That sums up my garden this year. The deer pretty much decimated it. The only thing they didn’t try was the kale. Despite the deer, my tomatoes fared pretty well. The deer did eat some of them, but they didn’t eat the whole plant, unlike some of the other plants in the garden. However, the hot, dry weather affected them, and I didn’t have much of a harvest. If the weather stays decent, I might get some in September. It’s a shame, too, because this is the first year they didn’t get septoria leaf spot in forever. It was also the first year I used mushroom compost. I’m not sure if that’s a coincidence, but I’m not taking any chances next year.
I’m trying to figure out what to do next year. I have 3 large tomato cages, and I’m planning on buying another 3 and then wrapping them with deer fencing or hardware cloth. I’m also going to install two small raised boxes (for carrots and lima beans), which I will cover in some way. But I’m not sure what to do with the rest of the garden. I don’t really want to install a fence, but that might happen down the road.
My garlic harvest was kind of meh this year. After years of trying different varieties, I’ve found that the only variety that does really well for me is Italy Hill Giant Ivory. Music runs a close second. The place I ordered from for my October planting did not have Italy Hill, so I put back 4 heads to replant. I’m going to put back more heads each year and buy fewer until I have enough that I can replant every year and don’t have to keep spending money on planting garlic. It’s so expensive. This fall, I’m planting Music (again) and a new one called Polish White. If those do well, I might keep some of those to replant as well.