It rained all day and by 9:00 p.m. there was about 1.5" in the rain gauge.
It kept raining on and off and then around 10:00 p.m. the real storms rolled in and we got about 2" in a VERY short time - with all the drama: wind, lightning, explosive thunder. It was not fun.
3.6" in the gauge this morning.
I checked the basement - no probs this time.
I gazed out into the gardens and saw that a lot of things were beaten down by the relentless downpour.
Then I glanced at the veg garden.
Hmmm. I noticed the Mtg Lifter was short about 2.5'. Must've broken in the storm.
*sip* The mass of San Marzanos also looked pretty beaten down.
*sip* I thought, bet the cukes loved the rain. Yep, lookit all those big ones. Waaait. I can't ever see the cukes from the sunroom. There are tons of LEAVES in front of the fruit.
But not this morning.
WTF!!
I ran out for a closeup look. Holy crap!
The cukes leaves had been EATEN OFF.
The Mtg Lifter had been BROKEN OFF.
The paste tomatoes had been MUNCHED.
The beans were GRAZED.
Now how in the hell had this happened?
The heavy netting was still firmly in place. None of the clamps were missing. There was no gaps in the netting.
It just COULDN'T have been a deer!?
So I thought ground hog. It could easily have come in from any direction. That made sense, but was very little comfort.
Then I looked at the damage again.
NO vegetables were gnawed or eaten. Only LEAVES. Ground hog would have eaten the BEANS, not just the leaves. Eaten the CUKES not the leaves. Eaten the ripe TOMATOES and not the tender vine ends.
Logic point to -- a DEER somehow breached the netting, did the damage (during all those storms and deluge), and got OUT of the enclosed area WITHOUT pulling down any netting.
I don't know. I just don't know. Unfortunately, I'd only just laid down a thick mulch of chopped leaves 2 days before this, so there aren't any footprints. Though the evidence points to deer, how the *&#$ did it get in? and OUT?
Gonna put up more netting today as soon as things dry out a bit.
I hate gardening.
======== Amended ========
I LOVE gardening. I HATE deer! More proof that it was deer. The neighboring border beds have had the geranium buds browsed off. Yep. I HATE DEER.
Spent time harvesting and beefing up defenses. (I'll post on the veg page.) Just looked at the radar - lots of colorful crap heading our way again. This is AUGUST! It's supposed to be DRY! Sure am glad I'm not trying to harvest corn or hay....
Perhaps it is snails or slugs?
ReplyDeletePlease - send some rain - we're desperate for it. we've only had 19 mms in July and none so far this month - and winter is our rainy season...!
Oh Dani, there are no slugs to speak of here and certainly no snails. Of course it's deer. I've posted countless entries regarding the deer devastation for the past 3 years. There is no doubt a deer got into the veg bed.
DeleteIf you need water, though. Bring a bucket. There's more on the way.
We had 2.2 " in just over an hour last night. In 7 years of living here, I've NEVER had my yard flood. It was incredible. It's been raining all day today as well. Crazy weather.
ReplyDeleteAnd so so sorry about the deer at it again. I know I've just about given up here as well. They have a big green beautiful world out there, but they rampage through my borders like it's a buffet. So tired of it.
HI Sue. I think about giving up gardening ever since the deer. But THEN what would I do? I'm an outside gal and when you spend all day wandering around the yard and NOT do any gardening, then the neighbors begin to talk. *heh* And it's not the deer fault, it's the LAW's fault. Statutes make it impossible to limit Bambi. They have more rights than we do! If I were a farmer or rancher or fill-in-the-blank, I'd be all up in arms over these pests.
DeleteEat more venison! Hope your yard drains quickly and that you saved a lot in your water barrels. Take care.
so maddening! I know how disappointing it must be to go out and see the damage, especially when you have taken such measures to try to protect your garden and believe that it just might be working.
ReplyDeleteWe have been having a ton of rain, too....lots of plants beaten into the ground with the force of it the last few days.
I just have to fence harder. The Milorganite doesn't do any good if the rain keep washing the little pellets off the plants. (Ironically - the grass around the plants are really getting lush. LOL) Yep, lots of rain for August. Hope it's not a trend.
DeleteI feel your pain. Max spotted another groundhog after it had raided the orchard outback! I did save the sweet corn though so that made me happy.
ReplyDeleteStill not rain down in our neck of the woods.
I guess I'd rather have deer than groundhogs if I had to pick. Groundhogs eat the fruits and veg. Deer just eat the leaves. It's still sucky either way. Hope you get some needed rain. Wish I could send you some!
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