Its a setback but they will put up suckers from the leaf axils.

DEER REPELANT

4 eggs
2 tbls ground red pepper
2 tbls garlic powder
2 cups water

Put it all in a blender for 5 min.

Strain it into a discarded laundry detergent bottle (non-bleach) that has a little left over soap in it. add 1 gal. water and shake.

To use- pour into a sprayer and apply once a week to plants or after every rain.

Glad I only get mice and rabbits or else I'd be in my garage right now constructing one big mother of a trap. ;)

Substituting habaneros for red pepper would give it more kick, and a few drops of dish soap would act as a spreader-sticker to help coat the leaves.

I remove the seeds/placenta/core before I dry habaneros and save it for repellent.

A little rubbing alcohol helps to extract the capsaicin from the pepper tissue.

I'm growing a couple habanero plants this year that I grew from seeds of a store-bought pepper. If the deer decide to stop for a visit in my garden, like they did last year, I hope they eat some pepper first.

Luckily I haven't had any significant damage done by deer. Last year, I had only one attack by a small deer (judging by the footprints) and it ruined 1 or 2 fruit and a small amount of foliage.

I used ground cayenne on my red beets, and that successfully repelled the young rabbit that had been decimating the leaves. I'll use the same method for my tomatoes should I have any deer problems.

But we do have neighbors 2 houses away from ours that put out feed corn and salt licks all the time, so they get all the deer and I don't. ;)

"Substituting habaneros for red pepper would give it more kick, and a few drops of dish soap would act as a spreader-sticker to help coat the leaves. "

spiced_ham- Funny you say that. I do use habaneros. I grow them, then dehydrate them, then grind them with a coffee mill. Works great. But most people can get red pepper of the shelf.

And soap in tide detergent bottle is used instesd od dish soap

Just logged on to ask the same question about leader getting nipped by .... something. Wait or replace. Guess I'll wait. This spring has been hard enough on 'mato lovers here in Wisconsin without something nipping off the tops!!

Deer only like the fresh new little shoots, about the top 3" of the grow stem. Old growth they never seem to touch.

I've been there!
Last year I had a thread going labelled something like "The most pathetic tomato". It was nothing but a 2ft stick with maybe one leaf (Deer attack!). The plant did manage to rebound, and I did get fruit. I can't comment as to how well it rebounded since it was an experiment with an earth-tainer and I don't think it was working properly.
This year, my tomatoes are in a 6' fenced off area. However, I have planted hostas and other deer loving food. I will be trying the egg thing - one thread I read said it was the egg protein that the deer doesn't like as opposed to the pepper (?). - and perhaps coyote urine (bought in the garden centre) to try to keep them away. Will update at the end of the season!