What are these holes in my tomatoes?

My young tomatoes have small round holes in them. I do not want to use pesticide to kill the insect that is causing them. I have marigolds in my garden, but not next to the tomatoes.


Help!

What are these holes in my tomatoes?
Tomato borers


Tent your plants with some bridal tulle to keep the parent insect from laying the eggs in the tomatoes. It will keep birds and other small pest off as well.
Reply:If the "spot" is on the bottom it might be blossom end rot. I mix up some hydrated lime in water (weak solution because hydrated lime is strong stuff) and I water the plants w/ that solution. Garden stores also carry something just for blossom end rot.


It there is "pick" elsewhere on the tomato it could be from birds and there isn't much you can do for that other than putting up some windsocks that would flutter over the plants and possibly scare the birds away.


Then there are tomato worms and yellow bugs that eat the foliage....... Pick them all off, put them in the blender w/ a little water and whiz them up, put that mess in a watering can, add a little dish soap plus a quart of water and pour it back over the plants. For some reason the bugs don't like that mixture... I wouldn't either if I were a bug...


There is another product available at the garden store that is specifically meant to deter "critters" .... It has a lot of garlic and putrified egg solids plus something else. It is supposed to keep away ground hogs, armadillos, rats, birds, and a bunch of other animals. It gets sprinkled in a 6 to 8" perimeter around the garden which is fenced ... hopefully. Don't touch it with your hands because the smell will drive everyone away from your presence. It's all natural... read the directions before using it.


I also sometimes spray my garden with a mixture of olive oil and dish soap . It smothers the bugs. I don't use pesticides on my veggies and I usually have more than I can consume.


Good luck.
Reply:birds and tomatoe worms ask a person who is in the garden dept. at home depot or a garden center.