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Staten Island, NY – There are tomatoes and the usual farm-to-table process turns out to be a hassle this summer. When they were ripe, the neighbours noticed – and they took a taste.
Little Peck Hall shows bird nibble. A big bite means a large animal that hits a tomato on the ground or eats it quickly from the vine. (Staten Island Advanced/Pamela Sillbestri)Pamela Silvestre
As soon as they turned red, the scores of half-edible tomatoes dotted my garden.
The Holy Solanum Lycopersicum! “Who's putting out the lights for my night shade?
I live in New York City and I needed an educated deduction before I could catch the real culprit.
I ruled out the bears. Certainly there are foxes here, but as far as I know, there are no bears.
In the region, we have Shipmank, Raccoon, Groundhog Turkey Buzzard, Turkey itself, Jack Rabbit, Mouse, Osprey, Opossum, Skunk.
Yes, it is a normal wild kingdom here on Staten Island, and it is the autonomous borough of the park Zoo And intentionally people Nursing wildlife.
But it's the squirrel that has it. I saw them. They did that. They ate my tomatoes and partyed with my plants.
(Staten Island Advanced/Yansommahammel)Staff shot
The only solution to the squirrel situation was to choose tomatoes at the end of summer when they were red. In the paper bags in the house, they ripen themselves – invisible and don't mind from the furry little felons.
Here are other ways to become your own natural shield for harvest.
Fence them out.
Shorten the long story and bet the garden to keep burlap and other human borders to surround the garden farm with a little effort. If the border is too low, deer can also nibble on the item.
The orange nastrutium is in full bloom.
Adds a fuzzy smell.
Many creatures don't like the scent of onion like allium, garlic, chives, daffodils, bulb-born plants, mint and geraniums. Catnips can be included in that list, but then there is another ramp-stretching problem: cats.
All going in Ireland's spring.
If you don't like the scent of Irish Spring Bar Soap, you're not alone.
According to the farmer's yearbook, Both squirrels and deer do hightails there when there is spring in Ireland. But I fear this will bring spring into my summer garden, and fear that the grass will spin after a storm.
Therefore, the moral of human stories is to store tomatoes before the squirrel is suspected. And in this case, the early bird gets a worm – or at least it's the opportunity to make a salad.
Pamela Silvestri is the Advance/Silive.com food editor. You can contact her [email protected].
