Success!!

It's a bit overdue, but you should know that we successfully harvest two cherry tomatoes at the end of the summer. I estimate their value at $75.32 each. That's one pricey salad!

Vacation. . .

August 20th, no ripe tomatoes, and we're leaving.

Just out luck, our first ripe tomatoes will come as we are on our summer's big vacation. Enjoy them my thieving friend. The camera is set to catch you, but it's been a bit on the fritz lately. If you'd like to follow our vacation see http://aktrip.blogspot.com

Wild Tomatoes

Here's the leading theory from a close confidant. I think he may have inside information:
"Doug, it is clear what is happening. You have clearly planted a
variety of wild tomatoes. They hate captivity and keep escaping on their
own."

When Life hands you lemons, make lemonade. I'm making ketchup.

Catch vs. Stop

I've had various suggestions from people as to how I might "Stop" the tomato heist. The problem is, I don't want the stealing just to stop. I want to the CATCH the thief. Maybe I should be so vindictive, but I really want him / her brought to justice. I don't know if you can prosecute tomato hesit-ing, and I know revenge is supposed to be left to God, but come on! The guy is stealing tomatoes off of my back porch!!

The End of the Patio Table

The day after installing the cameras they caught an interesting, though unrelated event. Apparently a person from the cable or satellite TV company was on our roof. (I don't know why) and dropped a wrench over the edge and onto our glass patio table.

He later gave us $50 cash for the table. See what happened below:

Suspect Number One

On the first day with my motion activate camera in action, this is what I captured. One tomato went missing this day. There is no direct evidence, but my suspicion rises. . . See for yourself. . . Did the leaf blower man help himself to a tasty tomato treat?

I should clarify one thing. We live in a townhouse community and our assements pay for the lawn care. This fellow is a member of the crew that mows the lawns each week.

Tomatoes in the Cooridge Digest

My Uncle has lovingly stolen my story for his weekly column. . . . check out the link

Tomato Wars

Origins

Last year, my wife thought it might be fun to grow tomatoes in pots on our back porch. I agreed and help her to plant, stake up, water and care for our vines.

Soon, the first green fruit was just about to turn red when it vanished. Ahh! I thought some crawling varmit has gotten in and eaten our first beefsteak. So from the local home store I bought a simple plastic netting with which I surrounded the plants.

As the tomatoes continued to disappear, I decided that surely a bird had flown in and snatched in away, so the plastic fencing went over the top.

3 months of watering and watching and not a single ripe tomato landed in our kitchen. Each time a fruit would near ripeness, it was gone. Snatched away not into the jaws of a beast, but surely stolen by that most wretched of all the beasts, man.

I've had many suggestions from friends as to how to catch the thief. Inject the tomatoes with exlax, Rig up high voltage lines. Instead, I went on a bit of a shopping spree at x10.com and picked up a little surveillance equipment.