While my container grown tomatoes are thus far unharmed, the corner patch became infested by tomato hornworms. I spent a good while Wednesday morning pulling off and discarding these repulsive caterpillars. Fat and alien in appearance, they cling to the foliage for all they are worth. And their frightening camouflage would have allowed them to decimate every plant if not for their distinctive droppings.
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| I’m so glad I can recognize this berry-like poop… |
On a bright note, an adult moth became trapped in my pumpkin netting (revenge is sweet). Being smaller than its offspring makes the winged bug no less ugly. Unlike most moths’ elegant tapered thorax, those of Manduca quinquemaculata appear revoltingly bloated up to the sharp pointed end.
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| It did not have a happy ending... |
Much to my dismay I saw more droppings early the next day and had to remove another stomach-churning monster. So I bought a spray bottle of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Thursday afternoon.
We once purchased a concentrated form, which I looked for at the store to no avail, but it’s for the best. These natural and effective living bacterium do not have a long shelf life. In fact, we still had the concentrate which is doubtless inert after perhaps an entire decade (!), and I’m a bit annoyed that the label didn’t include a production date. My belated research following the same day application also irked me. This ready-to-use product’s label neglected to inform me that sunlight degrades the product.
I should have waited until evening. But I did not use the entire bottle yesterday and emptied it this morning after killing a small caterpillar. Anyway, this article provided other fascinating information. Humans first discovered Bt’s benefits in the early 1900’s and some field crops have been modified to include the gene responsible for the bacterium’s all important crystal protein.
Did you know that modern Bt strains have also become an essential weapon in the battle against West Nile Virus? And since profit drives more research than human welfare, do you think genetically modified foods pose a health risk?
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Dearest Darla,
ReplyDeleteYou are fortunate that you grow your veggies as a hobby!
It certainly is NOT easy to grow a good and healthy crop without any pests and diseases. Being the daughter of a market gardener, greenhouse and in the field, as well as Pieter having been the son of a market gardener—we both knew too well about all the ins and outs.
One has to realize more often when buying good quality veggies and fruits how they come about.
Hugs,
Mariette + Kitties
Thank you for your kind, wise words. Hugs, my dear.
Delete💞
DeleteOh, what a pain. But you're learning something, so next year things will go that much more smoothly. Of course, that's not helpful for this year...
ReplyDelete:D
DeleteI am familiar with those hideous looking creatures. I did not know about that spray. XO
ReplyDelete~hugs~
DeleteI am not a fan of GM plants. As you say, it is about company profits and when the poorest in the world can only buy plant seeds that won't produce seeds for the following season, meaning they have to buy new seeds, the model is broken and immoral.
ReplyDeleteSo true, and sad.
DeleteThat's interesting and probably why I don't try to grow my own food.
ReplyDeleteBe well!
DeleteThat's super interesting. I saw that parasitic wasps are really good prevention, and planting cosmos near vegetable gardens may attract them. If you see a tomato hornworm covered in tiny white things, means the larvae have been laid by the wasp in the worm. I saw a really disgusting photo of them emerging from the body of the hornworm.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip about cosmos. :) And I also saw such a photo. Nature is amazing but often icky. Be well, my dear!
DeleteI am pretty sure there are oils, other plants etc that are good to use or place around you veggies as they grow but I would really need to study that and my days of studing and crap sinking in is .....NOT!. lol....However, I do believe that unless you have your own animals to slaughter and you process it, have land to produce all the food, fruits and veggies you would need for a yr..using methods to kill off insects that will not harm us humans, then my thoughts are, we the people and the government are killing ourselves and have been for years and years with the processing that is used. I for one, don't have the ump, the back, the body, the no how, the money, the animals or the land to grow so each day I sit and drink my coffee and each a meal, I am prob killing myself softly! And since I only planted two cherry mater plants, that produced as little as they did, and are now giving up the ghost, I had no evil critters to tend with. However, the first season of tomato's at my moms old house I grew some of the ugliest but most interesting, fat, googy green worms that looked almost like cartoon critters! I had never had those before so they were of interest to me......the plants did not produce well that yr so I watched these critters daily until they killed over so to speak! haha....sorry for the longest comment in the world!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy all your comments. ~hugs~ And I wish you better health, my dear.
ReplyDeleteYour trapped moth made me sad for the moth (although I completely understand the satisfaction you felt), but it also made me laugh because I'm sure that you--like I--know what it's like to have cats (of which I have five) knock pictures off the wall in order to catch a moth. What magnificent athletes they are, and how blessed that you and I are to have them--and to have the joy of nurturing plants.
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