Attack of the Tomato Killers
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I don't use any pesticides in the garden; my strategy is to plant a little extra to share with the bugs. And, as I have written elsewhere, I use reflective CDs to scare away the rodents.
But sometimes a gardener is faced with a crop killer, like these plant-eating caterpillars.
Another Reason why I didn't win "Best Tomato" award this year
Tomato killers!
One of the uninvited guests to my garden this years was this tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta as identified by its red horn is not to be confused with its equally voracious cousin - the tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) - which sports a black horn and slightly different markings. Often found together, they grow into large caterpillars - about the size of your middle finger. (The ultimate insult!)
It is an eating machine that defoliates plants and eats the fruit as well. It can cause a lot of damage in just a few days on tomato plants because it strips leaves that are needed to provide protective shade the ripening tomatoes. Unshaded tomatoes will be scalded by direct sunlight, develop tough skins or become discolored.
The crops are saved!
The good news is that they have a natural enemy (other than the gardener). The enemy is a parasitic wasp that lays eggs on the caterpillar. The eggs hatch and start to feed on the caterpillar, killing it. This ======> picture is the same hornworm a few days later, covered with wasp cocoons.
End of Summer is Near
Finally, with the first frost date for Northeast gardens approaching quickly, we have managed to pick a few ripening Jet Star tomatoes. I pick them when they first start to blush pink and let them ripen indoors. Despite my anti-squirrel tactics, I fear that the squirrels will come and take the ripe ones from the vine while I am sleeping.
Homegrown tomatoes will fully ripen in 2-3 days indoors in a warm place, unlike the tasteless things you buy at the supermarket, which have been bred to sit around for weeks. I call them "semi vine-ripened. Frankly, I think they tast just as good as the ones that ripen on the vine.
Unfortunately, there seems to be an inverse relationship between the attributes that give longer shelf-life and those that produce wonderful flavor. Store-boughts just cannot compare, unless the store is getting them at the local farmers market.
Semi Vine Ripened
