A couple weeks ago, I mentioned the mysterious tomato bandit roaming my garden, but this is getting ridiculous.
The garden where these tomatoes are trying to grow is fully surrounded by a 7' fence which is closed up tight when I am not in it. No deer have been able to get in. The bites are too big to be squirrel or chipmunk. To my knowledge, I do not have small children or trolls sneaking in to nibble my veggies while I'm sleeping.
We did see a skunk (my first up-close one!) on our back deck about a week ago...could he be the culprit?
What the heck is doing this???!!!:
It's a stretch but how about deer? They can jump a 7' fence. That mark on the tomato you're holding is the right size for a deer's teeth.
ReplyDeleteI think I know...
ReplyDeleteWhat can sneak in silently and get out without being seen?
A squirrel.
The bite marks do look human though hehe.
Are there any sort of tell tale footprints? Something with that big of a mouth should leave some clue.
ReplyDeleteThe bite marks do look like deer bites, and squirrels have occasionally eaten both my red and my green tomatoes, but their jaws are much smaller. Skunks have smaller jaws too. A bear would just knock your fence down to get to the food. Donkeys? A dog? Coyotes & foxes eat pretty much anything including veggies. Could a coyote or fox get in there?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's a raccoon! I have had trouble recently with raccoons dismantling my compost pile night after night, until I got one of those motion detecting automatic sprinklers that go on when the animal (or human!) is present and surprises and scares the animal away. It has worked wonders to keep the raccoons out of my compost pile for the past week. You might try that too.
ReplyDeleteEven though you've got the fence I still think it's a deer problem. The teeth marks make me think goat, sheep or deer. Those buggers can JUMP!
ReplyDeleteBased on that last pic, I'd guess your guilty party is the Wal Mart smiley face!
ReplyDeleteHi robin - I just really want to say "no" to the deer theory, for the following reasons: first of all, my garden plot is surrounded by huge ass boulders on 3 sides...to jump in means either standing on the uphill boulders and jumping over the fence which then would "drop" them about 9 feet into the garden, or starting from the lower side means jumping straight up 9 1/2' into the air to clear the boulders and then the 7'fence. Further, if they were doing this, I would think I'd be seeing foot prints of some kind...they'd have to come down pretty heavy after a jump like that. Most importantly...nothing else is being touched in the garden..no nibbled foliage, veggies...no tell-tale poop..nuttin'!
ReplyDeleteHey heather - I would have originally guessed squirrel or chipmunk until I started seeing the actual bite marks...they do look human-like, don't they? Simply way too big for squirrel.
Sugarcreekstuff - I know! You'd think, right? But no. Nary a footprint. And my garden fence shows no signs of forced entry.
Hi farmer jen - A bear?! egad...no. Fortunately, fence is still in tact. We don't have foxes around here, though we do have coyote, but again, no sign of forced entry through my garden fence. And nothing else is being touched.
Hi Amy, see my response to Robin at the top regarding why I don't think it's deer. I could be wrong, I guess, but I just don't know how they'd get in, leaving no other signs, and why they'd only touch the tomatoes...green ones. Now wouldn't THAT be cool if I had some wild sheep or goats roaming my property??! :-)
Warren - you make me snort unexpectedly. Since this is a very unattractive thing for me to do, please stop this at once. Thank you.
I'm with Warren. That is clearly the culprit.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you have a hermit living in there hills. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI hope you can figure this out Danni...I would really love to know. Got a motion camera hanging around anywhere?? That would be a good way to find out. The only other thing I can think of is some kind of bug that has an odd way of trying to blame the deer for his wrong doings!
ReplyDeleteWild stab in the dark here, could it be some kind of bug or worm? Doubtless a happy one, with a penchant for under ripe vegetables.
ReplyDeleteHave you found any other...um...how can I put this delicately....evidence (poop) of a four legged creature in the environs, that might help you identify the culprit?
I know what it was.................
ReplyDeleteALIENS!!!
ET is visiting your garden!!!
I know what it was.................
ReplyDeleteALIENS!!!
ET is visiting your garden!!!
Go borrow a motion-activated trail-cam and then we can all enjoy the answer.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinkin' some high-jumping hobo.
Wow! That's creepy, cause I'm having the same issue here. My tomatoes get moved sometimes too. Do yours? I'm wondering if warren is a traveller, because this kind of prank seems right up his alley! ;)
ReplyDeleteGame Camera! You need one! I'd love to see the pictures.
ReplyDelete