It's The MOTHERF#@&ING Birds!!!

Although he is an accessory to the crimes (seen yesterday eating pieces of tomatoes), it is apparent the main culprit of the tomato killings is not Mr. Squirrel. The bandits are from above. And here is how I know:

Assuming that Mr. Squirrel was causing the problems, I erected 3 ft. high fencing around the plants. This prevented the furry rodent from climbing into the pots and grabbing the tomatoes. But this afternoon I walked out to the garden to see two birds fly out of the patio tomato plant. Sure enough the red tomatoes, untouched this morning, were damaged and clearly done so by a bird beak.After screaming in anger, frustration, and sadness, I rushed back to Home Depot to finish the protective fortress I started yesterday.

Upon my return, I wrapped the tops of the plants with a plastic mesh designed to keep birds away. With plastic ties, I secured the mesh to the plastic fencing and (hopefully) created a barrier between bird and tomato.My security plans do not end there. A good fortress needs a good guard.

Meet Oswald. His wicked stare could give anyone the heebeejeebees. Let's just hope the birds buy into the fact he guards those tomatoes with his life and is willing to take theirs' to do so.

His permanent replacement is almost ready to stand guard....but you'll meet him later.

One more thing: Don't think this crime went unpunished. I returned the favor by destroying the bird nest in our front gutter. Don't mess with the gardener or you'll get the hose.

No More Mr. Nice Gardener

Dear Mr. Squirrel,

To say we don't have the greatest relationship is putting it mildly. Despite the fact there are hundreds of yards in the neighborhood for you to dig your holes and bury your peanuts (from the old lady down the way), you have chosen to do all your excavating in my garden pots this spring. I will be honest, this greatly bothered me when the plants were still young and developing. You've ruined a few carrots, damaged the raspberry plant's roots, and disrupted the basil plant.

As the days grew longer and the plants grew taller, I let my frustrations go. Hey, we all can forgive and forget.

But today, all my goodwill was destroyed. Gone for only three days, I returned to find cold-hard evidence that your holiday weekend feast was several patio tomatoes. We're not even talking nibbles. You devoured most of the tomatoes. And to rub it in my face, you hopped over to the Mr. Stripey tomato pot and dug a hole big enough to bury Jimmy Hoffa..... again.

So consider the truce over, my furry friend. You just purchased a one-way ticket to Youregonnadieville.

Sincerely,

Your Worst Nightmare: A Pissed-Off Produce Grower

"Why You Lil' Sunuva...."

I've seen a lot of little "guests" in the garden this summer. Ants, the occassional slug near the cucumbers, and even a couple preying mantis taking care of some other pests on the okra plants.

But when I saw a couple of green tomatoes gnawed on at the top of the Marglobe plant (over 6' high)...I knew my little squirrel buddy was not the culprit.

Then today, while I was trimming off some dead branches on my tomato plants, I came across two of these nasty little creatures. And after a little research, I discovered the little brown droppings on the leaves I've seen for the past couple weeks should have tipped me off. Ladies and gents, I give you the tomato hornworm caterpillar.



It gets it's name in part because of the horn-shaped red things on its last section (right side of pic).

So are these caterpillars friend or foe? Well, the answer is foe. They enjoy eating tomato plant leaves. And with a little Google research, I discovered they go after the fruit in July and August. So there's the answer to my half-eaten tomato mystery.

There are a couple ways to take care of them. Apparently nature takes care of business when a certain type of wasp will lay eggs on the hornworm and eventually the hatched larvae will eat away at the caterpillar. But I don't have the time or leaf capacity to wait for that to happen. So I went with the technique best for small gardens.....I just picked them off. Unfortunately, as I was picking one off the Roma plant, he fell deeper into the plant and I could not find him. But fear not, I will find him come hell or high water.

There's also a pesticide that takes care of the little buggers, but I'm going to shy away from that chemical option. Let's just hope there aren't a lot more hiding from me. I prefer my tomatoes get eaten by two-legged folks...not ten-legged ones.