I put in a couple of plants of orange tomatoes this year and, like the
Sweet 100's, Better Boys, and Early Girls, this has been a banner year
in northern Virginia USA. I am getting record yields for all tomato
varieties.

The problem is the orange tomatoes (I lost the seed packet but I seem
to remember that they are Jubilee's). The top-most fruit are pecked
full of holes. I believe that birds are doing it but I haven't seen
them in the act. They aren't attacking the fruits lower down on the
vine and they don't bother the other varieties at all. Has anyone ever
heard of this before? Maybe I need a scarecrow.

Mike

(mycroftt) wrote:

I put in a couple of plants of orange tomatoes this year and, like the
Sweet 100's, Better Boys, and Early Girls, this has been a banner year
in northern Virginia USA. I am getting record yields for all tomato
varieties.

The problem is the orange tomatoes (I lost the seed packet but I seem
to remember that they are Jubilee's). The top-most fruit are pecked
full of holes. I believe that birds are doing it but I haven't seen
them in the act. They aren't attacking the fruits lower down on the
vine and they don't bother the other varieties at all. Has anyone ever
heard of this before? Maybe I need a scarecrow.

Mike
I've seen here or elsewhere that they are pecking them to get at
available water. Putting out shallow bird baths may solve the problem
if that is true.


DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener

It's becuase his name is Mike like mine...birds always eat the tomatoes of
guys named Mike...

Seriously tho, I had posted about this a bit ago Mike and what Digital said
seems to be what most people who DON'T have this problem do. Providing an
alternative source of water during very dry weather will hopefully keep them
off. I did this after posting about it and noticing a few holes in some of
my larger fruits, it seems to have worked. The birds are no longer bothering
the garden, and they are no longer leaving thier mess in it either hehe..

"DigitalVinyl" wrote in message
...
(mycroftt) wrote:

I put in a couple of plants of orange tomatoes this year and, like the
Sweet 100's, Better Boys, and Early Girls, this has been a banner year
in northern Virginia USA. I am getting record yields for all tomato
varieties.

The problem is the orange tomatoes (I lost the seed packet but I seem
to remember that they are Jubilee's). The top-most fruit are pecked
full of holes. I believe that birds are doing it but I haven't seen
them in the act. They aren't attacking the fruits lower down on the
vine and they don't bother the other varieties at all. Has anyone ever
heard of this before? Maybe I need a scarecrow.

Mike
I've seen here or elsewhere that they are pecking them to get at
available water. Putting out shallow bird baths may solve the problem
if that is true.


DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener

In article , (mycroftt) wrote:
I put in a couple of plants of orange tomatoes this year and, like the
Sweet 100's, Better Boys, and Early Girls, this has been a banner year
in northern Virginia USA. I am getting record yields for all tomato
varieties.

The problem is the orange tomatoes (I lost the seed packet but I seem
to remember that they are Jubilee's). The top-most fruit are pecked
full of holes. I believe that birds are doing it but I haven't seen
them in the act. They aren't attacking the fruits lower down on the
vine and they don't bother the other varieties at all. Has anyone ever
heard of this before? Maybe I need a scarecrow.

Hang some junk CDs near the plants. Twisting in the wind causes a flashing
light that chases the birds away.

Try this take a CD and allow the sun to hit it and shine the light on a tree
with some birds in the tree. Watch their reaction. When the crows get bad
around here I use this method to chase them away.


--

Charles
Indifference = Consent