The Tomato Hornworm is about the size of your thumb and writhes sensuously when you try to pick it off the plant. One of these critters can devour the better part of a tomato plant in a day. I used to grab them off the plant, and try to fling them into the underbrush before my gag reflex got the better of me. The moth that lays the eggs that become the hornworm, is about the half the size of an attack helicopter and almost as noisy. The first time I saw one, I gave up organic gardening for a year. It was so horrifying, that garden defense required a 22 rifle. I would rather go hand to hand with a raccoon than touch one of those things.
Nick Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, Clark University ([email protected]) http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ > [Original Message] > From: James Steiner <[email protected]> > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]> > Date: 3/24/2009 10:13:11 AM > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] home gardening > > On Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 11:46 AM, Parks, Raymond <[email protected]> wrote: > > (it's organic :-). Alternately, you wait two weeks after all your > > neighbours have planted squash and then plant. All the bugs will go to > > them first and you shouldn't have many of them. > > This suggests another option: > > When you cull your seedlings, select twice the number of plants you > need. Pick out the weakest half. Plant them. Wait 2 weeks. Destroy the > planting. Plant the (now two weeks older) 1st string plants. Maybe > less bugs. > > Ah, I remember the nights in pumpkins patch. A flashlight beam through > the vines exposed the shadows of the (huge!) vine-borer grubs. Then, > with scalpel and hemostats, we'd extract the grubs, finally wrapping > and taping the wounds and injecting a good dose of Bacillus > thuringiensis. > > I don't garden anymore. > > ~~James > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
