I had about a dozen tomatoes starting to ripen in three garden boxes on my carport. Then they were gone. Every one.
But I did have a cherry tomato vine in my garden, loaded with fruit. Then, they were gone. Every one.
I have solved my deer problem, but the thievin’ coons are practically impossible to stop, once they find out you have tomatoes.
While raccoons appear cute and cuddly, they are masked bandits. They raid trashcans and can even open outside refrigerators and freezers with their deft paws. They often squeeze into attic spaces and make a huge mess if given the opportunity.
A couple proven methods to deter the coons are cayenne pepper and mothballs – they hate the smell of both.
These tomato raids have happened to me two or three times in the past. One day you have tomatoes and the next day you don’t. I’m sure the coons are the culprits, since there were no tracks from deer and no leaves nibbled from the plants. The coons simply hand pick each tomato.
It makes you want to turn the garden bed over to a flowerbed and buy vegetables from the Farmer’s Market.
But coons don’t like greens, and I am planting those right now. Next time you see a raccoon crossing the road, don’t slow down. Speed up!