They're getting so big that every day I worry about something terrible happening to them, like finding giant green worms devouring all of the leaves of the plants. Which I did. Fortunately, they had little time to do any permanent damage, and they left most all of the fruit alone. We (and by we, I mean Lee and our friend Harry) pulled them off and threw them into a pot of hot, soapy water, which seemed to do the trick.
Because all of my labels faded while the plants were in the cold frame, I've no idea what color to expect as they ripen. I'm guessing pink or yellow. Stay tuned.
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6 comments:
Hornworms = chicken food. They love them!
Nice tomatoes.
Thanks Karen! If I see any more of those crazy things, I'll give instructions to throw them to the chickens instead. (I'm too much of a wimp to grab them myself -- they're HUGE!)
Who knew the tobacco hornworm liked tomatoes too! Your tomatoes look delish though, so I can see the appeal.
Thanks J! It took me a while to determine whether they were tomato or tobacco hornworms; the two are very similar, and they both like tomato plants. It's really hard to spot them because they blend in with the foliage so well. One recommendation is to go out at night with a black light, because they'll glow. Sounds groovy, but I'm hoping we got them all in the light of day.
Yeah, I love the black light recommendation. I don't think I've had one of those since the 70's!
I'm with you on grabbing the hornworms. (or tobacco worms--whatever) When we've found them I always have to either get Rob to grab it or use some kind of stick or something to pry it off. Gross!! And then I think of how our foremothers would roll their eyes at me. ;-)
I couldn't even bring myself to use a stick! This worm's poop is as big as a rabbit's! I think the guys were kinda freaked out, too, but they sucked it up.
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