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Re: What's eating my tomatoes?

At 06:42 PM 7/14/97 PST, you wrote:
>Dawn wants to know what's eating her toms:
>
>>As soon as the fruits started to turn red, something started taking bites out
>>of them.  In two days a tomatoe thats 5" across is nothing but a few pieces
>>of skin on the ground.  I thought it was slugs but after today I'm not sure.
>>I found some tomatoes with what looked like teeth marks.  Do slugs have
>>teeth?  <grin>
>>....and found slugs last year (horrible 5"-6" long scary
>>looking things).
>
>Geez, Dawn, that doesn't sound like Long Beach slugs to me, it
>sounds more like Portland or Seattle slugs! I've never seen a slug
>down here longer than a couple inches or so.

Hi Shawn
Thanks for the reply.
These slugs must of hiked or slithered on over here from up North.(or off an
alien space ship)  They're this horrible greyish/greenish color with yellow
strips down the sides (racing slugs i guess <grin>).  On the sides of the
?neck? there are these pipe looking tubes that you don't see on the normal
slugs.  Really bizarre looking.  I broke out my ruler and I'm downgrading
them to a 3"-4" size.  No way were they 6". To me, normal slugs are
brownish/grey and only 1" long, no tubes..
Hubby saw a tree rat so we're gona assume they are the culprits.  The teeth
marks were only the size of a hyphen - .  I'm gona set out traps and hope
that helps.  I don't think bird netting will stop them.

> I harvested tomatoes from my plants
>until late December, early January last year. So you should have plenty of
>time to get some toms again. I would try seeds or plants right now, and
>when you get your first tomato forming, try covering all but one of the
>plants with something to keep birds and maybe possums out.
>Good luck, and keep us posted.
>Shawn
>swestaway@stmplink.coh.org
>Claremont, CA  USDA9b  Sunset19

I'm gona give it a try.  Whats a few seeds?  With luck, maybe I'll do as
well as you did.  I'll comeup with  something to keep them out!
I am still concerned with the fungus attack though.  My poor babies were
covered from hip heith down to the ground with a white fuzz on the main
stalk and and some of the lateral stalks.  I thought I had good circulation
but maybe not?  There were 6 plants. I spaced them 1 foot apart but trimmed
off all but the main stem.  I followed Eliot Colemans pruning advice from
his show.
Could it be a soil born disease or given to the plants because of the
slugs/rats?

Thanks again Shawn and to everyone whose posted responses.

Take care and Good Gardening to you all.
Dawn S.
Long Beach CA (zone10)

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