Q: We have beautiful tomatoes but as soon as they begin to show color, they are pecked at by birds. Is there anything we can do?

A: I suppose bird netting is a possibility but the easiest thing to do would be to pick the tomatoes when they turn orange on the blossom end and ripen them in your kitchen window. Once a tomato has begun coloring, the stem cuts off communication with the rest of the plant and the fruit ripens on its own. Tomatoes ripened on the vine don’t taste markedly different from those ripened at home in a warm place.