My rabbit is a jerk

[bad.kelpie]

My first blushing big tomatoes, Rutgers. He finally stopped eating the plants and has moved on to the tomatoes. He's supposed to have his own yard, but he won't stay in it. He doesn't care to run away, the yard is open to the back alley, but he doesn't want to be confined either.

[SueCT]

Are you sure it was the rabbit? I only ask because I have lots of rabbits, one stretches out and sleeps in garden but has never touched a tomato plant or tomato. Just because you have rabbits, does not mean that is what is doing it. Any chance you also have ground hogs or deer or other animals? I found this, that might be helpful:
https://web.extension.illinois.edu/c...rs/971227.html

[oldman]

Well if you save seed that looks like a candidate for fermentation. ;-)

I'm not sure the rabbit's guilty. Grasshoppers can attack new growth foliage on tomatoes, and large ones will eat the tomatoes too. They're a bigger problem than normal here this year, your area may be different. There are a variety of other things of various sizes that like tomatoes. Hornworms are the only obvious culprit because if the plant isn't gone, they're still eating. But bunny blaming probably requires catching him in the act.

[Jeannine Anne]

I have seen a rabbit on it's hind legs reaching up for a tomato in an open greenhouse, I was very surprised and probably would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. He was well and truly stretched to reach but he did it.

[bad.kelpie]

He's a pet bunny, he's accustomed to eating "people food" vegetables and fruit. He likes tomatoes. The only other animals in the back yard are bugs and cats. I'm confident in my bunny-blaming

[NarnianGarden]

Well, since we cannot shoot him, how about keeping him in a confined area where he cannot reach tomatoes?

[bad.kelpie]

Yes, that's typically the plan, but he escapes every pen, and I won't put him in a cage. I'd rather lose a few low hanging tomatoes.

[Worth1]

I think with such harsh words as being called a jerk the rabbit should have a say so as to what is going on.

Worth

[ginger2778]

He can join the club. My cat is a fink.

[Labradors2]

If you cannot (successfully) cage the rabbit, perhaps you could try caging the maters? . I use a snow fence around my garden to keep my dawgs out. It works for most of the season until they grow to big and flop over the "fence" but by that time there are so many, that I don't mind them helping themselves .

Linda

[ContainerTed]

Originally Posted by bad.kelpie

Yes, that's typically the plan, but he escapes every pen, and I won't put him in a cage. I'd rather lose a few low hanging tomatoes.

-

You must make your own decision and your pet will go on. But around here, we don't have your tomato problem because we strongly believe in the "Elmer Fudd Solution". You know, Rabbit Stew or Rabbit whatever. Only difference is that, unlike Mr. Fudd, who is a poster child for how not to do it, "We Have The Meat".

Hope your pet doesn't decide to take down a plant or two. With a lot of permissions to do this and that, where is the line that says, "Here, and no further".

Take care.

[bad.kelpie]

He doesn't care what I call him, he's not a sensitive soul

I successfully kept him in his fence while the plants were little, but he got craftier and the plants got big enough that he wouldn't eat them. Soon, the tomatoes will be high enough, and the fruit trees will start dropping their early fruits, and then he'll be occupied with those. He has left the cherry tomatoes alone, but they don't taste that good to me this year, either. I'm hoping this means the Rutgers will be better than the cherries.

[GrowingCoastal]

He does look well fed and laid back.

[SueCT]

He looks so soft and cuddly. I am a little taken aback at the idea of shotting a pet, "Elmer Fudd" Style, though, to eat him in order to protect some plants. I love my tomatoes, but can't imagine that solution, and I am glad he is safe at your house, lol.

[bad.kelpie]

Yup, if I was that worried about my tomatoes, I'd fence them, or plant them somewhere else.

Sadly, he is not cuddly. I've had him for 6 years, since he was a baby, and I can't even pet him. He's friendly enough, he likes to come hang out with me and follow me around the yard, but the minute I try to touch him, he's gone.