So, the other tobacco hornworms were mere larvae compared to this monster (thumb for scale purposes only):


This beast at every bit of leaf off of a whole branch of my precious tomato plant and was well on his way to finishing up another for dessert. I must have missed him in my previous roundup. This time I didn't squash him--David says his chickens would love a worm or two, and since his chickens supply some of my eggs, I will be more than happy to hand the worm over to his sustainable agriculture death. The thing is...I think he's already dead. I left some leaves in the tupperware that I put him in to fatten him up even more, but being out in the sun must've cooked him. And scared him or something--he left a lot of poop behind before he frizzled. Regardless, I'm sure the chickens will appreciate the morsel.

Poll:

Would you pet the worm?

After having done 5 more minutes worth of research into the worms on my tomato plants, it turns out that there are tobacco hornworms eating my tomato plants. Go figure.

Tomato Hornworms Die!

Why is it that my tomato plants have become the impetus for writing anything in this blog?

Anyway, I had two plants per big pot on the patio, but as they have grown rather large I needed to replant--a dangerous thing once their roots have been established. Well, one pot grew rather large, while the other remained a bit anemic. The thing is that in potting them, I didn't take into consideration that the potting soil I bought has nearly zero nutrients--it's basically a neutral breeding ground. One pot of plants had only potting soil; the other pot had some nutritious soil from a friend (the pot was his gift to us), and it was these plants that grew bigger.

After having procured a couple of big pots that formerly housed small trees, I proceeded to uproot and replant. But when I took them out of their tomato cages (or, rather, wire-cutted the tomato cages from around the plants), they were too big to hold themselves up (they were already 3-5 feet tall) and one of the big ones broke right in half. Into the trash heap, oh doomed tomato plant! I managed to get the other three into their own pots, with a mixture of potting soil and composted soil (from another good friend), and after a few days of the largest one wilting on me every hot afternoon, I nursed them back to good health. Whereas before they were producing a bunch of buds but no fruit, now they are producing both buds and fruit!

Whereas before they were not infested with tomato hornworms, now they are infested with tomato hornworms. I just noticed an hour or so ago that a bunch of the leaves had multiple holes in them; this is rather easy to spot. What is not often so easy to spot is that whole halves of leaves and even whole leaves were missing. What the heck is eatin' my 'maters?! Nothing to see on top of the leaves. But underneath--that's where the action was. I found eight of these little munchers on my plants!

They're pests, but they look pretty cool, huh?

A Time To Die

Pre-smash

Post-smash

Looking up these punks on the almighty internet, I found this interesting tidbit:

This insect is parasitized by a number of insects. One of the most common is a small braconid wasp. Larva that hatch from wasp eggs laid on the hornworm feed on the inside of the hornworm until the wasp is ready to pupate. The cocoons appear as white projections protruding from the hornworms body. If such projections are seen, leave the infected hornworms in the garden. The wasps will kill the hornworms when they emerge from the cocoons and will seek out other hornworms to parasitize.

I saw a red wasp in our patio area for the first time today, but I don't think that kind likes the worms. I didn't notice any white projections from the bodies of the worms, but when I do, I'm leaving that leaf-nabber as is. It sure would be sweet to see the wasp go after a fat, juicy worm-snack!

Pedro the Lion on Clark Howard

The opening of "Indian Summer" off of the incredible album Control served as intro background music on the Clark Howard radio show today. Sweet! It's probably a good thing that it didn't reach the lyrics--the song is kind of depressing (not surprisingly) and a little shocking to the uninitiated, at least in one part.

Oh, Yeah...

And let us ne'er forget how well my Chia Professor is doing (thanks to my thoughtful father-in-law)!

Green Thumbs and Red Aphids

Well, our tomato plants seem to be negotiating the hazards of city life fairly well. I have an eerie feeling, however, that my lack of knowledge and adequate research into the subject of growing tomatoes in a pot on a patio will prevent us from having a nice crop of fleshy red vegetables/fruits in our kitchen and, consequently, in our bellies.


That, and the fact that these nasty little creatures are absolutely loving the heck out of the tender undersides of my tomato plants. It is difficult to tell in this photo, but I'm pretty sure these little nasties are potato aphids. Supposedly they rarely end up killing the plant, but they can reduce yield and lead to stunted growth due to their feasting on the nutritious and delicious sap in the plant. I want to get rid of the buggers.

We have of late been attempting to fill our pantry (metaphorically speaking, since we have no actual pantry to speak of) when we can with chemical-free goods from local, sustainable sources. (The dogmatic slumber that has taken over after having once ingested much of Wendell Berry's and other contemporary agrarian types' work has recently been reawakened by a second reading of The Omnivore's Dilemma. We'll see how long it takes for me to fall back asleep.) So, I hesitate to take the advice of the plumber who woke us up this morning to fix the shower: just sprinkle the plants with insecticide. Hmph. I'm sure he is right that his friend grows tomato plants 10 feet high, perhaps as a result of protecting them from the aphids that are chomping on mine, but that ain't gonna happen in a pot on a porch.

Nonetheless, I will attempt to engage in a bit of local sustainable agriculture on my back porch rather than give in to the all-too-easy solution of chemical overburn. I read that mint is a natural repellent to aphids. Fortuitously, we started growing some mint (along with basil, oregano, and rosemary) in pots on the porch as well. Not-so-fortuitously, the mint has yet to produce very much. And there are a LOT of aphids on my tomato plants. I just put some mint seeds at the base of my tomato plants to see what will happen.

I also read that lady bugs find the aphids quite the delicacy. So, now to search for lady bugs. If I can get a colony of them going on my porch, hopefully that will take care of my tomato plant munchers and yield decreasing horrors.

Being reminded from my plumber friend, who thankfully pointed out the aphids to me, that I need to be more husbandly toward the plants under my care, I underwent a closer inspection of our herbs. I found this fat worm half-buried in our basil-mint planter.

I'm not sure what he is, but I'm pretty sure he's been getting his gushy bulk from my basil plants. You can see below that some of the leaves have been eaten in half, while others are riddled with holes.

The seed package says to thin out the plants after they've grown a couple of inches, but I really want to keep them all. The classic paradox: in order for there to be maximum potential yield for the plant, sometimes potentially productive parts need to be taken away. The parts are sacrificed for the whole. Utilitarianism in the garden? I prefer the phrase biotic holism myself.

That reminds me...I need to go kill that fat little worm.

Whaaa?

Part of a recent email sent by a student of mine:

also, if the properties do not show up I can meet you at your continence to show you the original from my laptop.

I can't imagine what was behind this slip-up. In fact, I don't WANT to imagine it.

Odds 'N' Ends

Since my last sleep disorders post, I went in for another sleep study to try a CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machine. It continuously shoots air, via a mask around the nose, down one's throat to keep the air passageway open to keep one from not breathing during the night. I got my CPAP machine yesterday and tried it out last night. (If I can figure out how to download pics from K's camera, I'll post a few for laughs!) It will take some getting used to--I kept waking up during the night 'cause I couldn't get into a comfortable position with the alien object attached to my face and head. The mask itself is comfortable enough, though some red marks on my face suggests I had it on too tight...or else I'm allergic to the soft gel outer rim.

K and I went on a camping trip last weekend. (Again, if I can figure out her camera...) We didn't have too many fights. :) Seriously, it was a good time in NE Georgia, camping Friday night near Three Forks and then hiking up Rabun Bald on Saturday. We found a good car-camping spot, with decent toilets and everything (for the girls :)). I still peed in the woods.

We started a compost pile in the only plot of ground we have at the apartment: a 3' x 5' space. We don't know a heck of a whole lot about composting, but it sure cuts down on the trash. Perhaps in a few months it will be ready to feed the new tomato plants and herbs we've got growing on the patio! Man, I LOVE home-grown tomatoes. I planted them a bit early--it's been too cold the past couple of nights for them--but I think the cold spells are about over. At least I hope so, 'cause the planter that one of the plants is in is HEAVY! We've got basil, oregano, mint, and rosemary growing in a couple of other planters that someone left behind when they moved and which we have claimed as our own. At least until WE move. I've been looking at getting--or making, more likely--a compost bin. There are little flying bugs hanging out quite a bit around the pile, and I imagine they'll only get worse once it gets good and hot during the summer.

I have been issued an ultimatum to purchase a grill this month. Time is running out, but I think I found a good one at Lowe's the other day. Can't wait to do some grillin' soon!

Sleep Disorders 'R' Me

I have found over the years that even after what should be a full night's sleep, I am often tired during the day. Caffeine, of course, isn't the answer--although I am quite fond of a good cup of French press brewed coffee--as it only tends to make the afternoon crash harder hitting. So, I had a sleep study done a few weeks ago to see what is going on with me during the night.

The study is a bit artificial, being hooked up to a bunch of wires and probes and mouthpieces, so I'm not sure how much the findings reflect my normal sleep patterns. The results?

1) Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome, moderately elevated respiratory disturbance index and moderate oxyhemoglobin desaturations.
2) Poor sleep efficiency with frequent prolonged awakenings and significant sleep fragmentation.

Translation: I'm waking myself up a good bit at night so that I can breathe, which means I'm not getting good deep sleep. I'm also waking myself up with limb movements, probably the result of Restless Leg Syndrome. Great.

Now they want me to come in for a CPAP study where I once again get hooked up to a machine, a different machine, a machine that shoves air into my mouth to keep my soft palate open so that I won't be waking myself up trying to breathe. If I did end up using the machine at home (which is the one thing K didn't want to happen), it could be only temporary. Losing more weight may shrink my soft palate so that it won't close at night. One of the things that would help, too, is to not sleep on my back, which I generally don't do, anyway.

My doctor also gave me some medication to control my limb movements, a medication used (in larger doses) for Parkinson's sufferers. Here is a rather humorous bit from the medication information packet:

MIRAPEX is a prescription medication used to treat primary Restless Leg Syndrome. It can also be used to treat Parkinson's disease. Just because you are taking MIRAPEX for one of these conditions does not mean you have or will develop the other.

Whew, that's a relief!

Wedding Photos

Kathryn and I finally got our wedding pictures! Ahh, it seems so long ago... :) If you're interested in perusing hundreds of good wedding photos, click here.