Can't figure out what's eating tops of tomato plants - Page 2

lakelady · June 12, 2012

Charlie, you have more work going on there than I do, and I thought I was exhausted, lol....

If I had the funds to cut a few more trees down, I'd enlarge mine a whole lot more, which seriously, I want to do. Tree removal is quite expensive in my area though. My yard has so much rock that raised beds make the most sense since I can't get any equipment in the back yard to remove the boulders and I've got a few really big ones that are buried underground.

I noticed your perimeter fencing, you don't worry about bunnies and things getting at your veggies?

Got Worms? · June 12, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakelady

I noticed your perimeter fencing, you don't worry about bunnies and things getting at your veggies?

No, not really, the post and rail fence is covered with (rusty) 1" chicken wire. 'sides the hawks already ate all the bunnies. My biggest problem is the voles. I need some Owls to take up residents, they love voles. I think the owls put the voles in their spaghetti sauce.

So, anyway, hows the caterpillar situation?
Charlie

lakelady · June 12, 2012

well, I have gone out and searched, and searched and found NOTHING. I'm dumbfounded. I did find one white moth, probably 3/4" long right underneath one eaten leaf. I searched but couldn't find anything that would tell me whether or not "moths" eat tomato leaves. That sucker is dead nonetheless now. It has rained all day so I didn't check today but tomorrow I'll be out there again.

And I ordered some BT! I think my Provenzano is done for though, I'll likely cut the top off and let the big sucker grow out and hope for the best. It's pretty well stripped clean midway up except for the very top growth. poor guy. None of the others were hit much like that one. I even took a magnifying glass out with me to search under and over and found nothing.

We have voles here too. Two years ago one got into my house and I thought the cat was playing with a squeeky toy until it dawned on me "oh wait, we don't have squeeky toys! OMG" ! They are creepy ugly!

Got Worms? · June 14, 2012

That Provenzano may surprise you if you give it a little extra love; try a light foliar feeding every once in a while.

Charlie

kath · June 14, 2012

Lakelady and Charlie, your raised beds are beautiful! You've given me big ideas for when my rotting old planters bite the dust.

Lakelady, plants without tops will still produce- don't think I'd bother cutting off the top, though, no matter how ragged it might look. In the past 2 days, I've seen the leader of 3 plants bit nearly through by something (?). One I've tried to reattach and the other 2 were already too far gone.

Don't like these kinds of garden mysteries.

Voles wouldn't likely do the kind of damage you describe. We had them living in our strawberry bed under glass all winter 2 years ago- they ate all the roots and the tops of many plants.

They looked like sweet little "deer mice"- are you talking about moles or shrews? They're creepy ugly, to me.

Hope the problem goes away after you spray Bt because it does sound like a worm problem- odd that you've not been able to find poos, though.

kath

janezee · June 17, 2012

Beautiful gardens, both of you.

I'd really think about deer doing the damage. They're hoofed rats here. Four foot fences are just a minor inconvenience to them. I have an 8 foot high fence because they clear the 4' one as easily as the dog clears the 3' one. And they pruned down my SunSugars last year, and the SunGolds for the two years before that. I now wrap the raised beds in another layer of netting. I didn't believe it at first, but I do now!!!

j

Tapout · June 17, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Being from the south I like mine fried with gravy, biscuits and boiled potatoes.

Wife wont let me kill and eat them.

Worth

Let me tell ya I have ate them about every way you can think of and if you don't slow cook them they turn out tough as nails hehe I personally like them browned in a skillet then pressure cooked and finally tossed into a nice soup of home made noodles and some veggies. mmmm mmmmmm

Mlm1 · June 17, 2012

Those are both beautiful gardens and it is so green there. Reminds me of Montana which I miss. Antiniette, I am still waiting for Tim's picture of his "goal post" then I will start a thread on goal post gardening. I may have to go by his house and get the picture myself. He put his goal post over his raised bed and planted the tomatoes one foot apart down the middle. Hope you find the culprit that is nibbling on the plants.

Marla

Got Worms? · June 20, 2012

Antoniette, does the damage on your Provenzano look anything like the damage in the picture below? I found this in my garden a couple of days ago, and believe it to be from cabbage worms.

Re-reading one of your posts I see that you found a cabbage-butterfly/moth (white moth with two black spots on the wings) on the underside of a leaf. I would think it was there laying eggs. I am seeing quite a few around the garden now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imported_cabbage_worm

I'm probably only 100-150 miles from where you are, so our pest problems may be similar.

I'll be getting some BT when the stores open. I have damage (to a lesser degree) on two other tomato plants also.

On a happy note, yesterday I killed 8 slugs from under a couple of boards that I left overnight for that purpose.

No need to waste any beer!

Charlie

lakelady · June 20, 2012

Hey Charlie! YES, exactly! I think that's exactly what the problem was. Last week, I found these little green worms chewing the heck out of my dinosaur kale and that's never happened. I do have some kale, just a few plants, in the garden with the tomatoes, and the rest are in the "old garden", even the ones in my earthbox, which I was sure were safe from slugs, got stripped. And yes, that was the same moth I found! Anyhow, I must have pulled 2 dozen little green worms from the kale, and i did wonder if they would somehow have eaten tomato leaves too. Anyhow, the damage has stopped, I just pulled all the bad leaves off and heavily inspected for anything else. Yesterday I sprayed with Spinosad, all the plants, except down by the lake, which I have yet to get to.

I would agree, we probably share the same plant "pests". This morning i found a brown worm high up on a potted tomato plant when I was spraying with seaweed. I bagged it so I can look it up. Just one thankfully, but now I have armyworms on the brain!....okay, it was a cutworm, which I would not have suspected because it was 2' high up on the plant, i usually have problems with them under the soil. little buggers!

kath · June 20, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakelady

Hey Charlie! YES, exactly! I think that's exactly what the problem was. Last week, I found these little green worms chewing the heck out of my dinosaur kale and that's never happened. I do have some kale, just a few plants, in the garden with the tomatoes, and the rest are in the "old garden", even the ones in my earthbox, which I was sure were safe from slugs, got stripped. And yes, that was the same moth I found! Anyhow, I must have pulled 2 dozen little green worms from the kale, and i did wonder if they would somehow have eaten tomato leaves too. Anyhow, the damage has stopped, I just pulled all the bad leaves off and heavily inspected for anything else. Yesterday I sprayed with Spinosad, all the plants, except down by the lake, which I have yet to get to.

I would agree, we probably share the same plant "pests". This morning i found a brown worm high up on a potted tomato plant when I was spraying with seaweed. I bagged it so I can look it up. Just one thankfully, but now I have armyworms on the brain!....okay, it was a cutworm, which I would not have suspected because it was 2' high up on the plant, i usually have problems with them under the soil. little buggers!

Glad you solved your problem, lakelady, and that it can be solved with a spray. I found a cutworm the other day high up on a tomato plant munching leaves, too, and was shocked! Last week I also had the tops of two plants nearly munched through and now I'm wondering if that's what caused it.

lakelady · June 20, 2012

it is so odd because I've always had problems with cutworms in the soil only. Then again, I've never had this many veggie plants and gardens before lol....I would have NEVER suspected a cutworm that high up on a plant ,but there it was, a big fat ugly one too <shudders> . They are so gross.

RobinB · June 20, 2012

Just this morning, I was watering my flower bed, and was noticing some white butterflies with black spots on their wings and thinking how pretty they were. Of course, they are right next to my tomatoes! As soon as the wind dies down, I'll be spraying Spinosad too! I also have a minor thrip problem. There are definitely MORE bugs this year (I think) but I, too have way more tomato plants that I ever have before!

June 12, 2012	#16
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	Charlie, you have more work going on there than I do, and I thought I was exhausted, lol.... If I had the funds to cut a few more trees down, I'd enlarge mine a whole lot more, which seriously, I want to do. Tree removal is quite expensive in my area though. My yard has so much rock that raised beds make the most sense since I can't get any equipment in the back yard to remove the boulders and I've got a few really big ones that are buried underground. I noticed your perimeter fencing, you don't worry about bunnies and things getting at your veggies? __________________ Antoniette

June 12, 2012	#18
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	well, I have gone out and searched, and searched and found NOTHING. I'm dumbfounded. I did find one white moth, probably 3/4" long right underneath one eaten leaf. I searched but couldn't find anything that would tell me whether or not "moths" eat tomato leaves. That sucker is dead nonetheless now. It has rained all day so I didn't check today but tomorrow I'll be out there again. And I ordered some BT! I think my Provenzano is done for though, I'll likely cut the top off and let the big sucker grow out and hope for the best. It's pretty well stripped clean midway up except for the very top growth. poor guy. None of the others were hit much like that one. I even took a magnifying glass out with me to search under and over and found nothing. We have voles here too. Two years ago one got into my house and I thought the cat was playing with a squeeky toy until it dawned on me "oh wait, we don't have squeeky toys! OMG" ! They are creepy ugly! __________________ Antoniette

June 14, 2012	#20
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Lakelady and Charlie, your raised beds are beautiful! You've given me big ideas for when my rotting old planters bite the dust. Lakelady, plants without tops will still produce- don't think I'd bother cutting off the top, though, no matter how ragged it might look. In the past 2 days, I've seen the leader of 3 plants bit nearly through by something (?). One I've tried to reattach and the other 2 were already too far gone.Don't like these kinds of garden mysteries. Voles wouldn't likely do the kind of damage you describe. We had them living in our strawberry bed under glass all winter 2 years ago- they ate all the roots and the tops of many plants. They looked like sweet little "deer mice"- are you talking about moles or shrews? They're creepy ugly, to me. Hope the problem goes away after you spray Bt because it does sound like a worm problem- odd that you've not been able to find poos, though. kath

June 20, 2012	#25
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	Hey Charlie! YES, exactly! I think that's exactly what the problem was. Last week, I found these little green worms chewing the heck out of my dinosaur kale and that's never happened. I do have some kale, just a few plants, in the garden with the tomatoes, and the rest are in the "old garden", even the ones in my earthbox, which I was sure were safe from slugs, got stripped. And yes, that was the same moth I found! Anyhow, I must have pulled 2 dozen little green worms from the kale, and i did wonder if they would somehow have eaten tomato leaves too. Anyhow, the damage has stopped, I just pulled all the bad leaves off and heavily inspected for anything else. Yesterday I sprayed with Spinosad, all the plants, except down by the lake, which I have yet to get to. I would agree, we probably share the same plant "pests". This morning i found a brown worm high up on a potted tomato plant when I was spraying with seaweed. I bagged it so I can look it up. Just one thankfully, but now I have armyworms on the brain!....okay, it was a cutworm, which I would not have suspected because it was 2' high up on the plant, i usually have problems with them under the soil. little buggers! __________________ Antoniette Last edited by lakelady; June 20, 2012 at 08:58 AM.

June 20, 2012	#27
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	it is so odd because I've always had problems with cutworms in the soil only. Then again, I've never had this many veggie plants and gardens before lol....I would have NEVER suspected a cutworm that high up on a plant ,but there it was, a big fat ugly one too <shudders> . They are so gross. __________________ Antoniette

June 14, 2012	#19
Got Worms? Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: NY Zone 5b/6a Posts: 546	That Provenzano may surprise you if you give it a little extra love; try a light foliar feeding every once in a while. Charlie

June 17, 2012	#21
janezee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5 Posts: 931	Beautiful gardens, both of you. I'd really think about deer doing the damage. They're hoofed rats here. Four foot fences are just a minor inconvenience to them. I have an 8 foot high fence because they clear the 4' one as easily as the dog clears the 3' one. And they pruned down my SunSugars last year, and the SunGolds for the two years before that. I now wrap the raised beds in another layer of netting. I didn't believe it at first, but I do now!!! j

June 17, 2012	#23
Mlm1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Northern California Posts: 208	Those are both beautiful gardens and it is so green there. Reminds me of Montana which I miss. Antiniette, I am still waiting for Tim's picture of his "goal post" then I will start a thread on goal post gardening. I may have to go by his house and get the picture myself. He put his goal post over his raised bed and planted the tomatoes one foot apart down the middle. Hope you find the culprit that is nibbling on the plants. Marla

June 20, 2012	#28
RobinB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Near Reno, NV Posts: 1,621	Just this morning, I was watering my flower bed, and was noticing some white butterflies with black spots on their wings and thinking how pretty they were. Of course, they are right next to my tomatoes! As soon as the wind dies down, I'll be spraying Spinosad too! I also have a minor thrip problem. There are definitely MORE bugs this year (I think) but I, too have way more tomato plants that I ever have before!