I'm having fun this year trying to figure out three new pests; deer,
chipmunks, and Japanese beetles. The deer seem to be chomping on the
tops of the tomato plants but prefer hostas. The chipmunk seem to be
biting on the young squash plants (unless a baby rabbit is sneaking in
through the fence). The Japanese beetles seem to be munching on the
wild grape leaves and a few of my trees. They also seem to want to buzz
around you. Something is biting the sides off the green tomatoes.
Wouldn't a deer take the whole tomato?

In article .com,
"Dave" wrote:

I'm having fun this year trying to figure out three new pests; deer,
chipmunks, and Japanese beetles. The deer seem to be chomping on the
tops of the tomato plants but prefer hostas. The chipmunk seem to be
biting on the young squash plants (unless a baby rabbit is sneaking in
through the fence). The Japanese beetles seem to be munching on the
wild grape leaves and a few of my trees. They also seem to want to buzz
around you. Something is biting the sides off the green tomatoes.
Wouldn't a deer take the whole tomato?

Maybe. Our deer like to sample things to be sure they like them. We
also caught squirrels nibbling on the tomatoes and one squirrel was even
hiding the half eaten tomatoes he had stolen on our bbq.

marcella

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 09:19:16 -0700, Marcella Peek
wrote:

In article .com,
"Dave" wrote:

I'm having fun this year trying to figure out three new pests; deer,
chipmunks, and Japanese beetles. The deer seem to be chomping on the
tops of the tomato plants but prefer hostas. The chipmunk seem to be
biting on the young squash plants (unless a baby rabbit is sneaking in
through the fence). The Japanese beetles seem to be munching on the
wild grape leaves and a few of my trees. They also seem to want to buzz
around you. Something is biting the sides off the green tomatoes.
Wouldn't a deer take the whole tomato?

Maybe. Our deer like to sample things to be sure they like them. We
also caught squirrels nibbling on the tomatoes and one squirrel was even
hiding the half eaten tomatoes he had stolen on our bbq.

marcella
They seem to eat about half the tomaato

Rick wrote:
Bill Platz wrote:
wrote:
"Dave" wrote:
[...] Something is biting the sides off the green tomatoes.
Wouldn't a deer take the whole tomato?

Maybe. Our deer like to sample things to be sure they like them.
We also caught squirrels nibbling on the tomatoes and one squirrel
was even hiding the half eaten tomatoes he had stolen on our bbq.

marcella
They seem to eat about half the tomato

They often eat the fruit for its water content. Has it been dry in
your area? If so, you can try placing a water bowl/pan away from the
garden. This often helps keep the tomatoes intact

It has been rather dry here. I can try keeping a bucket of water
outside the garden at night to see if that might have any effect.