On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 15:48:16 GMT, Frau Himmel
wrote:

My gardener-wife has just completed the
Spring garden, 20' X 30'. She has included
Many tomato plants (for frying green!) and
Japanese egg plants. They stand nearly a
foot high. For two nights in succession,
Something has cut two tomatos and three
egg plants off @ 2.5 inches off the ground.
It's a clean cut, almost surgical. Doesn't
seem anything was eaten, just severed.
Now she has put Sevin and diazanon
around the remaining plants. We have
lots of squirrels and a few racoons, but
I don't think they're that neat!.

1. What is doing this? and
2. How would you prevent it continuing?


Sounds like cutworms to me. There's no need to put poisons
around to prevent cutworm damage.

You can just encircle each little plant you set out with
something:

- a piece of an empty toilet paper roll
- a round circle cut from a foam cup
- a bit of foam cut from an old egg carton
- a 3 x 5 index card held together with a paper clip

Or you can put a toothpick on each side of the plant, or a
little twig on each side of the plant (close, almost
touching the stem).

Pat