The race is on! The pumpkin, squash, cucumbers and other vining plants are growing very quickly indeed, at the rate of about six inches per day. The incisors of deer, wood chucks, rabbits and squirrels, while not growing nearly at that rate, are propelled by hungry bodies that compete effectively.  If the vines can reach the upper limits of the trellises before being devoured, the bounty produced by growing upward will give the vines the winning edge. GROWING UP deters predation AND it’s a space saver.

Cucumbers are frequently grown on trellises. It makes harvesting easier by reducing the need for stooping, bending and crawling on the ground. Spaghetti squash, butternut squash, pumpkins and other vine-grown produce can be grown this way, too. Bush types won’t climb.

Tendrils sent out by the plants respond to the touch of any kind of support you provide by curling, twining and adhering . A quick online search about tendrils offers great words like circumnutation (how the motion of growing stems and tendrils seek supports) and tendril perversion (how “tendrils adopt the shape of two sections of counter-twisted helices with a transition in the middle”).

None other than Charles Darwin in his On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants studied and showcased how tendrils work to support plants. The plants hang on tight to whatever support they’re given. And just as weight-bearing for humans increases muscle and bone strength, stems strengthen from the gradual increase of the weight put upon them.

The predators were winning the race in the Leasman garden this spring. Though the vines did their best to reach for the stars, the woodchuck family and other transient grazers caused meteoric downfalls. Until the garden master, who may be smarter than a woodchuck, came up with a concoction that worked better than the commercial spray-on repellant product. A blender full of Serrano peppers blitzed with about three cups of 40% distilled alcohol (yes, sacrifice some vodka or whisky for ultimate essential oil extraction) did the job nicely.

Allowed to infuse overnight, the mash was then filtered the in a cheesecloth bag and the liquid was put in a spray bottle. Like making seconds in the wine industry, we infused a second batch on the same mash.

In my imagination I see the would-be plant munchers sniffing the air, stepping closer to the new garden scent and then flipping a white flag of surrender as they sprint off in revulsion. It’s only in my imagination since I have seen neither hide nor hair, nor sign of midnight marauders since I spritzed all the vines, the beans, beets, kale, sunflowers, carrots (which had been chewed down to green nubs) and, for good measure and consistency, on the edge of the tomatoes even though only one small plant had been pruned.

I’m just going to whisper this, but I think the woodchucks moved out.  Abandoned their burrows; moved to sweeter scented scenes. Which means that the vines have won, are reaching the tops of their trellises, are out of reach of the ground-grazing predators, and are beginning to display their orbs of opulence like so many blown up baubles at the patio party of a whisky connoisseur.

Postscript: Apparently one or several of my deer herd has taken a liking to a salad of cucumber leaves dressed with Serrano whisky. I see two options: appreciate the deer’s pruning efforts which means I won’t have to extend the upper limits of the trellis; or up the liquid deterrent ante to habaneras, Scotch bonnets, or ghost peppers.

Note: it is not recommended to use vinegar as the solvent to extract essential oils. The acid in vinegar can burn leaves and harm small creatures and beneficial microbes. Read: Grow with KARE, Using Vinegar to Kill Weeds, kare11.com

Also of interest:  Coming clean on soap in the garden, https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-news/coming-clean-soap-garden.

Nancy Packard Leasman is a columnist, artist and gardener who maintains 40 acres in central Minnesota.

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