# At wits end with Tomatoes



## wish2fish (Mar 1, 2005)

I am about to give up trying to grow tomatoes. This year I have a couple of healthy plants with quite a few tomatoes on them. Something is eating them before they are ripe enough to pick. I have wire mesh wrapped around them so I don't think it is birds. I do not see any insects but perhaps it happens at night or early morning.

I have not seen any horned worms this year but they typically eat the leaves and not the fruit.

So, what can I do to stop this.


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Game cam! I guess!


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## mattm6510 (May 27, 2008)

Maybe rats

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## reel love (May 21, 2004)

me too, baiting rat traps next. eating the bottom 1/3 of ripe ones.


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## wish2fish (Mar 1, 2005)

mattm6510 said:


> Maybe rats
> 
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


It's plausible, they have been in my garage which I just cleaned thoroughly and inside the house which took me a few months to fully eradicate and seal it up.


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## wish2fish (Mar 1, 2005)

Looks more like some type of insect.


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## mattm6510 (May 27, 2008)

Call JQ he will take care of them

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## homebrew (Jun 14, 2011)

that's a mocking bird right there


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## Paul Marx (Nov 13, 2009)

I don't think that's a bird peck . It looks like some type of insect damage to me .


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

Do you guys get slugs down in Texas? They can leave marks like that at times.


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## Paul Marx (Nov 13, 2009)

We do , and good guess .


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

Slugs only come out to feed at night. They normally hide under boards or other items laying on the ground during the day. If you think it might be slugs, check your tomatoes with a flashlight before you go to bed tonight. If you see slugs, there are slug baits that you can buy, or you can look up beer traps for slugs on the internet.


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## SwampRat (Jul 30, 2004)

wish2fish said:


> It's plausible, they have been in my garage which I just cleaned thoroughly and inside the house which took me a few months to fully eradicate and seal it up.


From previous experiences, last year I had my son build a 8' tall frame around the entire raised garden over which I put up netting to keep the birds out. It definitely kept the birds in check and I thought I had all my issues licked...

Then came the rats at night...I picked one batch of tomatoes (~75) early on and the rats ate EVERYTHING else for entire season...all the red ones and then all the green ones. Every single one!!! Hundreds of tomatoes. I didn't pick any past mid-May.

As a result, we completely eradicated the rats in the garage and even had to give up our compost pile....

Good yet? No!!

This year it's now mold/fungus attacking my plants. They were having good growth and then they suddenly stopped and had yellowing/brown leaves... Treating with fungicide and only apply water to the ground only.

Fingers crossed.


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## wish2fish (Mar 1, 2005)

Dick Hanks said:


> Slugs only come out to feed at night. They normally hide under boards or other items laying on the ground during the day. If you think it might be slugs, check your tomatoes with a flashlight before you go to bed tonight. If you see slugs, there are slug baits that you can buy, or you can look up beer traps for slugs on the internet.


Thanks. I put down some diatomaceous earth around the plants and I will go out tonight and see if I see any. I have seen them before in the yard or patio not a lot but never thought that might be it.


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## wish2fish (Mar 1, 2005)

SwampRat said:


> From previous experiences, last year I had my son build a 8' tall frame around the entire raised garden over which I put up netting to keep the birds out. It definitely kept the birds in check and I thought I had all my issues licked...
> 
> Then came the rats at night...I picked one batch of tomatoes (~75) early on and the rats ate EVERYTHING else for entire season...all the red ones and then all the green ones. Every single one!!! Hundreds of tomatoes. I didn't pick any past mid-May.
> 
> ...


I had rats in my garage and it looks like they were eating fertilizer. Bags ripped open and **** everywhere. I cleaned that out. I was wondering how they were getting so big. LOL.

Every year it seems something else presents itself. It is certainly a challenge. Mold, fungus/brown batch, powdery mildew, bugs, rats, etc.

I started treating for powdery mildew two weeks ago and just laid down another treatment. :hairout:

Oh and I gave up my compost pile as well


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

SwampRat said:


> From previous experiences, last year I had my son build a 8' tall frame around the entire raised garden over which I put up netting to keep the birds out. It definitely kept the birds in check and I thought I had all my issues licked...
> 
> Then came the rats at night...I picked one batch of tomatoes (~75) early on and the rats ate EVERYTHING else for entire season...all the red ones and then all the green ones. Every single one!!! Hundreds of tomatoes. I didn't pick any past mid-May.
> 
> ...


I've had the rat problem. They love cucs.


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## SwampRat (Jul 30, 2004)

Yes, they love 'maters and cucs... And when those run out, peppers too.

I had the fattest vegetarian rats around...


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## monkeyman1 (Dec 30, 2007)

I've had 9 kinds of hail growing tomatoes organically. I'm armed this year with Bt, Neem oil and Surround WP and plan to rotate application of these all growing season. I read today that you can pull the suckers and plant them; never thought of that. So I'll pull and plant those in the little TSC greenhouse for the fall garden. Took 2 styrofoam egg cartons, poked a hole in the bottom where the eggs sit, put potting soil (Baccto) in the cartons.


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## trout250 (Aug 24, 2005)

looks like some sort of insect, slugs a good possibility.
check them at ni with a good flashlightght


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

SwampRat said:


> Yes, they love 'maters and cucs... And when those run out, peppers too.
> 
> I had the fattest vegetarian rats around...


I have a cat lady next door. Only thing her dozen or so cats are good for is rat patrol and keeping my dogs exercised. They made a hole in the side of their barn for them to get in and out of. If they ever sell their place, I imagine that barn will have to be burned. LOL


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## KJS68 (Mar 23, 2017)

My tomatoe issue is 5 out of the 10 look like there about to die,going to pull them and get some more plants.They are turning brown like they are not getting watered enough.Now it looks like its happing to 2 other plants that have tomatoes on them.There in a 4x4 raised box.


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## jm423 (Sep 18, 2011)

Not applicable in this particular case, but nobody mentioned *****, or possums and their destruction derbys. As well as assorted birds other than mockingbirds.


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## SwampRat (Jul 30, 2004)

KJS68 said:


> My tomatoe issue is 5 out of the 10 look like there about to die,going to pull them and get some more plants.They are turning brown like they are not getting watered enough.Now it looks like its happing to 2 other plants that have tomatoes on them.There in a 4x4 raised box.


If the brown/yellow is starting from the bottom and working it's way up the plant, then it is probably fungus. I'm treating the same symptoms with Daconil...only time will tell.


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## KJS68 (Mar 23, 2017)

I bought some fungas spray for my lemon and orange trees,i wonder if I can spray that on the palnt,there doing exactly what you said.


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

KJS68 said:


> I bought some fungas spray for my lemon and orange trees,i wonder if I can spray that on the palnt,there doing exactly what you said.


Check the label to see if is safe on edibles. If you are using it on your citrus trees it should be. Products like Daconil do a pretty good job of kinda stopping, or more accurately, slowing the spread, but they are not a cure. To my knowledge, there is no cure.

Both early and late blight start at the bottom of the plant and move up. It could be other viruses as well. If it is early blight, you can slow it down enough to at least get some tomatoes. If it is late blight, you are pretty much screwed. It is a killer.

Cut off all of the leaves that show any sign of infection. Try not to touch any other leaves with these leaves or your hands in the process. Spray all remaining leaves with a Daconil type product. If you don't remove all of the infected leaves, the infection tends to leap frog past the sprayed leaves to the newly immerging unsprayed leaves. Some of these sprays are somewhat systemic, but not enough to solely rely on that action. The good systemic sprays cannot be used on food producing plants.

Even with good rotation, and clean garden practices, my tomatoes seem to get early blight ever year. Even if I plant in virgin ground. It seems to be airborne, passing through every year. I use a couple of products like, and including, Daconil to buy enough time to harvest a decent to very good crop.


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## KJS68 (Mar 23, 2017)

Dick Hanks said:


> Check the label to see if is safe on edibles. If you are using it on your citrus trees it should be. Products like Daconil do a pretty good job of kinda stopping, or more accurately, slowing the spread, but they are not a cure. To my knowledge, there is no cure.
> 
> Both early and late blight start at the bottom of the plant and move up. It could be other viruses as well. If it is early blight, you can slow it down enough to at least get some tomatoes. If it is late blight, you are pretty much screwed. It is a killer.
> 
> ...


Thanks Dick,i plan on digging them 5 plants and trashing them today and going to home depot and got some more plant's and some Daconil after work.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

KJS68 said:


> ...i plan on digging them 5 plants and trashing them today ....


Burn 'em or otherwise dispose well away from your garden spot.


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## KJS68 (Mar 23, 2017)

Meadowlark said:


> Burn 'em or otherwise dispose well away from your garden spot.


Thanks I plan on putting them in the trash for p/u on Friday.I'm gonna get some new plants tonight I was gonna spray them also so they get infected.


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

KJS68 said:


> Thanks I plan on putting them in the trash for p/u on Friday.I'm gonna get some new plants tonight I was gonna spray them also so they get infected.


I think that you are on the right track here. I assume that you intend to spray the new plants before they get infected. That is what I'm doing now, because I know what will happen if I don't. If you are in an area that is prone to these infections, it is far better to be pro-active. These infections are MUCH easier to prevent than they are to stop. Clipping off your lower leaves with a CLEAN, disinfected pruners is also a good safety precaution if you are in a high risk area. Glad to see that you are getting all infected stuff out of the area, as Lark mentioned.


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Good info! Thanks I'll have to get some daconil. My plants tend to get that and it will be nice to correct this. Man, I'm needing a homegrown mater about right now and about 30 pints of salsa, picante, and just plane maters.
I gotta get a food prossesor sp. this year which one should I get?


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

Randy, if you go to buy Daconil, get the concentrate, not the ready to spray bottle. The stuff in the spray bottle clogs up the nozzle almost immediately, unless they fixed that problem this year. If you mix your own from conc., use what you mix fairly quick. Immunox also make some good products, but make sure that the one that you buy is safe for edibles. They make more effective versions, but you don't want it in your food. The high test stuff can't be washed off because it is systemic and enters the tomato thru its vascular system.


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## KJS68 (Mar 23, 2017)

Dick Hanks said:


> Randy, if you go to buy Daconil, get the concentrate, not the ready to spray bottle. The stuff in the spray bottle clogs up the nozzle almost immediately, unless they fixed that problem this year. If you mix your own from conc., use what you mix fairly quick. Immunox also make some good products, but make sure that the one that you buy is safe for edibles. They make more effective versions, but you don't want it in your food. The high test stuff can't be washed off because it is systemic and enters the tomato thru its vascular system.


I bought a bottle of the spray Daconil last night and the spray nozzle sucks.


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