The bitter tomato harvest

I haven't even had the heart to write about my tomato plants.  It was already a tough year, and when we came back from the beach, there had been a deer attack.  Fortunately it wasn't severe.  Yet just a day or two after we got back the plants were ravaged.

It was life deer walked through them.  All but four or five tomatoes were gone.  All the blooms were eaten often the plants.  Some of the green tomatoes were on the ground with one bite taken out of them.  The bites were long and narrow, but obviously from an animal and not a worm or bug.

I was heartbroken. In fact I came very close to pulling the plants out, but my wife convinced me to at least try to harvest the few that were still on the plants.

It was during the next couple of days that we caught sight of the culprits sleeping at the foot of our bank under the watchful eye of their mother.

The fawns match the tracks in the tomato patch and the bites in the tomatoes.  As far as I'm concerned their guilty.

I guess if I'm going to have tomatoes again, and hosta or azaleas, we're going to have to start putting fences up and covering things with mesh.

After seventeen years here, the deer are starting to eat everything in sight.  I gave up hunting long ago, but this is almost enough to get me carrying a gun into the woods to help thin the herd.

I wouldn't mind if they would just stay in the deer pasture (ravine) behind the house, but I guess the things up in the yard offer some nice variety.

I guess an overabundance of deer is just going to be part of modern life when you live on a mountain with lots of wood around you.

Comments

[Stephen]

Time to blast the little buggers into oblivion. These are not cute little Bambi types, that will go on to a starring role in a Disney movie. Pests, nuisance, vermin who destroy property, must be discouraged from foraging in civilized areas.

I think someone had mentioned investing in in the motion sensor light or sprinkler system, which would also be a viable alternative.

[Sean Pecor]

Yeah it was me who suggested the sprinklers, which I still think is worth a try. A fence is a nice option too. For your style of house and for a small area just for tomatoes, a 48" tall iron wrought fence would look really nice. I don't think you'd need to use mesh if the fence is at least 48" tall. If you want some tomatoes, we have bushels, our first annual 800 sq ft garden is producing, er, somewhat more produce than we bargained for. Tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, canteloupe, carrots and corn. Next year we'll be shooting for a greater variety, it will make it easier to give away!

Sean

[Sue]

Forget upright fencing to keep deer out. Lay wire mesh fencing on the ground. Deer can't see their feet because they have eyes on the sides of their heads (like many prey animals). They put a hoof on the wire mesh and they think it's a trap. They don't know how far it extends, so they don't try to jump it.

It really works.

[krakatie]

Would you welcome the original denizens of the area (wolves and mountain lions) back with open arms yet? It's a lot less trouble just letting healthy ecosystems regulate themselves.