Punks, that is so lame.
Cant answer your question, but that pisses me off too.
Sorry bro or sis :)
Grrrrrrr!!!!!!

That is disgusting. The sad thing is the punk actually knew how to do the most damage. What will happen is they will grow back, but your harvest will be a month late. And, if you are in Southern Cal, it may mean no harvest if it gets too hot.

What a horrible thing to do!!!!!

Just wanted to let you know how upset that would make ME!

I hope their stolen fruits get hornrworms.....

Did you at least make a garden map?

By the "growing tips", do you mean only the tops of the plants or the ends of every branch that would produce blossoms and fruit?

And were your plants determinates or indeterminates?

If it was only the tops of the plants, the side-branches will compensate and grow to give you fruit.

I'm with everyone else too! I would be so fracken pissed!

A couple of years ago someone tryed to tip my tomato plants over (I grow them in containers). This year I had my yard completly fenced off and the gates are locked every night!

Are you around a deer population? Deer eat just the tips.

Very frustrating. What a bummer. I bet they'll bounce back in some way - it totally stinks they took your markers though!!! Wow! I feel for ya.

wow that's beyond low. Next year when you plant, set up a hidden camera if you have one and call the cops if you catch them in the act on camera.....

Last year, I saw the birds breaking off the tops of my tomatoes - clean cut - and use them for nesting material. I had no idea what was doing it to my plants until I caught one and it flew to the roof with 1/2 my plant in its beak. Its nesting time now.....

They didn't touch the markers.....

This is probably just paranoia on my part, but you don't have any gardeners in your neighborhood do you? Tomatoes can be rooted from cuttings and that's the only reason I could think for someone taking a plant tag as well as a chunk of the plant, aside from just plain meanness.

Let's all pray...(silence) that the person(s) involved in this hideous act grow plants from the stolen tops that produce nothing but BER fruits and disease ridden plants. Amen.

Unhappy Gardening to the culprits.

Yeah, they cut off the main branch tip, and with some of them they took more than one - ie suckers too (my poor brandywines). We plan to set up a surveillance on the garden using our computer and a web cam and eventually a fence (although not at the moment because we've got so many other home projects going on). We're going to see what happens to the plants. But it made me so mad. I've gotten a couple more plants and plan to grow those in containers to hedge my bets.

Nina in the SF bay area

Wow, it sure sounds like they were deliberately taken by someone who knew what they were doing. Maybe if you don't have IDs on them they won't be so appealing to the thief. Keep a garden map instead....though it is sad you would have to adjust your gardening for something like this.

I plant my tomatoes in alphabetical order so I don't need markers...

The side suckers will develop though it will put your harvest back some...

This is way out there, but definitely doable. Wait a few months and check google map satelite and google street view to see if they have a picture of your house.

My father-in-law peeked out his window as the street view car was driving by so you can see him. I don't like detering people. I rather get them punished, so I would hide the camera and send the picture to the police.

America is too damn lenient on criminals here. Cut one finger off I say.

JTS

Ha! You plant your tomatoes alphabetically? I plant mine by height, with the tallest at the north end of the bed. Their height? Well, what I've assigned to them as their height. And I keep the record in my Excel garden plot file!

That really stinks! I couldn't belive someone would steal your tomato tops! I agree with most of the rest of the folks and think it was a person and not animal ONLY because of the missing plant tags also. I'm pretty sure bambie dosn't care what was on the menu ;)

I actually lay out my garden kind of like anney does...in excel. I just have a basic "plot" worked out and I fill it in with were I plant stuff.

Laura

it sounds to me like someone plans to root cuttings it they took the tops and the IDs.

that is verrrrrrrryyyyy bad karma for them. they'll come back as damaged tomato plants in their next life.

"that is verrrrrrrryyyyy bad karma for them. they'll come back as damaged tomato plants in their next life."

Hopefully, they'll come back as insects that get eaten by chickens and crapped out as fertilizer for Nina's garden. Just kidding! Sort of.... Too harsh, I know, but not too far off of how I'd feel if it happened to me.

not "too harsh", it would be just.

gardening is a lot of work, it provides food for the family, and it is in your soul.

i'd feel violated if someone broke in to my garden and stole.

let them be bugs, eaten, crapped, and fertilizer!!

I'm asking a beginner question. This is my first time growing tomoatoes. Why is it so important to know what breed of tomatoes you have? Is it only important to know if you are pruning it. Pruning a plant for more yield is also a new concept to me since joining this forum. Thanks.

~~~ Why is it so important to know what breed of tomatoes you have? ~~~

The simplest reason would be to track which varieties do well and you enjoy, so that valuable space isn't taken up on a variety you'd rather not bother with again or room is made for one that you do.