Tribulations

[moonhare]

Before leaving for a scheduled surgery last Thursday, I gave the garden a good watering and made sure the fences were clear, secure, and operating. Hours after my procedure my wife told me that something had gotten into our plum tomatoes and at least five were chewed and/or pulled off the plants. This was the first time this season that our garden was ‘attacked.’

Upon my return we set up the trail cam between rows to try to see who was enjoying our veggies.

Chippee! (Yes, chipmunk ;o) Not seen are the mice that come by, too.

Obviously, the fencing can’t keep these out. I’ve tried Repel sprays and even dosed the plants lightly with fungicide to dissuade the rodents, but it has had minimal affect on them. Offering them water in little dishes helped a bit. *sigh* Even a pumpkin was fair game :o(

Partial solution: we are picking the tomatoes at first blush. From there we are ripening them in the house in paper bags (adding a banana helps the process). It works.

First batch of sauce!


About eight pounds of tomatoes yielded five pints. One jar did not seal and will be used in a day or two.

Comments

[darkcedars]

Dang chipmunk! Glad you're able to grab some of your veggies before it steals them.

[moonhare]

Crafty fellow, it has been in the garden daily, but we haven’t seen any damage in a few days. Pest!

[zesty_pinto]

I haven't experimented but heard that spraying your crop with some liquid spice (e.g. diy pepper spray) will help deter them... any luck with that?

[moonhare]

Capsaicin-based repellents didn’t work for me- the critters here actually enjoyed the red pepper flakes I tried as a deterrent in my shed!


Monsters! (Image enlarges) The top of the container was chewed through and the flakes were everywhere around it *sigh*

The ‘putrescent’ sprays, along with coffee grounds, helped with the blueberry crop cages, but I don’t these on or too close to the tomatoes. I think that the chipmunk was driven by thirst and then got a taste for the garden!

[rebeccmeister]

Hooray for tomato season, but argh to chipmunks running off with the harvest! I hope you're able to figure out a good deterrent.

[moonhare]

Thank you, they’ve backed off a bit, but that could be because we’ve been bringing in the tomatoes when they begin to ripen. I don’t mind sharing, but we can’t have them overwhelming the plants.

[krakendelsur]

Dang cute but devious chipmunks XD

[moonhare]

I love all rodents, great or small, but they need to stay out of the garden! ;o)

[krakendelsur]

Agreed! 😬