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Garden Gate:  More Tomato Troubles  |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 06 2006 : 8:19:47 PM
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Edited to insert the first paragraph instead of pictures:
OK, I tried several ways of posting these pictures, I can see them just fine initially but then get the little x's when I refresh. Maybe it is because I am referencing them at my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com It is a post from a few days ago, perhaps they don't allow cross-linking?
--end of edit--
Is this typical of tomato hornworm damage? I have several tomatos like this and I have been searching for those little critters but not finding them - but every day more tomatos are chewed up.
What can I do to discourage them?
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com, web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
Edited by - brightmeadow on Aug 07 2006 6:36:41 PM |
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OregonGal
True Blue Farmgirl
511 Posts
Chris
No. IL
USA
511 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2006 : 8:55:36 PM
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Can't see the pictures, Brenda. But my comment would be (not seeing the pictures) if something is only eating the tomatoes, then it isn't a hornworm, most likely slugs. Don't know if you have your tomatoes caged or laying on ground or hay.
"...a merry heart does good like a medicine, it has the power to cure." |
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Buttercup
True Blue Farmgirl
1433 Posts
Talitha
Vermont
USA
1433 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2006 : 9:25:42 PM
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Brenda,
I could not see the pictures, so I am not sure. But I went to my fav. books and this is what I found;
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a bacteria (sold as Bio Worm spray among others) that helps control cabbage worms and loopers, hornworms, and other damaging catapillers and is supposed to be one of the safest insecticides. It is harmless to animals, humans, and most other insects. Spraying BTK is also recomended in my organic garden book. Cedar shavings repel many insects, snails and slugs. Toads can be of help as well but they might eat your good bugs too!  Caterpiller eating birds can be attracted to your garden as well the main ones are House Wren, Mocking Bird, Warbler, and Cat Bird. You can look online for ways to attract certain birds or there are many books on the subject as well that you could buy or maybe borrow from you library. Also native parasitic wasps help with horn worms.
If the holes are in green tomatoes and are large then the likely culprit is Hornworms or Colorado beetles or other catapillers. If you have small holes with the interior eaten or rotten then it is most likely fruit worms. If the holes are in ripe fruit and are large and "chewed" looking then the cause is most likely Slugs and snails.
For fruitworms you can use BTK, use lacewings or minute pirate bugs. Use a mixture of pyrethrin and molasses (3 parts pyrethrin to 1 part molasses) and paint it on the base of plants to kill emerging adults. You can also use pheromone traps and you can spray the adult moths with neem.
To get rid of slugs put beer in a shallow dish submerged in the soil so the lip is level with the ground and they will get drunk fall in and die (sorry a little harsh, but I am hoping they are so drunk they don't know it!) I have used this in the past and know many other gardeners who have used it as well and it worked for them. Also I have heard salt sprinkled on the ground deters slugs and snails as well. Use copper flashing as edging in garden beds. wrap copper strips aroun trunks of trees and/or shrubs. Attract with a piece of raw pototoe or cabbage leafs at night and go harvest and distroy them in the morning ( I hate this one  !) to encourage predatory bettles maintain permanent walkways of clover, sod, or stone mulch. also wood ash around the base of plants helps as well (but watch the effects on your pH!)
Well I hope this helped..it is all just book knowledge (well some of it I used in my own gardens  !) I am sure there are others here with the real kind of knowledge that can help you even more!!
Hugz!!
Talitha
P.S. Rabbits and other furry critters are known to take a bite or two out of things, so you may check into detering those too!!
Hugz again!
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
Edited by - Buttercup on Aug 06 2006 10:22:05 PM |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2006 : 9:50:28 PM
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| Any chance you have mice or rats? |
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LadyCrystal
True Blue Farmgirl
593 Posts
Alicia
Rhode Island
USA
593 Posts |
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Mumof3
True Blue Farmgirl
3890 Posts
Karin
Ellenwood
GA
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2006 : 06:48:29 AM
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I had squirrels that would come steal my cherry tomatoes one year! The hornworms that invaded my tomatoes ate the leaves and left the fruit alone. It may be something else.
Good luck!!
Karin |
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BStein
True Blue Farmgirl
75 Posts
Barbara
Westerville
OH
75 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2006 : 10:06:16 AM
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I've also had woodchucks come up out of the creek and eat part of a completely ripe, otherwise perfect tomato. Little boogers!
Barbara |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2006 : 6:42:46 PM
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I edited my post above to reference my blog instead of cross-posting the pictures directly here.
The creatures (whatever they are) are eating the fruit when it is green, just about to turn red. Reminds me of the chipmunks that ate my strawberries, but I haven't seen a chipmunk in months. I did see a baby rabbit run out of my zucchini the other day.
I haven't seen much more damage in the last two days. Maybe a bird got a nice dinner, saving my tomatos? I've seen a lot of sparrows (I think, anyway, a small brown bird) in my tomatoes, when I go into the garden they fly out. I did notice the other day that the tomatoes where I had sprinkled crumbled eggshells in the pot did not seem to have damage, but the ones without it did. I immediately sprinkled eggshells on the plants without them. Maybe this has nothing to do with the problem, but it makes me feel better!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com, web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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OregonGal
True Blue Farmgirl
511 Posts
Chris
No. IL
USA
511 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2006 : 7:34:33 PM
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Egg shells would cure slugs - they won't crawl over those sharp things with their tender bodies....and birds, wrens, sparrows, etc will eat slugs they find on the plants - birds are great. Whatever it is, glad they have stopped eating your tomatoes! I was looking at the garden the other day (can see it from the eating area) and saw a female cardinal land on the fence right next to my tomato plant (I was using my binoculars) and I noticed there was a hornworm on the tomato plant! Well, guess who else noticed that hornworm? Yep, Mrs. Cardinal and she did a real good job on taking care of it - she had a great breakfast.
"...a merry heart does good like a medicine, it has the power to cure." |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Aug 10 2006 : 5:52:41 PM
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I am glad to think that birds eating those nasty bugs is not out of the realm of possibility. I thought that sparrows, and cardinals too, for that matter, were mostly seed eaters, but I will bet they are pretty opportunistic and if a bug presents itself, perhaps they take advantage.
Actually I did have one more plant damaged two days ago, and again, I still cannot find the culprit. It is so frustrating!
I had been dreaming of bushels and bushels of tomatos harvested from my 28 plants but I think I will be lucky to get 1 or 2 bushels after all.
That is probably enough, maybe I am just greedy...
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com, web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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OregonGal
True Blue Farmgirl
511 Posts
Chris
No. IL
USA
511 Posts |
Posted - Aug 10 2006 : 8:23:44 PM
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Brenda, are your plants laying on the ground or are they up in cages? I have a friend who has his plants laying on straw on the ground and has had problems with slugs eating the tomatoes also, not the plants. If they aren't in cages you may want to think of doing that - since I put mine up in cages, I have very little tomato damage - usually when there's damage its from those crummy hornworms. Well, hope you do get at least some to enjoy. Sorry its not going better for you on the tomato front. I don't think its greedy to want the fruits of your labor - that's pretty human, I think, that's why we do what we do.
"...a merry heart does good like a medicine, it has the power to cure." |
Edited by - OregonGal on Aug 10 2006 8:27:46 PM |
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Garden Gate: More Tomato Troubles |
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More Tomato Troubles
