Tomato worm question...

13 years ago

So I finally waddled out to the garden (can't bend or walk well due to a little back problem that came after flu) and I need some advice:

1. DH picked my first red tomato only to find itty bitty pin hole with a huge soft spot on it!!!! Further inspection by DH (who has been monitoring the garden while I was down and out) found the same little holes on my still green yellow boys!! After that I said to heck with the back pain (that's what muscle relaxers are for) and I dove into each tomato plant. I found two very tiny (1/2 inch) green wormy caterpillar looking things. My guess is those little things are eating into my tomatoes and making them soft. I know this may be common but I kept finding info on big caterpillars with horns and not these little worms. I would appreciate any info on what they may be and how to get rid of them!

2. Just transplanted cherry tomato plant last week and leaves are totally curled up. I am thinking 4 inches of rain and all this heat is the cause...what do you think?

3. Do pepper plants stay small? I have only grown sweet bell's once before and only got 3 peppers off of them - they didn't get any larger than 12 inches tall. This year I planted a bunch and while they are starting to bear fruit, they are still short. Is that normal?

On the bright side: watermelon vines look great, I too have jalapenos and a wee baby eggplant popped out on my sorry looking plant. Zucchini appears to be free of squash bugs (thanks to the garlic spray I am sure!) but no blooms - just pretty leaves. If only everything would grow like my five year old mint that I keep pulling and digging out only to have it come back year after year!

Thanks for any help - so nice to be back in the saddle to read all the great posts!

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Comments (3)

Okiedawn OK Zone 7
13 years ago
Traci,

The word pinhole is the clue. Your problem is tomato pinworms and Bt 'Kurstaki' organic caterpillar killer is the answer.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Pinworms Mentioned In This Document
susanlynne48
13 years ago
I don't know much about veggies, since I am new to this area of gardening, but wanted to wish you a speedy recovery, Traci.

Back pain is no fun when it gets serious enuff to keep me out of the garden. Already had one surgery, and hopefully will not have another. The surgery really helped because before it, I was barely able to walk around for more than 5 minutes. I did something to it today, planting some Salvias around the yard. Heaven knows what, but it is already feeling better this afternoon. Usually Advil will help a lot.

Anyway, I enjoy gardening too much to give it up, and I still heft those 40 and 50 lb bags of soil, soil amendments, and what have you around the yard.

Some peppers don't get very large, do they? I've got all my tomatos planted in containers (the indet's in 20+ gal. and the det.'s in 5 gal.) and so far, so good. I have limited space for growing them in the ground, so "up" was better for my situation.

Ugh....I hate those nasty squash bugs. I only have one lonely little Pokemon pumpkin that my granddaughter and I are growing from self-sown seed of those pumpkins purchased last year for Halloween. Her and her mom's birthday are both in late October, so I always try to do some decorations for her, especially. It already has tons of buds on it. So, I've been checking it each morning for SB eggs. Cross your fingers!

You'll have lots of people come around here that are very knowledgeable about growing peppers and other veggies shortly.

Take care.....

Susan
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Ha Ha Ha, Hee Hee Hee, ROTFLMAO! I knew that was a joke at my expense, y'all! But I have to admit, for a moment there, I thought you were serious! If it HAD been true, it would have been okay, because I am protecting my tomato plants like a Mama Bear - do they eat tomatos BTW? What would have been so funny about imagining I was flushing my tomatos, now?????? LOL Actually, caterpillar frass is a good organic fertilizer, and is listed as such on a website that notes various NPK of things. I dump my containers of frass from raising hornworms on my garden. So, put that image in your head now.....giggle! Other signs to look for: 1. When the caterpillars are small, the frass will look like the leaf has been sprinkled with pepper. As the cats get bigger, so goes the frass. Bigger cat, bigger poop. 2. When small, the foliage will have a small hole where the egg hatchs. Before they eat any foliage, newly hatched cats are white and are about 1/2" long. As they eat, they turn green with their consumption of leaves. 3. Early damage appears as chewed leaf edges, from the outside leaf margin, and then inward toward the vein. The first couple of instars of growth, they don't eat the veins, but as they get larger, they will consume the entire leaf. 3. Sometimes you can find them by noting a leaf that is hanging down lower than the others. The weight of a large hornworm will do that. 4. Often you'll find them in a position where their first 3 prolegs are raised up, and that position is what gave them their common name of "sphinx". I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all, but if you take the time to really look at them closely, they really are beautiful caterpillars. It's hard, I know, because I don't find much beauty in say, WASPS - Yikes! But I try...... You don't have to like something to appreciate its beauty. It truly makes me wonder at God's creations. Susan
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transplanted_traci
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks Dawn -- Is that BTK something I can get at a local depot store or will I need to order it? Duh...tomato pinworm does make sense for pinholes doesn't it? BTW I loved your recent post about letting tomatoes be and not fussing over them so much. Especially the "watched pot" analogy" - very very true. I felt like a school girl getting hand smacked with ruler just reading it but it made so much sense!!!

Thanks Susan - it was one of those stupid injuries where I put something down and stood up only to feel knives in my back. Much better now. Hope your pumpkin grows without SB infestation. I actually had nightmares about those things!

If I can get rid of these pinworms I am feeling pretty darn good about what is starting to produce - especially after all the rain we have had! Here's to some dry weather....

Tomato worm question...

Comments (3)

Okiedawn OK Zone 7

susanlynne48

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