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#1
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tomato leaves eaten....
Hello All,
I was a little disturbed to find half my tomato plants leaves eaten off this morning. Seems some sort of critter picked all the leaves clean off. He ate all the tomato leaves off the plants that we not in cages, I had intended to stake them. My neighbor had an opossum in their yard last year. Maybe it was another opossum? I've never had anything disturb my tomato plants before. It looks like he might have tried a pepper plant but didn't like them. Garlic, onions, radishes, green beans, and lettuce all we untouched. Any suggestion on how to save my remaining and replacement tomatoes? Thanks in advance, Craig Staten Island, NY |
#2
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tomato leaves eaten....
In article t,
"Craig" wrote: Hello All, I was a little disturbed to find half my tomato plants leaves eaten off this morning. Seems some sort of critter picked all the leaves clean off. He ate all the tomato leaves off the plants that we not in cages, I had intended to stake them. My neighbor had an opossum in their yard last year. Maybe it was another opossum? I've never had anything disturb my tomato plants before. It looks like he might have tried a pepper plant but didn't like them. Garlic, onions, radishes, green beans, and lettuce all we untouched. Any suggestion on how to save my remaining and replacement tomatoes? Thanks in advance, Craig Staten Island, NY Probably tomatoe hornworm... They can be VERY rapidly destructive! Find the critter, kill it, then most of the leaves should grow back. You can spray the plant with liquid sevin. It biodegrades. K. -- Sprout the Mung Bean to reply... ,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,, http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra |
#3
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tomato leaves eaten....
Probably tomatoe hornworm... They can be VERY rapidly destructive! Find the critter, kill it, then most of the leaves should grow back. You can spray the plant with liquid sevin. It biodegrades. K. Please read up on Sevin before you use it. It does biodegrade, but it's more complicated than that: http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles...baryl-ext.html http://www.pesticide.org/carbaryl1.pdf http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewSc...eaandmills.htm Sue -- Zone 6, South-central PA |
#4
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tomato leaves eaten....
In article
, "SugarChile" wrote: Probably tomatoe hornworm... They can be VERY rapidly destructive! Find the critter, kill it, then most of the leaves should grow back. You can spray the plant with liquid sevin. It biodegrades. K. Please read up on Sevin before you use it. It does biodegrade, but it's more complicated than that: http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles...os/carbaryl-ex t.html http://www.pesticide.org/carbaryl1.pdf http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewSc...yeaandmills.ht m Sue Look, I know that pesticides are bad and work hard to develop my biocontrol. Lizards, snakes, toads, spiders, assasin bugs and ladybird beetles are all welcome in my garden and there are plenty of them. But when it comes to rapid destruction by critters such as hornworms, there is a time and a place for pesticides and sevin is the most benign of them! I try to hand pick them, but the little *******s are hard to spot!!! And they do oh so much damage oh so quickly. :-( Pans of beer work for slugs and snails. Dark Ale seems to attract far more of them than cheap beer but that does not atttract hornworms. ;-) I try, I really do, to stay as organic as possible, but sometimes it's just not practical! K. -- Sprout the Mung Bean to reply... ,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,, http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra |
#5
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tomato leaves eaten....
As mentioned, the dreaded tomato hornworm. They won't kill the plant if
found soon but they sure make it look ugly fast. Look in the area of the damage and it'll be closeby, usually hanging upside down under a leaf or along a stem. Cut off the leaf below where the critter is and dump them both, or pick them off with needle nose pliers. Only problem there is they usually have a good grip on the stem, so best to cut it. I've done this for years and not lost a plant yet. Now for the real question, where oh where do they come from and go to? Craig wrote: Hello All, I was a little disturbed to find half my tomato plants leaves eaten off this morning. Seems some sort of critter picked all the leaves clean off. He ate all the tomato leaves off the plants that we not in cages, I had intended to stake them. My neighbor had an opossum in their yard last year. Maybe it was another opossum? I've never had anything disturb my tomato plants before. It looks like he might have tried a pepper plant but didn't like them. Garlic, onions, radishes, green beans, and lettuce all we untouched. Any suggestion on how to save my remaining and replacement tomatoes? Thanks in advance, Craig Staten Island, NY |
#7
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tomato leaves eaten....
In article , Grandpa
jsdebooATcomcast.net says... Now for the real question, where oh where do they come from and go to? I think they're the larva of a large moth sometimes called a "false hummer". If you've ever seen one hover over a blossom, you'll know why. -- Where ARE those Iraqi WMDs? |
#8
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tomato leaves eaten....
On Sun, 09 May 2004 23:26:35 -0500, Katra wrote:
In article t, "Craig" wrote: Hello All, I was a little disturbed to find half my tomato plants leaves eaten off this morning. Seems some sort of critter picked all the leaves clean off. He ate all the tomato leaves off the plants that we not in cages, I had intended to stake them. My neighbor had an opossum in their yard last year. Maybe it was another opossum? I've never had anything disturb my tomato plants before. It looks like he might have tried a pepper plant but didn't like them. Garlic, onions, radishes, green beans, and lettuce all we untouched. Any suggestion on how to save my remaining and replacement tomatoes? Thanks in advance, Craig Staten Island, NY Probably tomatoe hornworm... They can be VERY rapidly destructive! Find the critter, kill it, then most of the leaves should grow back. You can spray the plant with liquid sevin. It biodegrades. Alternatively, you could get a couple of ducks. They LOVE tomato hornworms and will fight each other over hornworms. Other birds will sometimes eat the small hornworms, but often turn up their noses(beaks?) at large ones, but ducks will practically kill each other for hornworms, no matter how big the hornworms get. |
#9
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tomato leaves eaten....
In article ,
Larry Blanchard wrote: In article KatraMungBean- , says... But when it comes to rapid destruction by critters such as hornworms, there is a time and a place for pesticides and sevin is the most benign of them! I thought malathion was less dangerous than Sevin? Seems to me I remember reading it wasn't harmful to anything with a functioning liver, as the liver converted it to something harmless. But Sevin is the best spray for cornsilks :-). Malathion kills birds. Sevin does not... I lost some baby ducklings because my neighbor used Malathion for fire ants and it washed into my yard during a rain. :-( K. -- Sprout the Mung Bean to reply... ,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,, http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra |
#10
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tomato leaves eaten....
Have you tried Bt for the hornworms?
I wasn't trying to be judgmental, and I'm glad you didn't take it that way. We all have to make decisions about what level of pesticide use we are comfortable with....I was just hoping to encourage people would educate themselves before automatically reaching for the spray. It sounds like you are working to create a balanced ecosystem and I applaud you for it. Personally, I use dormant oil, "Sluggo" for slugs, Bt for serious caterpillar infestations (such as fall webworms), insecticidal soap, and that's it. I handpick some pests, and learn to live with others. I encourage beneficial predators as much as possible, and try to follow good cultural practices to avoid the need for fungicides. I don't grow things, such as roses, that need continual fussing over. Aside from the real and potential harmful effects of pesticides/herbicides, I just hate suiting up to use them....and I'm willing to bet that many homeowners and gardeners skip the warnings about goggles, protective clothing and respirators. Cheers, Sue -- Zone 6, South-central PA "Katra" wrote in message news:KatraMungBean- You Look, I know that pesticides are bad and work hard to develop my biocontrol. Lizards, snakes, toads, spiders, assasin bugs and ladybird beetles are all welcome in my garden and there are plenty of them. But when it comes to rapid destruction by critters such as hornworms, there is a time and a place for pesticides and sevin is the most benign of them! I try to hand pick them, but the little *******s are hard to spot!!! And they do oh so much damage oh so quickly. :-( Pans of beer work for slugs and snails. Dark Ale seems to attract far more of them than cheap beer but that does not atttract hornworms. ;-) I try, I really do, to stay as organic as possible, but sometimes it's just not practical! K. |
#11
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tomato leaves eaten....
il Mon, 10 May 2004 09:20:03 -0500, Katra ha scritto:
Look, I know that pesticides are bad and work hard to develop my biocontrol. Lizards, snakes, toads, spiders, assasin bugs and ladybird beetles are all welcome in my garden and there are plenty of them. But when it comes to rapid destruction by critters such as hornworms, there is a time and a place for pesticides and sevin is the most benign of them! I try to hand pick them, but the little *******s are hard to spot!!! And they do oh so much damage oh so quickly. :-( Pans of beer work for slugs and snails. Dark Ale seems to attract far more of them than cheap beer but that does not atttract hornworms. ;-) I try, I really do, to stay as organic as possible, but sometimes it's just not practical! Would putting a cut open container around the plants reduce the chewing? We have no such thing as that hornworm but I do find a little plastic barrier slows some creatures down. Especially the darn birds that like to break the stems. One can then use bait that's out of reach of animals too. -- Cheers, Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ] |
#12
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tomato leaves eaten....
il Mon, 10 May 2004 16:10:42 GMT, (The Watcher) ha
scritto: Alternatively, you could get a couple of ducks. They LOVE tomato hornworms and will fight each other over hornworms. Other birds will sometimes eat the small hornworms, but often turn up their noses(beaks?) at large ones, but ducks will practically kill each other for hornworms, no matter how big the hornworms get. Now there's a opportunity for someone. Hiring out gardening ducks for a day and night. :-) -- Cheers, Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ] |
#13
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tomato leaves eaten....
Hi Again all,
Hornworms eh..... All the leaves were taken from the stem on every plant except 4 now. Also today 2 Pepper plants were stripped. Do they eat those as well? I'll have to check for the buggers tommorrow morning when there is some light. I guess I'll try the sevin.... Thanks Craig "Katra" wrote in message ... In article , Larry Blanchard wrote: In article KatraMungBean- , says... But when it comes to rapid destruction by critters such as hornworms, there is a time and a place for pesticides and sevin is the most benign of them! I thought malathion was less dangerous than Sevin? Seems to me I remember reading it wasn't harmful to anything with a functioning liver, as the liver converted it to something harmless. But Sevin is the best spray for cornsilks :-). Malathion kills birds. Sevin does not... I lost some baby ducklings because my neighbor used Malathion for fire ants and it washed into my yard during a rain. :-( K. -- Sprout the Mung Bean to reply... ,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,, http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra |
#14
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tomato leaves eaten....
Hi SugarChile,
I don't grow things, such as roses, that need continual fussing over. My family has a rose that came from my grandmother, and never give flower after my grandmother pass aways. My father put a lot of effort on it to just keep it alive, a lot of spry and fertiliser still end up an unhelthy plant. After my father pass away, one day I found that it's dead from the root up, just the top of the plant still remain green. I lay the green part to the ground, and manage to make it come out shoot and root. In my hand, I never give it any fertiliser, and never spray, I even don't care when something eating the leave. The only thing I do are replace the soil yearly when the soil are lacking organic matter, and remove the old branches to force it come out some new one. It now giving flower and sometime will four or five flower at the sametime. I do believe as long as we keep the soil good, and constantly remove old plant/brances, it will stay helthy for most of the time. This included those plant that people believe hard to maintain. Regards, Wong -- Latitude: 06.10N Longitude: 102.17E Altitude: 5m |
#15
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tomato leaves eaten....
In article , Katra wrote:
Look, I know that pesticides are bad and work hard to develop my biocontrol. Lizards, snakes, toads, spiders, assasin bugs and ladybird beetles are all welcome in my garden and there are plenty of them. Speaking of lizards, couple days ago I saw a type I'd not seen before (SoCal desert) -- it was blue, looked like an iguana (big thick head and body, not a skinny "snake with legs" like most of our little desert lizards) and kinda spiny all over. But when it comes to rapid destruction by critters such as hornworms, there is a time and a place for pesticides and sevin is the most benign of them! Pyrethrins work just as well, break down very fast, and are harmless to warmblooded creatures even if ingested. And try insecticidal soap (essentially a mix of dish soap to choke bugs, and canola oil to make it stick to stuff). Hornworms curl up and die right before your eyes. Only had to spray the tomatos 2x last year, and they responded to the soap by growing into 12 foot long vines with LOTS of fruit. I try to hand pick them, but the little *******s are hard to spot!!! Try listening for them. When they're disturbed, they make this odd mechanical noise. Then you can hone in on the sound and get 'em. And they do oh so much damage oh so quickly. :-( Not much less than a maniac with an axe ~REZ~ |
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