Note that I'm in Z6B (CT)... apologies, my account reset so I'm still updating info! Would appreciate any thoughts on this, I need to figure out who it is so I can plan accordingly... fencing the entire garden isn't an option at this stage, but if I can understand what crops might be on the menu next maybe I'll protect accordingly. Damage happens at night... I haven't seen rabbit pellets anywhere, but I do suspect a rabbit. Anything you can share would be greatly appreciated, All!

Very hard to say who is responsible, but if you can't manage a fence, you need to outfit yourself with some traps. My garden is near a creek, and I have all sorts of critters coming up to feast on my stuff. I routinely trap possums, raccoons, and a whole lot of squirrels. We don't have many rabbits, but I'm sure I could get them as well. I'm surprised someone is going after your beets. My beets are untouched. My guys go after my melons and cukes - water, sugar.

Deer

Wondered about deer... those'd be bottom teeth marks, then? Never had deer pull tomatoes... typically they chew down the plants. I ruled 'em out cause they only ate the beet greens... I thought they'd be equally interested in the beets themselves. I know they rip things out of the ground when chewing, but the soil in that bed is super loose so I didn't rule out a rabbit pulling the roots as well. If it's a deer, why would they pick tomatoes... several each night... and never actually bite into them? Appreciate the thoughts.

If that beet bed was a bit larger then I'd expect to see deer prints in the soft soil but it does seem like the work of a messy deer. If those tomatoes were high on the plant (out of rabbit reach?) then a deer seems like a good guess. Deer come into my yard after sunset and chew on the pears I thin out, I leave them on the ground to deter the deer from the rest of the garden. Saves me from picking them up too. Deer usually leave behind some piles of poop as a clue.

Rabbits are another possibility since they (mine) come out near dusk and dawn to chow down, if so, looks like you may have a herd of rabbits. A Hav-a-hart trap may help determine the true critter, it may be a groundhog too although they would probably eat the entire beet. Years ago something was chowing down on my cantaloupes, could not figure out what it was until I caught it in action > a Box Turtle.

Good luck keeping them out! You are still lucky, they didn't eat the beet root. Here they will use their hooves to dig up the carrots and beets and eat the roots too.

Fortunately they've never tasted my green tomatoes, but I have enough other "goodies" in the garden to choose from, I guess.

Anie

Look for poop nearby too, rabbit poop is easy to ID. I have rabbit issue but rarely bites like that. My guess is rabbits