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What Vegetables Are Deer Resistant in the Central Texas Area?

Deer commonly venture into neighborhoods and yards for food. Their tastes, which tend toward soft growth on plants, often coincide with the vegetables we grow and eat. Though deer will eat almost anything in times of famine, they avoid certain plants, especially those with fuzzy leaves, hard rinds or strong scents. Planning your vegetable garden according to what deer will and won't typically eat will help your vegetables sustain the least damage possible before harvest. Texas' mule deer are creatures of the Panhandle and West Texas, so if you live in Central Texas, most likely the deer invading your vegetable patch are white-tailed deer. In fact, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Edwards Plateau "hill country" of Central Texas has "perhaps the most densely populated area of white-tailed deer in the country."

  1. Border Planting

    • When planning a vegetable garden, it is useful to plant vegetables or herbs that are the least vulnerable to deer around the outside border of the garden. Plants that are more susceptible to deer damage should be placed further from the outside or closer to your house, where deer are less likely to reach them.

      Vegetables that have strong scents, like garlic (Allium sativum, hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 to 8) and onions (Allium cepa, USDA zones 3 to 9) repel deer and are especially beneficial in borders. Deer also avoid scented herbs, most notably fennel.

    Rarely Damaged

    • Plants that are rarely damaged by deer and are safest from them include cantaloupe (Cucumis melo, USDA zones 4 to 11), cucumber (Cucumis sativus, USDA zones 4 to 11), watermelon (Citrulus lanatus, USDA zones 3 to 11), eggplant (Solanum melongena, USDA zones 4 to 10), hot peppers (Capsicum annuum, USDA zones 9 to 11) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum, USDA zones 2 to 10). These can be planted toward the outside perimeter of the garden.

    Occasionally Damaged

    • Plants characterized as being "occasionally damaged" by deer don't necessarily attract them and are generally deer-resistant, but can suffer damage on some occasions. Vegetables that are occasionally damaged by deer include asparagus (Asparagus officinalis, USDA zones 4 to 9), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus, USDA zones 2 to 11), summer squash (Cucurbita pepo, USDA zones 2 to 11), Irish potatoes (Solanum tuberosum, USDA zones 2 to 11) and radish (Raphanus sativus, USDA zones 2 to 10).

    Frequently Damaged

    • "Frequently damaged" plants are frequently eaten by deer, but still aren't considered the most susceptible ("severely damaged") to roaming deer. In some situations they can remain untouched and are rarely completed obliterated. It is best to place these further in the garden or close to the house so deer have to seek them out to eat them. Vegetables that undertake frequent, but not severe, deer damage include strawberries (Fragraria spp., USDA zones 3 to 10), sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas, USDA zones 9 to 11), sweet corn (Zea Mays, USDA zones 4 to 8) and beets (Beta vulgaris, USDA zones 2 to 10).

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Growing Vegetables
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