You know, I keep reading blogs about how they are harvesting all these wonderful foods and how well their gardens did this season and it makes me sad and a bit jealous. Anyone in Oklahoma knows that this was NOT the year for tomatoes. The weather got too hot too early and while the plants grew any flowers that did come up fell off so they didn't produce.
We'd bought about 9 tomato plants this year with visions of not buying any all season long and of being able to can/store some for the winter. We had 1 plant that finally started producing in July, it was a golden cherry tomato plant and they were great! And about a week or so ago I noticed that the other plants where getting tons of flowers all over them. I was so excited because I thought we'd finally be able to start getting some tomatoes.
And then it was all over. Just. Like. That.
We'd been watering them but it was 2 days in a row that we watered at night and then when we went out to look at them in the daylight found it all destroyed.
First let's take a look back at what it once was.
Here it was when we finally saw it in the daylight. Do you notice anything wrong with this pic? Besides that it's a hot mess all tangled together that is. Here's a close up. Notice anything missing?
LEAVES! There are no leaves! Almost every bit of 7 huge plants (2 of the 9 are in the backyard) have been totally stripped of the foliage due to this.
I'm not enlarging this pic because these things are nasty looking! They were all over the plants and if you haven't seen one in real life they are about 4in long and about as big around as a dime. NASTY!
When I saw the garden and all of these "Tomato Horn Worms" I wanted to cry. There was no way we could get all of them off all the plants because we couldn't reach everywhere. So since there wasn't anything left on some of them we pulled them out. And then pulled worms off the remaining plants.
Here's what we have now.
I'm trying to look on the bright side, and that I can now plant some fall plants: carrots, beets, spinach. But I'm still mourning what could have been and that next year we'll need to be more watchful and ready to kill these things. They give me the creeps.
So, has anyone else been attacked? If so what did you do? Please share all wisdom!
Comments make me Happy!
We'd bought about 9 tomato plants this year with visions of not buying any all season long and of being able to can/store some for the winter. We had 1 plant that finally started producing in July, it was a golden cherry tomato plant and they were great! And about a week or so ago I noticed that the other plants where getting tons of flowers all over them. I was so excited because I thought we'd finally be able to start getting some tomatoes.
And then it was all over. Just. Like. That.
We'd been watering them but it was 2 days in a row that we watered at night and then when we went out to look at them in the daylight found it all destroyed.
First let's take a look back at what it once was.
This was in March when we planted.
This was in July (we didn't get them caged quick enough so they are all over the place
When I saw the garden and all of these "Tomato Horn Worms" I wanted to cry. There was no way we could get all of them off all the plants because we couldn't reach everywhere. So since there wasn't anything left on some of them we pulled them out. And then pulled worms off the remaining plants.
Here's what we have now.
So, has anyone else been attacked? If so what did you do? Please share all wisdom!
Comments make me Happy!
I hate those evil little creatures!!! All you can do is pick them off. I don't think anyone had a good garden this year. It's so frustrating. I'm going to start a small fall garden soon too.
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