Tomatoes Have Worms?; Or What I Discovered Was Eating My Tomatoes

Who is that eating MY tomato?

Garden fresh tomatoes, we all wait with great anticipation for these luscious gems of the summer garden. We love them so much that when something spoils them we cry with the heart of a five year old “He stole my candy!”  At least that's what I did last night.

The spot that made me shudder with disgust.

There it was all red and luscious looking just calling my name.  But when I went to pluck it from the vine my finger landed on something that was just not right…a large soft spot.  EEEWWW!  “That’s not supposed to be there!  That was when I went into panic mode  “WHAT?  No, no, no…not my tomato!”  Next came disgust and that sinking disheartening feeling of being stripped of enjoying the fruits of my labor.  “What is it this time? Please God, not another new invader, some strange disease!”  I went into praying it wasn’t true mode.

That explains the soft rotten spot...there is an invader afoot!

I took the fruit inside to do my geek thing, dissecting it to see if I could find was going on.  Investigative research is important in fighting battles in the garden as we cannot fight our enemy with any hope of winning until we know who or what the enemy is.

Early pupal stage of the tomato fruitworm.

My research unveiled something I had never seen before.  I didn’t even know tomatoes had things like this.  The pest from what I can tell is Tomato Fruitworm, Helicoverpa zea, which by the way is the same pest as the cotton bollworm and corn earworm, an insidious little moth larvae that can be a real troublemaker if left undetected.  I am not looking forward to another battle but here we go again.

At first I was Googling tomatoes that eat worms to get some idea of what I was dealing with but had to stop.  The pictures were really creeped me out.  Maybe it was just too much to see worms eating garden fresh tomatoes but my stomach started feeling all icky.  By the time it got too uncomfortable to continue I had want I needed and knew I had my enemy by the tail.  I could plan my defense and get into the battlefield and hopefully save some of my tomatoes from this pest. And I will be watching and waiting for them next year now too.  The jigs up, these nasty little worms won’t stand a chance in my garden.

YOU WORMS ARE GONNA DIE!

The information here at UCDavis on tomato fruitworm great for starters.  They include life cycle info, a list mechanical ways to control it from physically destroying eggs and monitoring plants, pheromone traps, preditory insects (our garden soldiers), and at the bottom of the page is a list of pesticides that may be used to control this pest..  If you should choose to use pesticides please contact your County Extension Office, Master Gardeners for what is listed for use in your area just to be safe and within the laws of your state.

I hope this helps if you have found a little worm ruining your garden plans.  Here's to winning the battle and future successes in your garden!


Copyright © 2012 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

Seperating Seedlings safely

Have you ever bought a container just because it had extra seedlings in it only to have trouble getting them apart?  Yesterday I was out looking for, oh anything that struck my fancy in the way of plants and guess what I found?  Tomatoes starts...three in a pot!  My brain immediately went into thrifty shopper mode and all I saw were two pots with six plants in them!

Oh, a bonus buy, six for the price of two!

So here's the deal.  You have been lied to...well sort of.  You know those pots with more than one seedling in them?  Unless they are squash or cucumbers you don't have to cut the heads off of them.  Yup...that's right!  I had the good fortune of working as a plant propagator for a couple of years and one thing I learned very early on was that plants will take a lot more messing with than we have been taught, at least most plants. 

To get the seedlings apart safely you need to take some care though as just tearing them apart tears off valuable roots so let me share a secret I learned from my propagator job...use water.  That's right, water.  Here's how it's done.

Roots at the sides of the pot but not matted

Pop the plants out of the container.  The roots should look about like the ones in the photo above.  By the way I always check the roots at the nursery, the plants won't be bothered by you carefully popping them out of the container to look at them unless they were just planted which I see once in a while and honestly, they shouldn't be out for sale until the roots hit the side of the pot.

Water is great for removing soil from roots

Fill a large bowl about half way up with water, enough to cover the roots with room to swish around in it without spilling it everywhere.  Gently swish the root ball around in the water to wash away the soil.

A gentle pressing of the wet root ball helps release more soil

After a little swishing around in the water you may find it helpful to gently press the root ball to get the soil to release from the roots.

Almost clean of soil particles...yippee!

Be sure to get as much of the soil off as possible or those roots will not want to come apart without tearing.

About as good as it gets, time to start unraveling things

 Once the soil is washed off the roots you can begin to untangle them without tearing them.  Be careful not to tug on them too hard or they will break off.  It is a lot like untangling twine or that necklace.

Don't let a minor root mat get you down

Watch for matted roots and be patient working them apart.  They will come apart, just don't rush it.

It's working!

Hey, will you look at that!  It's working, they are coming apart pretty well.  It is literally like trying to untie a knot in string or a chain.  Its best to not yank on them but keep the tension loose and relaxed and it works a whole lot better.

Three now set free

Once they are separated you can pot them up in their own little pots or plant them in the ground if its time to.

Pinching leaves

Pinch off the lower leaves (cotelydon or embryonic first leaves) leaving the top leaves (true leaves).  This will let you plant the tomatoes a little deeper and allow them to form roots all along their stem. 

NOTE: There are very few plants that can do this so don't try it with others unless you know they can form leaves along their stems too.

Just enough soil to cover the bottom

Place a layer of potting soil in the bottom of each pot and set the plants in them with the roots spread out a bit.

Spread roots a bit

Fill the containers with soil and water in well.  Set them in a warm sunny location and when the roots can be seen kind of like the top photo of them go ahead and plant them into even larger pots or in the garden.  Six tomato starts for the price of two for a buck and a half...not a bad deal at all I'd say.

A little extra effort will reap a greater harvest of tomatoes

Happy Gardening!


Copyright © 2012 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

The Devil Dancing At My Gate

This morning as I walked out my front door I discovered someone had stolen an entire flat of tomatoes from off our front porch.  That hurt...I can't say it any other way.  To be honest, gardening for the past three years has been discouraging and though I try hard to not let it get me down, things like this don't help as you can well imagine.

Japanese Trifle tomatoes that were stolen May 14/15, 2011

I am challenged by the need to forgive the thief as is required in my faith and yes I need to forgive them.  I need to pray for them and not to look at this as a personal offense...but its hard when I feel the pain of it.  I put a lot of work into those plants, nurturing and protecting them and, because of my personal investment, I feel the violation that one experiences when a strange breaks in and takes what is not theirs.  Dog gone it!  It took a lot to get those puny little tomatoes that big!

It is at times like this I sense the devil is dancing at the gate of my garden trying to discourage me. I'm weary of the sound of his taunting.  I am just being honest.  I don't understand why these things seem to be happening more than they used to but they are. The one thing I do know is that God takes what the devil intends for evil and uses it for good and because of this I trust there will be good come out of this somehow.

More than likely this good God is going to perform is something He is working in me though who knows, maybe those tomatoes will bring that thief to his knees in repentance.  This truly is my number one hope for them as I remember how desperate my own life was before I trusted Christ as my savior.  It's not my job to save the thief, its not my job to judge them, though I know what they did was wrong.   And it's not my job to seek vengeance...that's clearly God's business and He's a lot better at it than I could ever hope to be.  So I set my heart to forgive as I have been forgiven and to pray for the thief, whoever they are...my cheek is turned.  After all, who am I, this one who has literally broken every command in the book, to pass judgement upon a thief who has only stolen my tomatoes.  I pray God will have mercy on them as well.

Romans 12:19 - 21
"Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine I will repay," says the Lord.  But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

I used to be the snarling watchdog at the fence when people would steal flowers or plants from my garden, always out to get them, but I have come to understand that there is no good fruit in that and it mad me an angry person with higher blood pressure.  Instead I have learned it is far better for me to pray for those who offend me by their selfish, destructive actions.  I try to live at peace with all men, bless those who curse me and remember always, that except for God's grace and the shed blood of Jesus, that could very well have been me stealing those plants from someone's porch.

Tomatoes In Milk Jugs April Update

I wanted to catch you all up on how those tomato plants I sowed in milk jugs are doing.

It has been at least 10 degrees cooler than normal for the past 2 months which is bad enough, but add to that record rain falls and record cloudy days for both months and that adds up to some slow growing when it comes to my tomatoes.  They are still alive and growing slowly and once the weather perks up (hope hope) they will take off like rockets.

Cold nights, chilly days, hail and a lot of rain and still growing.

You can see the hail damage on the leaves from those times I wasn't able to get them covered in time.  I sort of have this "either you will live or die" thing going on in order to relieve a lot of anxiety that I used to have about growing vegetables.  Besides, I get tired of running outside to pop the covers back on them and honestly...I'm not one for plants that need babying.

True leaves still look okay so I think we're in the clear

There is some better looking growth coming on which is encouraging and relieves any anxiety I may have when I remember that I spent more on seeds this year.  I guess I have been just a little worried they would die from our wintery spring weather.

With better weather today and this weekend I will be transplanting them into their own little pots before their roots become a tangled mess and plan on keeping them under our front porch with its sunny southeast exposure and warmer cement and brick heat sink action and hope it will help them grow better.  I hear tomatoes don't grow unless its 57 degrees but these have been growing in spite of the low temps all be it very slowly.  Well, I'll let you know how it goes.

By the way, before I forget, I wanted to let you know I plan on am setting up plastic covers to help warm the soil where they will be planted so I can get them in the ground before the Fourth of July.  Wish me luck and stay tuned.

Here's the link to how to do yourself.

Milk Jug Update and Other Garden Observations

For those of you who have been keeping up with my milk jug science project I have some updated photos to share.  These were taken a couple days after our freezing temperatures last week.

They should make it just fine.

Different varieties have different cold tolerances...this is a good thing to know

I got lazy and didn't bother to pull them up close to the house and figured...live or die.  I am happy to report they did just fine and are now sitting out in one of the raised beds.  Though their tops don't look like they are doing much, those roots are growing and I can't wait until I can finally plant them.

The flower stems of brussel sprouts are very yummy and tender.

While I was poking around out back I discovered blooms erupting on my left over brussel sprout plants.  (Oh yummy!)  They were tender and sweet and juicy...I love garden grazing.

Volunteer potato showing up in the garlic bed means there is garlic smashed potatoes in our future.

Across the isle from my grazing spot a bonus potato plant poked its head up in the middle of the this years garlic bed.  There seems to always be one I miss.

New growth on Lavender in early April

Across the yard new growth on my Lavenders which gave me a lovely flutter of hope.  I have Lavender plans.

My favorite Rhubarb

Then I saw the rhubarb. I have two types of rhubarb in my garden. One I spent good money on that turned out to be the puniest green stemmed variety known to man and which sports more blooms than I ever knew possible for a rhubarb and the other, a fat stemmed luscious ruby red version that I am still waiting to see some produce from.  Why do the things we really want seem to take so long to get established?  Oh well, all good things are worth waiting for.

That "other" rhubarb plant in bloom

Oh and before I forget...I had pulled up a start of the favorite rhubarb that I thought had died last year and ITS ALIVE!  Maybe there is hope for my rhubarb patch yet.  WOO HOO!

Slugs have begun to munch at Patty's Garden Buffet

In a corner stock pile of containers I saw this.  I had tossed these variegated Iris in a pot last fall hoping to get them in the ground but here they are...growing in spite of my neglect and have now become the main course on the slug's garden buffet line.  I best be getting the slugs baited or these babies will be ribbons in a few days.

Golden Bay shines this time of year.

On the way out to the garden the golden Sweet Bay, always shining, called to me like a siren song with its glowing gold foliage.  I have the plain green variety too but when I saw a photo of this plant in a cobalt container...it was just too much.  It has been my siren ever since.

Wanda Wanda beautiful Wanda

As I was leaving the back yard I spotted my little 'Wanda' Primula blooms sparkling in the shade of our fence.  (Oh my heart be still.)  I love these little beauties and it seems they like my garden too.

Happy Gardening!


Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

Tomatoes In Milk Jugs? Seriously?

I hate paying the retail prices for plants I can grow myself don't you?  What was that you say?  You don't know how to grow plants so you always buy your tomatoes?  Well I hope this post will change your mind.  You don't need a greenhouse, you don't need lights or heating mats or other costly stuff to grow your own tomatoes.  If you have empty plastic milk jugs, some duct tape and some potting soil...oh and the seeds of course, you can grow tomatoes at yourself.

First the seeds....here are my tomato varieties this year...Gardeners Delight Cherry Tomatoes, Ananas Noire, Cuore Di Bue and Japanese Black Trifele...oh and Pineapple ground cherries.  I am total a sucker for yummy sounding descriptions and beautiful rich colored photos I have a hard time settling on varieties because they always come out with new ones.  I hope this works...now where are those milk jugs.  Oh and if something goes wrong and this doesn't you'll get the advantage of learning from my experience without any of the pain.

Seed packets at the ready.

Backstory:  When I first heard about this method of growing tomatoes from my good friends Barb and Don who live across the Columbia River and at a higher elevation from us I was very curious and actually sort of skeptical.  They've done this for years and told me it produces the stalkiest, hardiest plants they have ever had.  I was like the rest of us who have been used to traditional greenhouse grown tomatoes or those grown in the kitchen window with the lanky spindly stems and was a little suspicious but last year gave it a try for the first time.  It didn't make much sense to me until I remembered what I had read in "Four Season's Harvest" by Eliott Coleman about how they grew peppers and remembered what I had seen in the greenhouses while working for a plant grower.

A pepper plant that does not have some breeze blowing across its will have a weak stem.  Wow...just like our muscles need exercise!  That was so cool!  The cooler weather keeps the plant from growing too quickly too and makes the cells in the plant tougher and less like the skin of a baby which is exactly what those plants grown in green houses are and why they need to be hardened off.  They are a bunch of greenhouse coddled babies.

I am not one who enjoys coddling my garden so I was seriously hooked into trying this method out.  Last year I did it for the first time with great success.  Even the cooler than normal summer didn't stop my super duper tomatoes and they all grew very well.  Those stems were really buff!  I'd never seen stems that strong.

Buff Baby!  Lookin' good!

Instructions:  Grab those milk jugs and follow along.

I use a good sharp serrated knife instead of a hot knife...no fumes.

Cut triangular holes in each of the three shoulders of the jug and then cut 4 of the same in the bottom for drainage.
The next step is to cut around the middle so you have a way to get those plants out...OOPS!  What have a done!?!
 

OOPSIE!   I cut it all the way off.

Well...thank God for duct tape is all I can say.

A note to self...Do not cut!

That's more like it.

After cutting them all I filled the bottoms of each with regular potting soil leaving about 1" space to the top so there was enough room for a top coat of seedling mix that will go over the seeds.

Seedling mix is not as heavy as potting soil and easier for seeds to sprout through.

Seeds sown, containers marked and watered in.

I put a plant tag in each container with the variety name on it and then mark on the outside of each container what is inside so I don't have to open them up to see which is which.  Be sure to use a UV stable marker when you do this.

Now its time to close the sides with duct tape.  (The next time I buy a roll of this stuff I'll get it in colors I think...we have enough gray around this time of year.)

Love that duct tape!

So I repaired my boo boo on the one container with duct tape, taped the top and bottoms closed and set them on a large jellyroll pan up on the freezer where the warmth will help germinate the seeds more quickly.

Warm and cozy, now to wait.

Once they start to germinate they get to go outside on the front porch in the sunshine.  The only other thing I'm going to need is one of those clear plastic tubs but that part comes later on. Stay tuned!

Oh and while you are waiting head on over to "Thanks for Today" where they are once again doing the "Gardener's Sustainable Living Project" and enter to win one of several prizes. Gardener's Sustainable Living Project 2011

Simply Roasted Tomato Sauce

It has been a couple weeks since our final tomato harvest and the fruit I had set out in boxes is nearly all ripe.  Time to roast what is ripe for sauce, which in my mind is the only way to make sauce by the way.  It is so easy and honestly, there is just something magical that happens to the flavor of tomatoes when they are roasted.  This year it was Roma and San Marzano plum tomatoes that I grew in part to see which tasted better and to be honest, the San Marzanos really were better than the Romas.  A good thing to know is that plum tomatoes are the best ones for sauce because they are a dryer tomato and also don't have as many seeds as slicers or salad types.  I have made sauce out of a little purple grape tomato which had amazing flavor but have lost track of.  It may be the tomato of legend for me, the one that got away...but I digress.

Final harvest is in and ready for ripening

Everyone agrees that nothing tastes quite like fresh home grown tomatoes.  In my opinion there is nothing like the taste of sauce made from them either.  It has all the tomato goodness it needs to shine in any dish as the star performer or add those rich harmony notes of flavor to stews and soups.  Roasting brings forward the sugars and mellows the acidic overtones a bit and brings out a depth of flavor that those of us who make sauce love.  When they are left to caramelize the flavor deepens even more.  So here is the process I use for roasting tomatoes.  It's pared down and easy.  You can dress it up or keep it plain, either way you will have wonderful product that you can pop into the freezer for those cold winter soups, pastas, pizza or meat sauces.

San Marzano and Roma Tomatoes from my garden ready for roasting

The tomatoes get washed and cut in half and layered on a jellyroll pan which I had spray with oil to help reduce the roasted goodness from sticking to the bottom. I don't bother with seeding or peeling them.  I pile them high in the pan because they do shrink down quite a bit.  I used to only do one layer and they never cooked as well as piling them up does.

The oven is set at 350 degrees and it will take at least an hour to roast a batch and a bit longer if I want them to caramelize.

 

After 30 minutes I check them. They are soft and wilting along the edges and steaming.

Smashing and turning and more smashing

Next I grab the potato masher or a large spoon and mash them down into the liquid. The pan is pretty full so I don't recommend trying to take it out of the oven and risk spilling it all over one's self so I do it right on the oven rack and just carefully turn the pan to reach all corners. This helps to keep the tomatoes roasting more evenly releasing the liquid inside them.

Sweet sauce of my dreams being born

Lots of steam rising from the pan now.

As you can see in the picture there is a lot more steam rising up from them after they get smashed than when I first checked them.  This helps to better reduce that excess liquid which will make the sauce nice and thick.  I will check them again in 30 minutes until they are as thick as I want them to be and to avoid them browning too much.

Water reduced now to caramelize a bit

 By the way this is a great way to make paste too.

Caramelizing on top of tomatoes is done

 The the roasting is complete in about an hour and I take the pan out and let it cool to near room temperature and then slip the yummy sauce into freezer containers.

Yum Yum Yummy!

This sauce is thick enough for ziploc bags so it will take up a lot less space in the freezer and will thaw faster too because of it being flattened instead of in a block.  That is always a consideration, space and thawing.  Remember to add that to your notes for when you go to roast your own tomatoes. 

Labeled, dated and air removed, ready for freezing

So there you have it...the tastiest tomato sauce in just over an hour from start to finish.  To make into spaghetti sauce just saute a medium onion in olive oil, add a splash of red wine and 2 cloves crushed garlic along with some browned Italian sausage in the same pan.  Add the tomato sauce to the pan and finish with chopped fresh basil and cook on medium low for a few minutes to blend the flavors.  If you want smooth sauce you can blend in the food processor or blender.  We like ours more rustic and its really quite pretty that way too.  Garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Copyright © 2010 by Patty Hicks

All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.