I have looked forward all year to having fresh garden tomatoes to eat. The stupid idiotic squirrels and rabbits think I have planted them for them to eat. They're like, "Hey, that ladie planted us some goodies"! I am so frustrated, but I don't know how to keep them from eating them all. I mean they are eating them ALL............... Just whining!

Maybe you need to plant something else, that the squirrels will eat and leave your tomatoes alone? lol
cheryl

My family always had a garden when we were growing up, and we were the only ones not to put up gadgets to try to keep the small critters out. We never had too much problem with them eating out of control (Dad said the critters had more fun trying to beat the neigbors systems so they didn't bother us, and besides he planted extra for them, just in case) Bunnies were even born in our bean patch. Now that my parents have small garden in a busier section of the town they're living in, they've got bunny and squirrel problems. They've never seen a squirrel eat a tomato before, so Dad's theory os that small town squirrels aren't tomato fants, but city squirrels just love them.

Annoying, but funny

Have you thought about planting marigolds around the tomatoes? That's what my mom did, and she never had squirrel invaders. (and we had squirrels in the yard). I bet even just marigolds in pots around the tomato plants would work. Hang aluminum pie pans on strings in between the plants. They make noise and motion that keep pests away.

Fresh tomatoes are one of my very favorite things! I have a crazy little cat that thinks she is a mountain lion that keeps the squirrels away. I used to love squirrels and think they were so cute until I moved into my current home and the stupid things ate my artificial Christmas tree that was in storage! The also chewed off my big plastic Santa’s nose. If I found them eating my tomatoes I don’t think I could be held responsible for my actions!

By the way Nicki – good idea with the pie pans!

Is it better or worse if your own dog is eating them all?

It's his favorite treat. A nice warm cherry tomato. He picks one, brings it up to the porch, drops it, licks it a few times, then bites into it. He's too cute.

He's a dachshund though so he is too short to reach the whole plant. haha.

I have my very first real garden this year. We live in the country and have a lot of rabbits and squirrels. I put a fence around my garden with chicken wire to keep the critters out. It seems to have worked and it wasn't very expensive. The only real problem I've had is that birds wreaked havoc on my corn on the cob. Next year I will have a scarecrow. LOL, I always thought that scarecrows were dumb, but now I've learned their purpose. My potato patch was outside the fence and I did have deer nibbling at those plants, but they couldn't get the actual potatoes so all was fine.

That is too funny. I can imagine a weenie dog doing that...how sweet!


Lillybelle: I think I may try your idea about the fence. Only because I must! Our neighbors have a bunch of rabbits and one escaped and they cant catch it. I look out my kitchen window and the rabbit just makes himself at home, lying under my tomatoe patch, plus he chills with the wild rabbits that come in the yard too. It is funny but makes me mad!

Nicki is correct. Marigolds are a natural rodent repellent. They'll work wonders AND make your garden pretty.

FWIW....Geraniums are a natural mosquito repellent. Put them in pots around your deck and you might eliminate the need for citronella candles.

I have always grown as big a garden as I am able to, and now I'm able to grow one bigger than my house. I, too, plant marigolds around the perimeter, as well as lavender, nasturtiums and all members of the onion family (onions, garlic, leeks, etc.) All of these will deter rodents and other pests. In addition to squirrels and rabbits, we contend with deer, raccoons, possums, all manner of bird and even coyotes, cougars and bears. (Oh, my!) We don't have a fence.

Our biggest problem is with moles. I hate moles. Even a fence won't keep them out unless it is dug at least 18 inches below the soil line, and once they are in a garden bed, they will annihilate it.

For this year, I'd agree the fence is your best bet. Next year you might try the floral deterrent methods. Good luck with keeping the bunnies and squirrels away!

Rae

I want a tomato fresh out of a garden!!! waaaaaa! I tried to grow tomatoes here and they dried up and looked like chili peppers. I'm gonna take a road trip and stop by all of your houses!!!

Will dig weeds for veggies!!!

-Jan

Mu hubby is an animal lover, so don't panic when you read this, lol. It was comical, actually.

I decided to try growing corn on the cob, after doing gardens with my Dad before he passed away. I always wanted to try growing corn, as it is my favorite veggie. Anyhow, they were growing beautifully- I told my hubby, in a few days, we'd have fresh, sweet corn on the cob for dinner. We were looking forward to it!

Well, the night before I was going to pick my first ever grown ears of corn, three darling squirrels had managed to dig up the stalks and run up the tree SEVERAL times. I went outside to water the garden, and hubby was with me with our two young children. We saw the last corn stalk going up the tree with the squirrel, and saw several other stalks hanging from the tree (smart little buggers they are, going back and retrieving the rest of them before eating them!). Well, all of the sudden, my husband shook his fist at the squirrels, and said "damn you ******* ********, eating tommorrow nights dinner! I'll get you for this!" Our neighbors saw him do this, and were literally dying from not being able to catch their breathes from laughing so hard. You have to know my hubby- he loves animals and would gladly feed a critter to prevent it from going hungry, but this time, let's just say he was a little irate, LOL!!!!

I was bummed. Six corn stalks- my pride and joy that summer, all gone up the tree.

Then we had a gorgous apple tree in that same back yard. I love my fruit trees immensely, for some reason, the ones I planted here at our newer home are not producing fruit. Anyhow, we had a bazillon apples growing on this one tree- within a couple of weeks, we planned on making some nice apple crisp and baked apples with them. The tree was about 5 foot tall at the time. Anyhow, two darling little boys, ages 2 and 5, thought it would be fun to play "baseball" with my apples in the backyard. We had just come home from grocery shopping, and caught them in the act, leaving us with two apples left. I was a bit angry, and when their father came over, he was embarrassed and offered to buy us apples to replace the ones his kids used a bat to in our backyard. He said he was mowing the lawn and didn't realize the kids had left his yard- geeze, they were gone for at least 30 minutes, by the time they picked each apple, tossed it up in the air, and smashed it into smithereens, good thing they were occupied in my backyard, as God knows what could have happened to them in that time.

All smashed apples were gone from the ground within a couple of nights, so the critters ate well again.

Then, we moved to a lake front house seven years ago. Missing my garden, I decided to grow one indoors, and transplant them when the weather was nice. Hubby told me he would plant it for me, I told him I wanted to wait a couple of weeks to do so. He thought he was helping me, and planted it. Three days later, it all got washed down into the lake, after a torrential downpour. All my hard work of six weeks growing all those veggies, down the lake it went. I half expected to see several pumpkins pop up in the lake in September.

Steelslady: Your story was so funny! I wish I were there to hear your husband saying that to the squirrels! Thanks for sharing.........glad to hear from all you fellow gardeners!

I really don't have any advice for keeping the critters away, but I think I need to change my plan for later this week to include a nice tomato sandwich. My grandpa got me hooked on them years ago when I was a kid. Has to be white bread (ok, not the best choice, I know whole grain is better, but it's just not the same.) with a little bit of miracle whip and lots of pepper with a thick tomato slice. Yummy...now, to find someone with a garden....store bought tomatoes just aren't the same.

I love, love, LOVE tomato sandwiches! My kids think I'm nuts to make them every so often. I agree, it has to be white bread, Wonder Bread to make it authentic - nothing against wheat, but it just isn't the same. Sometimes I eat it with a slice of American cheese. I also love cucumber sandwiches- my Mom used to make those all the time. hhhhhhhmmmm, I wonder if that's why I was much thinner as a kid- I ate lots of veggie sandwiches instead of the processed meats and loved them all.

I also love fresh tomatoes on a pizza, thin sliced. I use those instead of tomato sauce, mmmmmm mmmm mmmm!!!!

Oh, and I forgot to add- I also used to eat chopped up pickles, tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce in a sandwich with a slice of cheese, mayo, a tiny bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Yeah, I know, I'm strange. Must get a loaf of Wonder bread and make these sandwiches again.