No matter how long I’ve been doing this, I consistently find that every season is different and you always learn something. This year marked dramatic changes beginning with a cooler spring, yet not cold, blessed with plenty of precipitation. I planted the garden by mid-May, and it was well on its way to be one of the best.

The cole crops grew fabulously well. The broccoli was beautiful with very few cabbage moths. The kohlrabi was large, yet tender. We had kale coming out our ears. Even the warm weather crops like the tomatoes and peppers took off. Then the rain stopped and someone turned up the heat. With months in the 90s and no precipitation since June 13, progress went downhill quickly. As you might know, by the end of the summer over a million acres in Montana burned, and materials were so dry even someone mowing a lawn caused a fire.

We watered deeply and regularly, but the heat caused the spinach, lettuce, and broccoli to end early. The heat lovers thrived, although even the tomatoes didn’t set as well as they otherwise would have because of the excessive temperatures. The potatoes were tremendous. The plants grew as high as my waist and there wasn’t a potato bug in sight. The mulch held in the water we gave them, and all looked good for July and into August.

Deer

But as the drought intensified, it wasn’t only a matter of keeping water on the garden and the trees (we had long given up the lawn by the end of July). The deer became desperate and ate whatever was green. Friends in the neighborhood who have never had a deer issue in the 20 years they’ve lived here suddenly had plants eaten. The fence around our garden, which was always enough to discourage them, was suddenly irrelevant.

First the Swiss chard was nibbled. I thought maybe it was just a rabbit who squeezed under the chicken wire. Then some of the carrot tops were gone. Next the tomato tops. My husband put another line around the garden to try to create a second layer to discourage them, and he moved electric fence almost nightly trying to protect the trees they were routinely stripping. I also covered my precious peppers, including my favorite ‘Carmen’ Italian sweet peppers that were the most beautiful ones I’ve ever grown, with floating row covers. It didn’t matter. Hungry deer don’t care. When I went out a couple of days ago to pick a few tomatoes for our salad, I managed to find 3 tucked down in the Wall-O-Waters. Everything the deer could reach were gone and the branches stripped of foliage.

Our drought broke yesterday with temps in the 40s and a steady rain that lasted nearly all day. With nighttime temperatures flirting with freezing, I decided it was time to pick the remaining peppers. The floating row cover was pulled aside and they were all gone except for one whole ‘Carmen’ and one that had a bite taken out of the top. Heartbroken with the loss, I took that one, too. They even ate the jalapenos!

How to keep them out?

I have to wonder if there was any way to keep them out of the garden this year, outside of an 8 ft. fence, wrapped around the whole place. They often went through the electric wire Grant had wrapped around the trees pulling out the wire as they took off. On one hand, I feel badly that they are so hungry. On the other, I want to camp out in the garden some night and scare the beejeebers out of them!

I’m not sure what this will mean for next year. If the mother brought the fawns in with her, they learned that this is a great food source. So even if next year is “normal” with adequate natural food for them, they might simply assume our garden is part of that source. I think early on, we will either have to install a 7-8 ft. fence, or invest in additional electric fencing and charger to put a Jurassic Park like barricade around it. Unfortunately, for this year, I have nothing left but the pride of growing fantastic peppers and a discouraging learning experience.