[Arid_gardener] holes in fruit

[KLH718 at aol.com]

I have finally figured out that the holes in my tomatoes are from finches.  
I've seen them blithely going in & out of the 1-in. "bird screen" which, of 
course, doesn't screen the little guys from anything.

Question - is it possible that they are making the holes in my peppers, too?  
Or is it likely that it is blossom end rot?  Some of the holes appear to be 
from a brown spot (which, I'm assuming, is the end rot) but others look like 
punctures.  

I don't want to put everything under a roof.  I like the outdoors.  Was it 
strips of mylar that someone recommended to ward off the birds?  Vegetable 
gardening is somewhat new to me; I can do wildflowers and roses just fine but 
bringing something to harvest is a little more complicated and I'm sad that every 
single beautiful potential has been "violated".  I love my little feathered 
neighbors but, jeez, couldn't they just eat my desert artichokes ?!?

Karen
85340
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