TOMATO-LOVIN' DOG

At first I could only guess as to what was happening. I had a nice crop of ripening tomatoes on one bush, and the next time I looked, they were GONE! I suspected Bess.

I was slow to act on the problem. I guess I really couldn't believe a dog would like tomatoes. Of course, green tomatoes resemble green apples, and the dogs do love green apples. 

Yesterday was the straw. Arriving in town on Thursday, I had picked half a dozen nearly-ripe tomatoes. And then yesterday, I noticed several I wanted to ripen a bit more were gone. And the signs were obvious: it was Bess.

Obviously tomato cages and decorative fencing would not deter any animal, so I installed heavier trellises. Those didn't work either. By digging she had managed to compromise them and reach through for the fruit.

Online search revealed that dogs will eat tomatoes, but tomatoes aren't good for dogs. So, the sooner I could thwart her efforts, the better. Jo-Ann Fabrics was having a timely sale on netting, so I bought ten yards. Now my three tomato plants are beautifully draped in wedding-like finery, and it remains to be seen if that will do the trick. 

Gardening here in town has been no more rewarding than at the farm.  Of three tomato plants, only one is bearing nicely. And two hills of zucchini are simply sitting there. Add to that the problem with Bess, and I'm considering giving it up. I'm not much of a gardener anyway, but one does have to do something with one's bare dirt. KW