TOTALLY GEEKED!

Tangerine · Guru

Calling all gardeners

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Poison.

Or

Find a local green house and talk to them.

If you go to Lowes or some where like that you will just get the sales pitch for whatever they are needing to unload.

And I believe there is an animal urine that repels, too.

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

Tangerine wrote:
A pair of very rotund squirrels have developed a taste for my tomatoes. They have eaten every. single. one. of my beefsteak tomatoes! TWO plants worth!!
And now they are starting in on the cherry tomatoes.
They found a way around the bird netting.
At this point I am considering rat traps. Or a pellet gun, but I'm not a very good shot.
Any other suggestions?

Tang, we tried to grow tomatoes for years.

We gave up.

Tomatoes don't do well, once the temperature is over 90.(An old farmer told me that, in Walmart, one day...as I was buying tomatoes, cause the birds had eaten all of ours.)

You have a sunroom, right?

Put them in pots, and bring them inside.

The birds managed to beat, every system Wayne and I tried.

They ate all of our tomatoes, back in the day.

We gave up.

If I ever try again, it will be in pots, indoors. wink

Ohfour · Hooker

Squirrel Lives Matter..

Just sayin...

Momala · Great cook-happy wife-superb fisherman

ALUM !

Buy a canister (sold in bottles/jars or tins) of alum from your local pharmacy or Wal-Mart. Mix a strong solution with water, and put in a spray bottle.
Spray the entire plant - including the tomatoes.

It will dry almost invisible, but will discourage any varmits from invading your tomato patch. Alum is that nasty taste you get when inflating a latex balloon.
The alum will be "reactivated" by the saliva in the critter's mouth. It will not harm the plants, but you will need to reapply it after each rain.

Also works to keep dogs/cats from chewing on electrical cords, furniture, etc.

Tangerine · Guru

Thank you, FWM and momala. I was hoping to get some tomatoes before it got too hot. I had about 40 total. All gone. I will try the alum for the cherry tomatoes.

FNW · Guru

Trudy gave me the name of some good stuff...but she probably won't be back on until next week. See if remembers...

Lexxy · My dog name is Sasha, too!

My neighbor swore by fake owls in his trees to keep squirrels away from his tulips. No idea if it works, but his tulips were beautiful.

Tangerine · Guru

Lexxy wrote:
My neighbor swore by fake owls in his trees to keep squirrels away from his tulips. No idea if it works, but his tulips were beautiful.

We thought about that, but we actually have a lot of pretty birds in our neighborhood and don't want to scare them off.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Tangerine wrote:
Thank you, FWM and momala. I was hoping to get some tomatoes before it got too hot. I had about 40 total. All gone. I will try the alum for the cherry tomatoes.

If it makes you feel any better mine have succumbed to the same fate. Netting and all. They even ate a jalapeño pepper. Six beautiful tomato bushes full of tomatoes. Gone.

Tangerine · Guru

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
Tangerine wrote:
Thank you, FWM and momala. I was hoping to get some tomatoes before it got too hot. I had about 40 total. All gone. I will try the alum for the cherry tomatoes.
If it makes you feel any better mine have succumbed to the same fate. Netting and all. They even ate a jalapeño pepper. Six beautiful tomato bushes full of tomatoes. Gone.

That is heartbreaking. : (

nothing ever eats our jalapeños. I thought they were immune. You have some tough squirrels in your neighborhood.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Tangerine wrote:
Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
Tangerine wrote:
Thank you, FWM and momala. I was hoping to get some tomatoes before it got too hot. I had about 40 total. All gone. I will try the alum for the cherry tomatoes.
If it makes you feel any better mine have succumbed to the same fate. Netting and all. They even ate a jalapeño pepper. Six beautiful tomato bushes full of tomatoes. Gone.
That is heartbreaking. : (
nothing ever eats our jalapeños. I thought they were immune. You have some tough squirrels in your neighborhood.

I think I must live in the squirrel ghetto. Pretty heartbreaking when the squirrels go to that length.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

They also ate my blackberries. They cleaned us out. I think maybe they put out the word that there was a block party in my backyard.

karl271 · Guru

If you go with poison, please make sure kids, dogs and cats cannot get at it. Poison always scares me.

Tangerine · Guru

karl271 wrote:
If you go with poison, please make sure kids, dogs and cats cannot get at it. Poison always scares me.

I don't feel comfortable using poison, either.

Husband is talking about enclosing the entire garden in chicken wire. that will have to wait until next year though.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

You can build a pretty inexpensive green house.

That might be an answer.

Then you can garden year round.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Jet.com has a 15'x7' for $109.

Tangerine · Guru

lilyofcourse wrote:
You can build a pretty inexpensive green house.

That might be an answer.

Then you can garden year round.

Skmething to think about. My plants get too much sun, so we have been thinking about a shade of some kind.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I have always wanted a big Green house.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Tomatoes are evil...they have squishy guts.

flan

FNW · Guru

Love your flamingo, Lily!

I, too, would like a greenhouse. My grandmother had one to house her orchids. I loved going in there.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Thanks!

Lindley · Guru

I have no luck with tomato plants, now I just buy them from vegetable stands. I would love to find green tomatoes so I could fry me a batch of fried green tomatoes.

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

Lindley wrote:
I have no luck with tomato plants, now I just buy them from vegetable stands. I would love to find green tomatoes so I could fry me a batch of fried green tomatoes.

Me too! I haven't made them in a while.

I'll have to keep my eyes open for some.

karl271 · Guru

Planted 5 tomato plants this year, supposedly Del Monte tomatoes. Turns out they are not red or green, but yellow.... First time for me to see these; wonder how they will taste.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

karl271 wrote:
Planted 5 tomato plants this year, supposedly Del Monte tomatoes. Turns out they are not red or green, but yellow.... First time for me to see these; wonder how they will taste.

They'll be good.

You'll like them.

We had a couple heirloom plants last year.

The tomatoes were all kinds of colors.

But the purple and black were the best.

karl271 · Guru

Thanks, Lily. Looking forward to trying them.

Riding · Guru

Our green house has been fabulous, things are doing great! I did run across a few LONG garter snakes, they like the warmth LOL.

Last week I had one door open and as I went to shut it there were two birds in there....they didn't want to come out....so I opened the other door and rushed in waving my arms, one flew out the other door and one swooped around and came right at me, let me tell YOU the waving of my arms was wild as I was hopping around and hollering (thank gosh no one can see inside it ) but the dang *killer* bird swooped out....whew!

Our greenhouse

-- Edited by Riding on Tuesday 5th of July 2016 04:25:26 PM

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I'd love a green house.

Tangerine · Guru

That looks amazing, Riding.

FNW · Guru

Riding wrote:
Our green house has been fabulous, things are doing great! I did run across a few LONG garter snakes, they like the warmth LOL.

Last week I had one door open and as I went to shut it there were two birds in there....they didn't want to come out....so I opened the other door and rushed in waving my arms, one flew out the other door and one swooped around and came right at me, let me tell YOU the waving of my arms was wild as I was hopping around and hollering (thank gosh no one can see inside it ) but the dang *killer* bird swooped out....whew!

Our greenhouse

-- Edited by Riding on Tuesday 5th of July 2016 04:25:26 PM

I'm cured of my desire for a greenhouse. Thank you.

Riding · Guru

thanks Tangerine , and I live in the country FNW, you should be safe where you life and they are harmless. One year our garden area was full of what my kids called "hop toads" little tiny toads that were all over jumping, I never went out there without shoes, I did not want toad all mushed in my toes

FNW · Guru

We have a ton of frogs and toads here, riding. And snakes, too. Foxes, deer, groundhogs are pretty common. I, too, need to wear shoes and look where I step....

The A/C guy cleaned out a nest from our outdoor unit. Since we found a dead mouse inside recently, I'm guessing it was a mouse nest.

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

Very cool, Riding! smile

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

A good green house is like paradise in winter.

Warm and green.

TrudyML · Guru

My neighbor was having the same problem. He was so upset. Go to the site www.critter-repellent.com. They have a can of shake away urine. I am telling you it worked! No more squirrels. Save around plants, people. We thought it was fox urine. 100% cure. Some gardening shops stock it.

Tangerine · Guru

Thanks, Trudy! I will try that.

TrudyML · Guru

Totally works. Amazed.

vtveggie · Member

Tangerine wrote:
A pair of very rotund squirrels have developed a taste for my tomatoes. They have eaten every. single. one. of my beefsteak tomatoes! TWO plants worth!!
And now they are starting in on the cherry tomatoes.
They found a way around the bird netting.
At this point I am considering rat traps. Or a pellet gun, but I'm not a very good shot.
Any other suggestions?

I don't know if this will help with a squirrel but I have a woodchuck problem and I have taken to dusting my plants with ground cayenne pepper just before dark, when I know it will be dry overnight. He grabbed one and moved on to my cucumbers. Getting ready to dust those, tonight. furious

This also works great for planting bulbs (tulips, hyacinth, etc) in the Fall. My woodchuck would always dig up my bulbs..... until I put a teaspoon of ground cayenne on top of each one, in the hole. Every one of my tulips bloomed this year. Loser woodchuck lost his taste for my bulbs.

Cheerios4606 · Guru

My battle with the squirrels is keeping them out of the bird feeder. I have even mixed the feed with cayenne pepper to get the squirrels to stop, but nooOOOooo, they power through the hot and eat the bird seed anyway. According to the web, birds are not affected by cayenne pepper, but animals are.

apple · Guru

I've grown tomatoes for many years and never even knew that squirrels like to eat them!

UGH>>> squirrels - rats with fuzzy tails.

Lexxy · My dog name is Sasha, too!

apple wrote:
I've grown tomatoes for many years and never even knew that squirrels like to eat them!

UGH>>> squirrels - rats with fuzzy tails.

Squirrels are adorable.

TrudyML · Guru

Cheerios4606 wrote:
My battle with the squirrels is keeping them out of the bird feeder. I have even mixed the feed with cayenne pepper to get the squirrels to stop, but nooOOOooo, they power through the hot and eat the bird seed anyway. According to the web, birds are not affected by cayenne pepper, but animals are.

Click my link and sprinkle that stuff! Stops them dead!

apple · Guru

Lexxy wrote:
apple wrote:
I've grown tomatoes for many years and never even knew that squirrels like to eat them!

UGH>>> squirrels - rats with fuzzy tails.
Squirrels are adorable.

Sure but if they didn't have those fuzzy tails, they would be rats. biggrin

Riding · Guru

we have big field mice (I think they are mutants they look the size of the wild rabbits that love my strawberries) we set rat traps and catch those suckers and if you cover things from the top they dig down underground and get things....grrrr

and I had the kids jack-o-lanterns back in the day by outside door to my breezeway and the deer stole them and feasted!!

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Lexxy wrote:
apple wrote:
I've grown tomatoes for many years and never even knew that squirrels like to eat them!

UGH>>> squirrels - rats with fuzzy tails.
Squirrels are adorable.

Squirrels will destroy property.

Gardens, houses, cars.

They are cute little wrecking crews.

apple · Guru

Speaking of cute little wrecking crews, my biggest challenge in the garden is the racoons! Oh but they are so adorable right?
They destroyed about 80% of my grapes last year, they also have taken to pooping against the back of my house. WHY? I DO NOT KNOW!

Tangerine · Guru

apple wrote:
I've grown tomatoes for many years and never even knew that squirrels like to eat them!

UGH>>> squirrels - rats with fuzzy tails.

They never touched the tomatoes until this year. I don't understand why they are so into the tomatoes this year.

vtveggie · Member

Cheerios4606 wrote:
My battle with the squirrels is keeping them out of the bird feeder. I have even mixed the feed with cayenne pepper to get the squirrels to stop, but nooOOOooo, they power through the hot and eat the bird seed anyway. According to the web, birds are not affected by cayenne pepper, but animals are.

You can buy a Twirl-A-Squirrel. It keeps most squirrels from eating your bird seed (although, apparently some are more tenacious than others).