Tomato Caterpillars

I’ve been neglecting my garden due to travel and other priorities.  Today I made time to try to catch up.  I fertilized and tied up the tomato plants and in doing so found 4 caterpillars feasting on my plants. 3 big ones and 1 small one with a load of wasp eggs on his back.

                        Damage done by the caterpillars

My dad used to have us kids inspect his tomato plants and find any caterpillars.  They are not always easy to spot because their camouflage works nicely.  They can’t, however, camouflage their poop and we often found the caterpillars by locating a pile of droppings and looking above that area on the plant.  We were “green” pest control.  We weren’t that smart about the caterpillars.  We, of course, would kill the caterpillars (or feed them to the birds that I kept in the rabbit coup).  We made sure when we found one with eggs that we killed all the eggs, too.  It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned the eggs were actually from a wasp that preys on the caterpillar.  The eggs hatch and eat the caterpillar.  So I took the caterpillar with the eggs and put it on a volunteer tomato plant that is growing across the yard from my garden.  He can eat there until the little wasp larvae hatch and eat him.

My tomatoes are doing great.  I didn’t count them but there are about 50 tomatoes growing.  They range from the size of a pea to a large apple.  A couple of the large ones are beginning to turn red.  I need to put the bird net up soon.

 

                              The 5 tomato plants

We didn’t lose any cats when we were out of town.  in fact the new guy, who I’m calling Milk (thank you Christy) because he looks like he’s got a milk moustache, let me scratch him on his head while he ate.  Now there are anywhere from 1 to 4 cats out there in the evening.  They all don’t get along yet sot dinner time can get tense.

My hand is healing nicely.  This week I could use a scissors and pinch open clothes hangers without pain.  That’s encouraging news indicating the surgery worked.  I looked at my arm today and I’ve got a framer’s tan with a light area on my forearm and hand where the splint is.  At least it shows that I’ve been getting outside.