6.27.2008
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?
Pre-smash
Post-smash
Looking up these punks on the almighty internet, I found this interesting tidbit:
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-smashLooking 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!
6.04.2008
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.
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