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Growing Tomatoes

What's eating my tomato plant?

15 years ago

I am pretty much at a loss with this one, so please help me figure this one out. I planted 3 tomato plants and 5 bell pepper plants in containers last week. They are all lined up against the fence in the side yard. Today I noticed that 1 tomato plant got the top and some leave tips chopped off. Another tomato has lost 2 tips on lower leaves. Everything else is completely intact thank goodness. What could be doing this? We have hosta and rose close to the tomato and I know deer would love those but they are not eaten. We do have a few friendly fox but I didn't think they are interested in vegetables!

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Comments (7)

nabcity
15 years ago
Rabbits maybe? That's all the wildlife I get in my yard and they munch on anything.
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Karen Pease
15 years ago
I've never had a rabbit touch a tomato plant. I'd suspect they're as poisonous to rabbits as they are to humans.
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soon as i get my camera fixed! its on the fritz. thank you for responding. shotty
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ikea_gw
Original Author
15 years ago
I really don't thin the rabbits did it. What are the other usual suspects?
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zeuspaul
15 years ago
I haven't caught them in the act yet but I believe rabbits are the culprits. I can tell by the way the plants have been severed. It's as if they were cut at an angle with a clipper. Some plants disappear completely and some have their leaves trimmed back.

Generally I don't have trouble with tomatoes and rabbits. I have about three hundred plants in a rabbit prone area and ten have been affected by rabbits. Hopefully they got a belly ache. If the tomatoes were apetizing they would have done more damage.

Zeuspaul
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digdirt2
15 years ago
Usual suspects besides rabbits and deer are ground hogs, gophers, moles, voles, birds (snip leaves for nesting material and common this time of year), turtles, rats and mice, armadillos, raccoons, skunks, and chipmunks (ground squirrels). Then there are the slugs and snails and grub/cutworm family. ;)

All depends on which of the above might reside in your area.

Dave
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smurfy_grower
15 years ago
I have the same issue, I started tomatoes from seed and I keep replanting them and they get chopped off. Sometimes the top is laying on the ground but usually they are gone. There's caterpillar nests in a cherry tree in the yard, is that the culpret? We're in the city and there's no deer, rabbits, or other animals near that could do it. They don't mess with the peppers or brussel sprouts. I'm about to give up on growing any tomatoes. I don't see signs of snails or slugs.
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tn_veggie_gardner
15 years ago
silly wabbit, maters are for humans. ;)
0

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