WHAT DO DEER, MILWAUKEE, AND OLD SOCKS HAVE IN COMMON?
MILORGANITE, that’s what! The production of Milorganite is one of the nation’s oldest recycling efforts. Since 1926 (just a few years after Weston Nurseries was founded), the city of Milwaukee has used its water reclamation process to safely and sustainably recycle nutrient-rich microbes into organic-nitrogen fertilizer.
Healthy soil is the long-term key to garden success, and the organic matter in Milorganite promotes beneficial microbial activity in the soil, thereby nurturing your lawn & garden. It’s also non-toxic for kids and pets.
Ordinarily we’d be using this fantastic fertilizer to add slow-release nitrogen and iron to our lawns, or boost the soil nutrients in our flower beds and plantings. But here’s a secret gardening trick we recently discovered – Milorganite works GREAT for repelling pesky deer, too!
As we all know, deer will eat just about anything during the Winter months when food is scarce. Starting right now you can take steps to protect your plants: Simply plop a large bag of Milorganite down in your yard in an area where the local deer love to tread, or perhaps adjacent to your most-nibbled landscape plantings.
Next, cut a couple of big slashes across the top of the bag and leave it right there. You can even sprinkle some around the area a little bit. Deer hate the scent (it smells like humans to them) and will avoid your yard. In the Spring you can then spread the leftover product where you need it in your landscape.
If you have some old pantyhose or socks laying around, fill them with Milorganite, tie off the tops, and hang them in the branches of your trees and shrubs, or along fencing and stakes at the perimeter of your yard.
Milorganite is one of our all-time favorite products, and the staff here at Weston have used it for years in their own yards and gardens. We think it’s always handy to have a bag or two in your shed or garage, so be sure to stop in one of our Garden Centers this week and pick some up!
