Home Grown Fun

List of Deer Resistant Herbs

Share and Print!

Deer Eating HerbsDeer Resistant Herbs

In my neck of the woods we have deer that will eat anything.

keep deer from eating herbsThey snip the tops off all my neighbors’ flowers in the pots on their porches. Nothing seems to get by them. In the middle of winter their standards go even lower and anything green with moisture is fair game except for the really prickly stuff. I’m told this January we should have herds of 40-50 deer passing through our yard at a time. They will have no fear.

What”s worked for me so far are metal cages over the top of my raised beds. (An added benefit is the cages double as cold frames with row cover cloth on top.)

The new herb garden? Well, that’s an ongoing experiment. 

Herbs Deer Won't EatCame home today from volleyball and noticed the deer took a tour of the herbs, stomped on the cilantro sprouts but didn’t even nibble on the sage, marjoram or oregano. Will the cilantro survive without a cage? Doubt it. Here’s a list of herbs that the deer tend to leave alone. But again, you may have different deer with different taste buds. 

Use these herbs, especially chives, lavender and sage, in borders in your garden to throw deer off the scent of more tempting fare:

  • Anise
  • Chives
  • Dill
  • Horseradish
  • Lavender
  • Lemon Balm
  • Lungwort
  • Mint
  • Parsley
  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Tarragon
  • Thyme

 

Share and Print!