Garden

[sweetee2]

My dad used to put a paper cup around the base. He said they couldn't climb up the cup.

[EatWell]

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@Mmsfoxxie wrote:

I grow tomatoes in a couple of large containers and then I have a wooden sided planter that my husband put together that's about 4 ft by 6 ft in size.  I've planted tomatoes in the same containers for about four or five years.  Last year I saw my first tomato worm!  Hubby had to go get the thing for me.  Didn't see anymore for the last few weeks of the season.

I'm thinking that since I saw one last year, there may be more to come. Are there any natural additives that I can add to the soil to keep them from coming.  I plant marigolds in between the tomatoes.

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Why don’t you pick the little fellas off your tomato  plants by hand?

[GingerPeach]

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@Mmsfoxxie wrote:

I grow tomatoes in a couple of large containers and then I have a wooden sided planter that my husband put together that's about 4 ft by 6 ft in size.  I've planted tomatoes in the same containers for about four or five years.  Last year I saw my first tomato worm!  Hubby had to go get the thing for me.  Didn't see anymore for the last few weeks of the season.

I'm thinking that since I saw one last year, there may be more to come. Are there any natural additives that I can add to the soil to keep them from coming.  I plant marigolds in between the tomatoes.

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@Mmsfoxxie

You can apply BT (bacillus thuringiensis) as a spray or powder to the leaves of the plants.  It is safe around people and pets but the product is harmful to caterpillars that eat the leaves.

Here's one article on its use:  https://plantcaretoday.com/bacillus-thuringiensis.html

Here's just one example of the spray version.  

[Mmsfoxxie]

@EatWell, Gasp!  I could never do that, lol.  

It was just one last year and hubby got him.  I'm looking to something to do or have on hand in case I see more this year.

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@EatWell wrote:

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@Mmsfoxxie wrote:

I grow tomatoes in a couple of large containers and then I have a wooden sided planter that my husband put together that's about 4 ft by 6 ft in size.  I've planted tomatoes in the same containers for about four or five years.  Last year I saw my first tomato worm!  Hubby had to go get the thing for me.  Didn't see anymore for the last few weeks of the season.

I'm thinking that since I saw one last year, there may be more to come. Are there any natural additives that I can add to the soil to keep them from coming.  I plant marigolds in between the tomatoes.

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Why don’t you pick the little fellas off your tomato  plants by hand?

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[JustJazzmom]

The hornworm is a larvae of a moth. I suggest if you buy tomato plants from a nursery, look under the leaves for any eggs (don’t buy that plant or maybe remove that leaf before purchasing) 

Bt can be used, but the smaller the caterpillar, the more effective it is. If your caterpillars are full grown, the Bt is not as effective against them.

[GingerPeach]

@Mmsfoxxie

I sprayed my geraniums with the BT recently (I used the spray shown in my first post on this thread) and here they are still blooming.  If I hadn't, they'd already have been chewed to pieces by the geranium bud worm.  This year I caught them early.

I thought I'd share how well the BT works.

[Mmsfoxxie]

@JustJazzmom, I ordered some a set of heirloom tomato plants from QVC.  I believe their heirlooms.  I ordered them a couple of months ago....a pack of six.  While the yield from them in the past hasn't been as great as they claimed, I did get tomatoes.  For the last few years, I've went to  local nurseries for a few plants and not only was the yield low but I saw that worm this time.

@GingerPeach, your geraniums are beautiful!  Thanks for the visual for BT.