Disgusted attempted food growing at home

[charisstoma]

Against all odds the tomato plant, still in its pot has survived my tender care. It has actually produced tomotoes that are normal to large-ish. This is the second (third if you count the one that's still small and green) tomato that something has eaten a crater out of while still plant attached. The last one had ants busily milling around on it.

I realize that it's hot, oh God yes. I realize that there's hardly any water just laying around for fauna to tap into. But look *points* trees and grass and weeds. Leave my tomato plant alone.

Don't Nom nom nom at me.

Other news:

Hanging out laundry on the solar clothes dryer:

one does not want to find a poor dead gecko that made it through the wash sans tail
or
have a thumb nail sized body green spider drop down on the item you are hanging up to dry.

Really.

Comments

[angelabenedetti.livejournal.com]

Tomato worms are voracious. I'm kind of glad I don't like tomatoes, although I got to watch my mom trying to grow some when I was still living at her.

Tomato worms are actually caterpillars. Huge, naked caterpillars. They're also green and look just like a curled up leaf, and so they tend to startle one. [cough]

You can get "stuff" for keeping them off your bushes, but I've never heard of anything which worked perfectly. The best method seems to also be the most labor-intensive, which is hand-picking. Or you could use a modified approach which I used to use with slugs, which is to take an old fork (I had a short-handled serving fork my mom was willing to part with) and I stabbed them and pulled them off that way rather than pulling them off by hand. There's also the benefit of disposal being a non-issue, and the dead worm mashed into the dirt around the base of the plant helps fertilize the soil somewhat. If you have a really bad worm problem, it can be considerably more than "somewhat." [wry smile]

If you don't have the stomach for rampant worm slaughter by hand, then you can try the various sprays and such and see if anything works for you.

At any rate, sympathy and good luck. :D

Angie

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

Will have to look for the worms but I have a feeling that it's these black long oval beetles that I found on the first eaten into tomato.
I thought if I left the smaller green tomato on the plant that they might leave the others alone. Obviously that didn't happen.

I've had tomato horn worms on my plants when I lived in California. These the same things you are talking about? They have a hooked spike on the rear of the worm and were BIG by the time I found them.

Will have to go look at the plant really carefully. Worms I can deal with but spiders I can't. The plants in California had a tarantula living under them.

[angelabenedetti.livejournal.com]

Right, I'm in California. [nod] If you're somewhere else and have other pests, I can't help you there. Although I've never found a tarantula living in my garden and I'm just as happy to go through life without that experience. :P

Angie