Like so many of us I am in a constant battle with everything that wants to eat my veggies, particularly squirrels, chipmunks and other such critters. I have tried poultry fencing which is of course, no barrier to them. My latest brainstorm (fart) is to surround my 3'x3' raised beds with plexiglass panels (2'x3'). Slick enough not to be crawled over, high enough not to be jumped over, but allows light through. Any thoughts before I spend my money? I'd like to harvest at least one unblemished tomato this year.
Plexiglass protection?
Aside from the price, which will run about $10 a s.f. or more, the lack of air circulation would encourage disease and heat would do them in. Besides the aforementioned, squirrels can jump five feet from the ground up and even further horizontally.
My brainstorms are sans gas but perhaps concrete reinforcing wire cages, or something equally sturdy, and wrap them in insect weight row cover material such as Agribon 15. Since tomatoes have perfect flowers (are self fertile) you do not need pollinators. Ditto eggplants and peppers. There are heavier weights for thermal blanketing. You are in a Boston suburb, yes? Would this be an aesthetic issue? As for your zone, maybe you want a heavier weight for a thermal advantage. Agribon let's in light and water. I used it to blanket corn last summer because of a deer problem.
I finally won the battle with squirrels. I use bird netting. Place poles with empty water bottles over the tops. Drape the netting over the poles. I also use a Havahart trap and we repatriate them. Last year 8 squirrels went to live in another county in another forest. Our garden is quiet, we still have some squirrels. Repatriation will be an ongoing maintenance issue. The deer also respect the bird netting.
My pear tree is preferred by squirrels until the last pear has been picked. By then, gardening season is almost over. It's just a lot of work cleaning up the ground every day. One year a hailstorm thinned out the pears, so I did have squirrels eyeballing my tomotoes. Since I grow them vertically on welded wire fencing, I used the river cane (growing in my yard) to weave over the tomatoes to deter the squirrels. It also helps support the vines.
Sully1990
Mar 17, 2022
Covering the top area of your tomato plants with anti hail netting will effectively solve your problem.https://www.bettermicn.com/product/anti-hail-net-protects-crops-and-fruits-from-hail.html First build the structure of the tunnel with PVC material as high as possible 40cm above the top of the tomatoes, then completely cover the tunnel with green bird netting and the project is complete. High-density polyethylene knotted netting is recommended.This material is suitable for outdoor use, durable and will not tear. It is resistant to "stealing" by squirrels and birds, which are small animals. I think harvesting unblemished tomatoes will be a breeze.
Tomatoes bloom and fruit in an orderly fashion, ripening layer by layer. If you want tomatoes to be prolific, you need to make them climbable upwards. Plant support nets https://www.bettermicn.com/products-category/plant-support-net.html can make it and are environmentally friendly in this way, all reusable, low cost and the crop yield will not be low
This message was edited Mar 17, 2022 6:06 PM
Very nice Sully1990. Similiar to my method (climbing) and I would love to see photos of your tomatoes plants covered in ripening fruit.