Bird poop on my tomatoes

Posts

• Skandi Posts: 1,723

  August 2020

  Oh yuck, no matter what there's always something that gets poo on it. If it's something like a potato plant or carrot tops then I just remove that and cook the rest, but tomatoes or lettuce since you eat them raw if they have it on I would throw them out. Can you rig up a little roof over your tomatoes, even some clear plastic bags stretched over some coat hangers might work. If a roof isn't an option then for next year try to place any salad crops away from any perches the birds might use, or flight paths they like.
  

  As a last resort for your sanity, just think how much free fertiliser you are getting for your flowers!
  

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• janine100 Posts: 11

  August 2020

  Thank you for your reply ... I know its pretty grim, i think practically all the toms are history as all covered ... On the plus side lots of stuff for the compost heap ... I think growing veg is probably not going to be an option as the amount of birds is crazy they que up all along my fences waiting for their turn at her bird tables!!! ... Its rooted veg only if i do ... 

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• Tack Posts: 1,367

  August 2020

  I just wash mine off and use. You could wash and cook or peel the pooped-on ones. I know in places where the water isn't safe they wash salad in vinegar soluions, or very dilute antibac washes. You can google for home remedies for washes to kill germs on salad to be eaten raw.
  

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• bertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697

  August 2020

  Yes it isn't pleasant to have veg you have been growing being attacked.

  Following on from Tack you could also look at making a tomato relish which will mean the toms are washed and cooked and kept for you later in the year.

  Not as nice as having fresh toms I agree.
  

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• Dovefromabove Posts: 88,147

  August 2020 edited August 2020

  I would simply wash them and eat them ... if you're really worried get some Milton that's used for sterilising babies bottles, make a weak solution and wash them in that and rinse ... I grew up on a farm surrounded by poo of all sorts ... chickens, pigs, goats, sheep, cows, horses ducks, geese ....... we grew all our own veg, fertilised with chicken and pig manure ... birds sat in the trees and pooped on the veg and foxes, deer all sorts of things ran around doing whatever ... I'm still here ... and with a very healthy immune system too 
  
  
  

  
  Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
  
  
  
  
  
  

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• janine100 Posts: 11

  August 2020

  Thank you all for your advice ... Being an extremely anxious person (even before this pandemic!) So much so now I'm scared to do anything that could cause illness in anyway, been indoors since March. Thought trying to grow bits n pieces would keep me busy and to eat home grown better than relying on food boxes but it all seems to have been doused with bird poop which totally freaked me out and the fox adding an extra bit to things too!! ... Just wanted to doubled check as I cant risk getting poorly right now ...

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• josusa47 Posts: 3,530

  August 2020

  If you were buying food from the greengrocer or supermarket, you wouldn't know what had landed on it from a great or lesser height.  Unless it's sold as organic, you could be fairly sure it had been sprayed repeatedly with a cocktail of chemicals which are probably as harmful in their own way as bird and fox poop.  And if you do buy organic, it's likely to have been fertilised with animal manure of some variety.  The birds which come to your neighbour's feeders are probably helping control the mini-beasts which would otherwise be feeding on your garden crops, and pooping on them.
  
  You say you are "scared to do anything that could cause illness", we in the UK are better protected than most people in the world from causes of illness.  Some of us choose to consume substances known to be harmful, and some of us get ill by over-indulging in things which are harmless in moderation.
  
  No matter how careful you are, you won't live for ever.  Try to set your worry-stat a bit lower, and not over-think things.  Enjoy your gardening and your wildlife watching.

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• Ilikeplants Posts: 894

  August 2020

  Id try to get a cover over your growing patch even if is a type of taupoline it similar to keep bird poop off. Or polytunnel? Can get mini cover ones for salads still. Fox poo is grim, you can buy something that sends out a sound to keep larger animals away.
  if you can bring yourself to wash the fruits well you could cook them if you’re worried.

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• janine100 Posts: 11

  August 2020 edited August 2020

  hmm

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• raisingirl Posts: 7,093

  August 2020

  I wouldn't worry about bird poo. Just wash it off, as Dove suggests. 
  Fox poo would be more of a concern - apart from anything else, it absolutely stinks (I know this because dogs particularly like wearing it as cologne [green faced emoji] ). Try a sonic doobrey to keep the foxes away from the veg plants. 
  
  I'd caution against a tarp or net to keep the birds off. You'll have to do a lot more watering for one thing, and whatever structure you put up to hold it up will likely make a very nice bird perch and may well have the opposite effect to what you intended. A polytunnel would be better - I've got a really really small one - but they cost a bit or a cheaper temporary growhouse for next year. You'll get better tomatoes and less poo

  Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
  
  “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 

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