Comments on: Victory Garden-Duluth Style

By: Vicki Olson

Vicki Olson — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:49:17 +0000

Im looking for other people like me who are striving to eat organically but are having a hard time finding USDA certified organic foods locally. I just joined an organic food company out of Chaska MN called Natures Prime Organic Foods http://www.npofoods.com They have a freezer program that is great for people wanting to eat organically and save by buying in bulk, they will even sell you a freezer! I became a rep in the Duluth area and want to come out to peoples homes to give them a tasting of the fabulous food they have! Their food is not only organic but they make sure it all is of the highest quality and as fresh as you can get it so people who buy just because something has superior taste will become customers. Please let me know if anyone would be willing to let me come and give you and a few friends a tasting of npo’s foods and show you our freezer program. Thank You, Vicki

By: Dulusion

Dulusion — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:21:37 +0000

I live near the lake, past Lester river and I have a very healthy deer population, I see deer in my yard every day. I do not fence. I do use “predator tape.” It’s holographic mylar tape (you can get it at Gordy’s) that you hang by long strips from poles in the garden. The deer don’t like the sound it makes when a breeze hits it. They also don’t like when the breeze causes it to touch them. I space bamboo poles about 3′ apart all through my garden. You then hang a strip of the tape from a piece of string tied to the pole. The tape then swivels and snaps in the wind. I also use “Liquid Fence” which you must regularly apply. It’s natural and very stinky when you spray it. I grow in two 30x50 gardens and lose very little to the deer. I grow enough for them to swipe a little…they sometimes nibble peas or lettuce on the outer edges of the garden, but generally leave it alone. My experience with fencing is that they knock it down..and it’s expensive to maintain.

By: Chester Dark

Chester Dark — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:02:29 +0000

“For insects and small children, I find that if you squish a couple and leave their bodies around the perimeter, it keeps the rest from trying to come in and steal your bounty….”

yeah, that would definitely keep me away. What’s your address, Tim K? Any missing children in your neighborhood?

By: Tim K

Tim K — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:49:28 +0000

I put up a 6′ fence and it worked. I pounded 8′ long 2″x2″s down about 2′ into the ground, spaced about 4′ apart. I trenched out an outline of the fence and put up 3′ metal poultry cloth and buried the bottom 6 or 8.” I over-lapped a plastic raspberry netting with the poultry cloth to achieve the 6′ height. I also ran some electric fence wire across the top for rigidity- no electricity at this point. For insects and small children, I find that if you squish a couple and leave their bodies around the perimeter, it keeps the rest from trying to come in a steal your bounty.

By: Barrett

Barrett — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:19:43 +0000

I’d say my fence was about six feet tall. Maybe five. But they didn’t jump over it: They knocked it down.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:44:00 +0000

I’m hoping to see who is interested in swapping veggies, et cetera and then I’ll contact people about who grows what. I’m more than willing to tailor what I grow to fill in gaps that other people might not grow.

Barrett, how tall did you make your deer fence that they got through?

By: Barrett

Barrett — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:49:35 +0000

I used to have one on Rice Lake Road and it wasn’t too difficult to build a deer fence, which was highly effective. They did manage to knock it down and get in once, but all they ate was some leaves off the squash plants. This was mainly due to my shoddy construction.

It’s an enormous plot for very little money, and a great opportunity if you’re willing to put in the work of maintaining a garden.

By: hbh1

hbh1 — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:51:51 +0000

i know someone who grows corn, right on the lake, but it is not for beginners.

also, proper, tall (and underground) fencing is all that’s required to keep away the non-bug critters. human thieves, on the other hand… i know someone who had a large portion of their garden stolen at the community gardens by the zoo last year.

By: Chester Dark

Chester Dark — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:10:43 +0000

I garden a bit too but the trouble is, when I have an over-abundance of something, so does everyone else. Debbie, would your organization skills help to coordinate us to plant different things so we can share more effectively? I’d love to trade something (money? skills? muscle?) for chickens, eggs, venison, honey, etc. with like-minded folk.

Sadly, the Farmer’s Market here in Duluth doesn’t do it for me.

By: Carrie Slater Duffy

Carrie Slater Duffy — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:29:23 +0000

For those of you interested in community gardening, call the Duluth Community Garden Program office at 722-4583 or email us at duluthcommgarden@yahoo.com with your complete contact information and which garden(s) you prefer.

The biggest problem the Duluth Community Garden Program faces right now is deer. It’s heartbreaking. We provide land, resources, tools, seeds and transplants at very little cost. The gardeners themselves then provide many hours of hard work. All of that can disappear in a moment.

We have sixteen sites throughout Duluth, and let me tell you, the deer problem didn’t exist until the last few years. Now, in a depressed economy, when the demand for our services is growing steadily, I’m trying to find funds in the form of sponsorships for all of those gardens… while struggling to meet our general operating expenses.

If you can, PLEASE HELP!

You can grow a lot of food on a 400 square food plot if you’re not sharing it with critters. We hope to provide fencing and a water source at each garden as soon as we can. but we can’t do it without support from the community.

Contact the DCGP for more information or check out our website, http://www.duluthcommunitygarden.org.