Last year we planted tomatoes in our front flower beds.  The front of our house gets more sun than the back and I wanted to grow some tomatoes.

And keep them close enough to the house that the deer wouldn’t get them.

But a chipmunk decided to make himself at home and steal the tomatoes.

By that time the plants were too large to do much of anything so we reluctantly shared.

This year I decided to be a bit more proactive and make the plants less accessible.

Half-inch hardware cloth (it is not soft like cloth) rolled into 18-inch high circles/columns.  I secured the circles/columns with wire and put some duct tape around the tops to keep from getting scratched when I had to pull weeds, pick ripe tomatoes, etc.

I wedged the tomato tag from the seedlings in the back between the overlapping screening.

Red Beefsteak

So far so good.

L to R: Red pepper, German Queen, Red pepper

L to R: Roma, Cherry, Better Boy, Red Beefsteak

Roma

Roma

Husky Cherry Red

Husky Cherry Red

German Queen

I followed Martha Stewart’s suggestion for tying up the floppy plants using old panty hose.

Better Boy

I even tried a couple of red pepper plants.

Red pepper

From the top clockwise: Beefsteak, Beefsteak, German Queen, German Queen, Better Boy

Question:  Why do some tomatoes split or get those lines in them as in the beef steak above?

Those German Queen tomatoes are huge!  They aren’t the prettiest but measure at about 6 inches across the widest part.  Very meaty and makes a great tomato sandwich.  I had not heard of them before but decided to try one plant this year.  It’s an heirloom tomato so I will save some seeds and try to start my plants from seed next year.  Looking forward to eating more fresh veggies soon!