie gardens. In one night, one or two deer could do a lot of damage and the work we have done would be gone, just like that.

There are several deer repellents on the market, but I am after something more permanent than that. Sort of a “set it and forget it” type of solution.

How to Keep Deer Out of The Garden

A friend swears by using yellow rope, something she has done for years. Apparently the deer don’t like the color yellow? I am following her suggestion and asked Graham to cut some 2 x 4’s that we could screw onto the garden posts already in place. He did that for me and he also drilled 3 holes in each board.

We started stringing out the rope. Here’s a good money saving hint if you need to buy rope. Never buy just 20 feet or 50 feet. You will pay a lot more when you just buy part of the roll.

Always buy the full roll, and then make sure you get a good discount on it! I did that, following Graham’s advice and saved 30% on a full rope.

Believe me, you will find a million other uses for rope on the homestead, whether it’s for tying down heavy duty tarps, using when fishing or some other project being worked on.

We strung the rope through the drilled holes and went around the garden. Then around again. Then around once more. So here’s what it looks like out there now.

Those targets you can see on the garden posts? They’re for target shooting. Graham uses them to sight in his guns and it doesn’t hurt to be able to do some safe target shooting when the kids come for a visit.

Adding Chicken Wire

Once we got all the yellow rope strung up, we went around and added heavy duty chicken wire to the bottom of all the fence panels surrounding the main garden. This is to keep small pests out like rabbits.

We have seen a lot of rabbits this year and you know how it goes with rabbits. If you see one, you know there are at least 100 others out there!

So hopefully we are all set to ward off the deer and the rabbits. I am finding quite a few snakes in the garden though and although I know they are probably eating a lot of mice, I just don’t like snakes. I’ve been know to walk into the garden going the long way around, just so I don’t have to walk by a snake. What a sissy!

If you are looking for ways to keep deer out of the garden, give the yellow rope trick a try. You can read The Yellow Rope – an update to see how our garden did after the rope was up.

How to Keep Deer Out of Your Garden – Other Options

Using Deer Repellent Sprays

While these sprays are a more temporary solution, they’re also effective deer repellents. Spray the repellent around the plants you want to keep the deer away from and the scent will keep them away! Apparently, many of these spray deer repellents remind the deer of decaying animals (some are made with rotten eggs) and dissuade them from eating your plants.

If you prefer a less smelly solution, there are certain soaps, like Irish Spring, that have properties that deer dislike. Who likes the taste of soap? Take a couple bars of soap and carve up some shavings to sprinkle around the garden. Using hot pepper like cayenne can also deter deer. These deer sprays use hot cayenne pepper as one of their ingredients.

Just be sure to avoid products that could be potentially harmful to pets or people, especially if you’re growing a lot of food to be eaten!

Using Deer Resistant Plants

There are natural deer deterrents you can grow in your garden, as well as some tactics for managing your plants that will prevent deer from feeling comfortable grazing there.

Here are some deer-resistant garden plants that are good to grow as a natural physical barrier in order to prevent deer from coming into your garden:

• Garlic – the strong aroma will be undesirable to the deer.
• Lavender – though we might like the smell, apparently deer don’t as much!
• Mountain Mint
• Catmint
• Chives
• Rosemary
• Lamb’s Ear – Has a texture that deer don’t particularly like.

The reason these plants function well is for a few different reasons. Some of them, deer just don’t like the scent. They also won’t want to walk through vegetation with strong odors, as that will make them more of a target for any predators. And finally, strong scents can cover up the delicious aromas of fresh vegetables and fruits that can attract deer.

Perimeter Planting to Discourage Deer

You can also find ways to arrange your plants naturally so you can keep an eye on things. Plant the ones with strong aromas around the edges and keep the ones you want to protect closer to your eyes. That way, if a deer or other animal does manage to get into your garden, you’ll be able to see it and scare them off.

Another thing to try is planting shrubs or other plants that grow prickly foliage on the outer edges of your garden. This will act as another natural deterrent!

Also, keep the leaves of your plants trimmed and the landscape nice and open. If a deer feels like your garden is a good predator guard, it will feel safe there. Making your vegetable gardens more open areas with less places to hide will make it so deer feel less inclined to stop and munch on your plants!

You can learn more about deer proofing your garden with any of these books.

Using Fencing

If you really mean business and have the resources for it, you could put up a deer fence around the perimeter of your garden, like we did. Built correctly, a tall fence will keep deer away from your plants (though it may not be enough to block other animals). Aim for a fence that’s anywhere from 6 to 10 feet tall.

In some cases, the deer might be quite persistent. Instead of wood or wire fences, it may be helpful to use electric fences, which will definitely deter deer from coming into your garden. Just be sure to check your local zoning laws before committing to electric fencing, as it’s not allowed everywhere.

For something less invasive and visible, fishing line can also be strung in the garden. The deer won’t be able to see it well, and walking into it will frighten them away. This is a great option when you want something inexpensive that won’t affect the beauty of your garden.

Using Scare Tactics

Another potential solution is to lean into scare tactics and install sprinklers that have a motion-activated function. The water won’t harm the deer, but the sudden spray from a motion-activated sprinkler like these will most likely scare them off and prevent them from eating your plants. Plus, it will keep your garden beds hydrated!

You could also hang wind chimes; the sound will make the deer uneasy and less likely to approach.

originally published 2014; latest update April 2025

Here’s how to weed an Asparagus patch to grow healthy plentiful stalks of Asparagus every year.

Asparagus is one of the very early treats in our garden. By the time it’s ready for picking in June, we’re itching for fresh garden vegetables. And nothing can beat the taste of fresh Asparagus! Steamed very lightly for maybe 4 minutes tops, it’s one of our favourite sides dishes at dinner.

Part of maintaining your asparagus beds is regular weeding. Weed control of both annual weeds and the much worse perennial weeds is something that should be done starting in early spring. Here’s more about how to weed an asparagus patch, so you can grow lots of healthy stalks every spring.

If you’ve got weeds in asparagus beds, do your best to remove them throughout the growing season. You will find you have healthier harvests of asparagus spears!

How to Weed an Asparagus Patch

Before we get into the weeding details, here’s some general important information to know about how to grow asparagus in your garden.

Planting An Asparagus Bed

Asparagus needs to be planted in its own bed; you can also grow asparagus in raised beds, which will definitely make it easier to keep weed free.

Asparagus is a perennial, which means it is planted once and will then come up every spring, grow, then die down in the fall. It is common for a well-cared for patch of Asparagus to be productive for decades. 

This is why it needs its own space; you don’t want to plant Asparagus where you will be tilling or digging. Take the time to amend the soil heavily before planting Asparagus crowns.

Also, because Asparagus takes several years before you can start freely picking the stalks, always try to order one or two year old asparagus crowns from the nursery. 

The older the asparagus crowns that you plant, the sooner you will be able to enjoy really good harvests. So, try for two (or even three) year old Asparagus crowns.

Using a Trench for Asparagus Plants

The very best way to get a patch started is by digging a trench roughly 2 feet deep. Then, make a mound of dirt in the trench. Plant the individual crowns by spreading the roots freely into the trench. Then, backfill with some of the soil (not all).

Over that first growing season, keep backfilling the trench as the plants grow. This will allow each asparagus plant to be grown as deep as possible, with the growing stalks under the dirt as deep as possible. This is great for the coming years.

Leave the plants alone the first year, and do not not cut any at all. The plants will settle in over that first year and you want as much energy as possible going into feeding those roots.

The following year you can snap a few stalks but don’t take much. And take only one stalk from each plant. Leave as much alone to grow and send up those beautiful asparagus fern fronds. Always leave plenty of stalks for next year’s crop. The longer you can hold off free picking, the more Asparagus you will have in later years.

By the third or fourth year, you should be able to pick freely. Here in our Zone 3 garden, the final harvest is in mid-July or so, then we leave the rest of the plants to grow.

Weeding an Asparagus Bed

Our garden is an organic garden, so we don’t use any type of chemicals here. Although you can use chemicals like roundup to keep your bed weed free, that’s not the route we go.

The most important thing to keep in mind when cleaning and maintaining your Asparagus patch is to NOT disturb the roots of the plants. This is because if the roots get cut or nicked by your garden trowel, that portion of the plant may die. Asparagus roots are so sensitive!

 If you have lots of weeds that have creeped into your patch, start weeding at a point farthest away from the actual plants. Then use a shallow garden trowel to gently start lifting the dirt and pulling weeds. 

I have learned from experience that the roots are so darn sensitive to any lifting or nicking that I won’t use either a hoe or a shovel. I use only the shallower garden trowel. Always remember, shallow cultivation is the key!

Soil that is lightly worked will make it easier for getting rid of weeds. Take your time and start working your way from the outside of the bed, where you can did deeper and work towards the actual plants, where you will need to work much shallower and gentler.

If you have any trailing weeds, like couch grass or Johnson grass (that grow by underground runners), this process will make it easier to get the entire root out without breaking off.

Over the season, if you can keep any small weeds from growing, do it! Check your patch weekly and get rid of any weed seedlings.

You can also use this Canada Thistle DIY weed killer recipe in your asparagus bed, but be careful not to hit the asparagus plants with it, as it will kill anything it touches.

Mulching an Asparagus Bed

What can you put on asparagus to keep the weeds down?

Once you have your patch all weeded and cleaned out, using mulch is a great way to keep any new weeds from growing up in the bed. I like to put roughly a 5 inch layer of mulch (we use straw) over the entire patch.

The stalks will be able to grow through the straw, and once I see them poking up, I can remove a little bit of the straw around each of the asparagus plants.

Other mulches to use on asparagus patches include:

• pine shavings
• bark mulch
• straw
• spent clean hay
• pine needles
• leaves
• sawdust
• seaweed (composted)

Can you use plastic as a mulch for asparagus?

Yes, you can use plastic as mulch! We often do this, using a roll of black plastic. Black plastic gets laid in between each of our asparagus rows, then put straw on top of that.

We also lay the plastic all around the outside of the actual bed itself, to keep grass from encroaching from the lawn. Plastic works well to keep the weeds under control.

And as a bonus, if you have spreading weeds like we do, any roots that do get through are much weaker because they have zero access to light. This makes it even easier for weeding the asparagus bed.

Growing Asparagus in a Raised Bed

This is by far the best way to grow your own patch. Building a raised bed means lots of good soil, a nice deep trench for the asparagus to grow and it is more difficult for weeds that grow from spreading roots to take hold.

I wish we would have planted asparagus in a raised bed here, as it would have saved hours of weeding time.

We have boards all around the perimeter of the asparagus patch. That does help quite a bit; we dug a trench and then set the boards in that trench.

However, with the couch grass we have, it doesn’t help much because the roots just go deeper, get under the board and pop up in the bed. It would have been much better if we had grown the plants in a raised bed to start with. It is a good option worth considering when you start your own patch.

Keeping the Asparagus Bed Weed Free

Once we stop picking (and it is always hard to do that!) we leave the spears to grow into fronds. This will help us get a larger harvest next year.

Spend the time before you plant your Asparagus bed to make it the very best you can. Make sure it is weed free and then keep it that way. An Asparagus bed can easily remain in the same place for twenty years.

You can learn more about growing Asparagus here.

Asparagus is one of the earliest vegetables you can eat in the Spring and it is delicious. Steam it very lightly, then enjoy. It will be crunchy, firm and delicious!

Make some Pickled Asparagus for your pantry! These Asparagus Spears have a great zing to them – add one to your Caesar or Bloody Mary!

We also enjoy this side dish – Garlic Parmesan Asparagus with garden fresh stalks is so good!

Now that you know how to weed an Asparagus patch, plan where to site your bed and get some crowns in the ground.