Vegetable gardens/compost and bears....

[Tussiemussies]

I am dreaming about next year's garden since we cannot put one in this year. One huge obstacle is that we have bears coming by our home every here and there and I am afraid that no matter how much fencing we put around the garden they will somehow get into it. I plan on having two compost tumblers which will smell like a garbage can to them. The only thing I can think of is using rabbit, manure in the compost and garden. It doesn't have to age but I wondering if I . Have to do multiple applications will it harm the plants. There are other methods I have read about to keep the deer away, but some say they get used to it and you must then do something else. We are putting up a double fence a. Little bit apart, the inside one being much higher than the first one. They will not be able to jump it. Any ideas about our bear situation? I am not open to electric fences or having them removed by the authorities, they are not here that much. Thanks! Chris

[Chicken lady]

I'm thinking the bears should help with the deer....

Rabbit manure is not "hot" and should be fine as long as it isn't actually touching the plants. Deer usually won't jump into a fence if it is a small area. I know nothing about bears and gardens.

[Float On]

My dad leaves a radio on all night at his garden. Hanging on the fence about man head height. The deer have left it alone. He hasn't had bear problems since they are pretty rare up in his part of the state though he did get confirmation from the conservation department that he has a bear there now, but it's staying in the woods and not coming up to the house.

[RosieTR]

I'd guess if you do compost and it has food waste, the bears will be attracted to it. Maybe an indoor worm bin would be better? As for a garden-maybe try pig fencing, growing less attractive veggies (spinach vs tomatoes) or decoy plants to redirect (a path of fruit trees/shrubs that lead away from garden). You could get fancier with motion-sensor lights etc but at some point you may as well just buy veggies.

[Gregg]

We used to chase deer out along the lines of what Float On's dad did. We rigged up a motion sensor light and put one of those screw in outlets in one of the sockets. I plugged a boom box into that. Whenever the motion sensor was triggered Van Halen would come on full blast along with the light in the other socket. It was pretty effective. Of course it was a long way to any neighbor's house...

[Gregg]

Added, you can get compost from municipal landfills in lots of areas. That would at least get your soil going without drawing in bears. Also, lots of animals shy away from peppermint oil misted around the property. Not sure about bears, but it might be worth looking into.

[Tussiemussies]

Thank you everyone for your ideas, I'm still pondering and might call the county extension office for their take on this!

[kib]

I wonder if you put regular stinky steer manure into the compost tumblers if that might not deter the bears as well as giving the manure a chance to age before putting it on crops. ??

[Tussiemussies]

Hi Kib, that does sound like a really good idea, just not sure if it would smell enough that my neighbors would smell it too?

[kib]

Don't know. I hate buying bagged steer manure because the car stinks, but when I've dug it in my garden it's not really noticeable. Maybe you can be our experimenter!