Deer

More elusive than Bigfoot

One of the most common questions we get at Farmers' Markets is "How do you keep the deer out of your plants?" The truth is, we don't. The deer keep themselves out. Only once or twice a year do we see deer near One Love Farm and then only for a fleeting second. As you can see from the picture above, they don't hang around long enough to have their picture taken.

Karen and I have a few theories as to why they stay away from us. Most revolve around where we live. One Love Farm backs up to Arcadia Management area which is protected open space and forest in Rhode Island. We think that the deer must have plenty of food to feast on in the forest so they don't come near us.

Second, we are in the sticks of Rhode Island. There are lots of hunters here. During deer season it sounds like a firing range outside our house. Deer must have come to fear humans and open space which is why they are reluctant to come near us where they are out in the open.

Finally, when we first moved to Hope Valley, lots of people told us we would have big problems with deer. Karen researched how to keep deer away organically and found that they do not like Irish Spring Soap. So we hang Irish Spring at the end of planting rows. So, one or two or all of these factors are why we don't have problems with deer. Then again, maybe they just don't like organic veggies.