Tomato plants - should I worry?

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

I know they can eat tomato, but can I let them eat around my plants or should I shoo them away from tomato plants? Will they eat the leaves and can it hurt them?

 

[silkiechicken]

Mine will pick off a few leaves here and there, but they will eat all the tomatoes before you know it.

 

[BearSwampChick]

We have our tomatoes staked, so they just eat all the leaves and blooms as far up as they can reach! LOL Next year, fenced garden!

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

So the tomato is OK? They can have the leaves they can reach!! My plants grow over a frame, most of the tomatoes are higher off the ground than they can reach. I am willing to pay them one or four tomatoes for extermination services!!

 

[BearSwampChick]

I haven't had any problems with mine eating the tomato vines. Doesn't seem to make them sick. They love pepper plants the most though! They're great at pruning!

 

[karanleaf]

I don't know

I would check on that as tomato is a member of the nightshade family it may not be healthy.

I wouldn't let my horses eat them. In fact last year I had 3 volunteer tomato plants come up in our composting pile in the tree lot and the horses didn't even touch them.. They usually know what not to eat..
But we got some nice tomatoes from them.

 

[kinnip]

I wouldn't worry about it. If they have plenty of other food, they aren't going to eat something that makes them feel bad. Mine have nibbled leaves on my tomatoes with no bad results, except my yelling and flailing my arms around. I worried about it's nightshade relation too, but I have a goat who blew that theory out of the water by eating nearly a whole plant.

 

[BearSwampChick]

The Pilgrims thought the tomato fruit was poisonous and wouldn't eat it and that was proved wrong.

 

[JennsPeeps]

My girls mowed down my jalapeno plants. They're just now coming back. So sad to think what they COULD have been... sigh.

They nibble on any tomato leaves they can reach through the newly-erected fence. They don't seem any worse for wear.

 

[fivebigreds]

I have WHAT in my yard? :

So the tomato is OK? They can have the leaves they can reach!! My plants grow over a frame, most of the tomatoes are higher off the ground than they can reach. I am willing to pay them one or four tomatoes for extermination services!!

Don't forget that they can jump several feet up.​