You will have problems with not just deer but all sorts of varmint; Chipmunks, squirrels, voles, groundhogs. Some people use fox urine, blood meal etc to deter herbivores. In my area they just laugh at that and feast on the garden.

Build a fence with chicken wire or 1/2" hardware cloth. Hardware cloth is stronger and lasts longer (I've had a groundhog tear apart chicken wire to get under the shed). Bury chicken wire at least a foot deep. Use pressure treated wood for posts. I personally use an electric fence to keep rabbits and deer out. I mount wires on a PVC pipe.

Also keep in mind zucchini, tomatoes, etc will get quite large. So don't plant too close to your fence.

Oh, wonderful :-) ... another one bit by the gardening bug!

Some good advice above regarding varmints and fencing. Just be sure to continue that fencing along the side of the deck if you want to exclude critters.

Exclusion has been the only thing that worked for me, for the larger critters like groundhog and rabbits ... squirrels and birds are impossible to exclude without screening overhead as well! I found that critter repellents worked for only a short time, if at all, and the smell really put my family off. Deer can easily clear a 4-foot fence, and an 8-foot fence if they're determined. You might have to get a little creative there. Maybe a 4-foot fence topped with just a few wires strung horizontally for another 2 feet or more. Maybe others will chime in with some suggestions.

There is still some controversy about pressure-treated lumber in vegetable gardens. Since I grow organically, I play it safe and have used metal fence posts instead.

I am assuming you have checked the amount of sunlight in that area. Most vegetables will do best with 6-8 hours of full sun.

Make the most of limited space by growing up - use trellises, tripods, whatever, and train your vining crops upward rather than allowing them to sprawl on the ground.

Include some herbs in your garden, especially around the edges; deer supposedly detest anything "smelly." You might include a few flowers, too, for aesthetics, but also to encourage pollinators to come visit.

It looks like you have a water tap right there, which is great. Just be sure to allow enough room to access that without damaging your plants. I don't know what layout you are planning on, but you may want to attach a hose with a cut-off switch on the far end, and leave the tap turned on so you don't lose too much garden space.

Best of luck and please post back throughout the season!

Good luck with your gardening :) I know the addictive feeling - its like falling down a rabbit hole and there's so much to learn.

Another novice here - started for the first time last year. I used pvc coated chicken fire to fence my small plot on the ground, as well as a small raised garden bed. I took a chance and didn't fence with deer in mind - my primary issue was rabbits - fence was about 2.5 ft or so tall. Worked well enough for the rabbits that I have running around the yard. Although I have seen deer a few times in my front and back yard this winter, so not sure what how it will go.

Another thing I can suggest, and may have worked for me - is perimeter planting a bunch of mixed fragrances that the deer don't like - I remember reading somewhere that deer tend to stay away from places where there's a lot of different smells because it makes it harder for them to detect predators - So I planted a perimeter of scallion, garlic, and a few other herbs just inside my garden fence. Wanted to grow them anyway. Relatively low cost, and can't hurt for sure. Other suggestions that I have read and heard that make sense -

- hang up a bar of irish spring soap on a string next to the plot,

- set up a cheap radio with timer that goes off at a few random times.

- I've had a couple of people very seriously recommend sprinkling pet urine or human urine around the the garden fence. Supposed to work really good, but haven't tried that :)

- the most reliable way AFAIK is to have 2 fences - one at least 6 ft tall, and another one a couple of feet apart that can be shorter. Supposedly deer don't want to jump a fence if there's 2 layers. This is cost-prohibitive for me. But I've seen this setup in a few fancy backyard gardens.

Looking at your pictures, I think best bet for you if you have a lot of deer around is to just set up a 6-7 ft fence - home depot etc sell rolls of deer fence. You can use a couple of uposts or tposts, or even emt conduit. I set up my first fence using u posts, but if I could do it over again, I would use emt conduit hammered into the ground, and slide a PVC sleeve over it.

Regardless, good luck with your efforts and Enjoy! Hope you get some good tasting harvest.