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Post by Compost Pharmer on Oct 5, 2012 16:48:00 GMT -6
 I have been trying to come with a way to discourage Tomato Horn worms from eating my mater plants. What does everyone think if I make some Pepper Tea from the Bhut Jolokia peppers I grew this year? Will it be to hot for the maters? Will the Horn worms decide that the foliage is to hot and move on? Was thinking of spraying it on the foliage, like Compost Tea. Maybe even adding it to my Compost tea. I just have to be careful that I don't burn myself.
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Post by spuds on Oct 6, 2012 4:12:22 GMT -6
Interested in answers,we didnt have a single one this year,awesome!!!
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Post by Pharmer Phil on Oct 6, 2012 5:16:17 GMT -6
I have been trying to come with a way to discourage Tomato Horn worms from eating my mater plants. What does everyone think if I make some Pepper Tea from the Bhut Jolokia peppers I grew this year? Will it be to hot for the maters? Will the Horn worms decide that the foliage is to hot and move on? Was thinking of spraying it on the foliage, like Compost Tea. Maybe even adding it to my Compost tea. I just have to be careful that I don't burn myself. Bro, only way to tell is match up a hornworm with a little Bhut Jolokia ...and see what effect it has on the worm... But, hornworms are easy to spot CP...and even with our 58 plants the "stripping" style damage and resulting worm "debris" are easy to spot... a daily garden walk should be sufficient Last year they came at the end of the season.... after all the weeds went to seed and the birds were occupied elsewhere.... this year though...zero hornworms... Our birdfriend-gardeners keep em' under control  It's been 14+ years that I have gardened and lived here.. 14 years no chemicals, pesticides.. Have built up the defenses here... Lotsa Beneficials and birds...it takes all the elements to make organic a go... My best advice is feed and water your birds..YEAR ROUND......and they will stay around to protect... oh sure once in a while you have a "peck" hole in one of your mators... Or you see a Wren with a pea blossom... and birdfeed..year round can be spendy.... but the trade off is good! |
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Post by mogarden on Oct 7, 2012 2:04:38 GMT -6
If I was putting bhut juice on tomatoes, I think I'd be sure and mark it on the calendar. I don't want it on all my tomatoes, not sure how long the weather would take to wear it off. I guess a test is in order. Lazy guy that I am, BT is my cure for Hornworms. A big bag will last me several years. Most of the eggs seem to be laid near the top of the plants here, so I just scatter it along the top at 2-3 week intervals. I still keep an eye out for them, don't think I had any this year.
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Post by trudy on Oct 7, 2012 6:22:00 GMT -6
Every year after I plant mators I pinch the lowest leaf stem, just enough to bruise it. I've read that by doing this the plant sends out a toxin that the hornworms hate. IDK, but I don't see any til way later in the growing season. Then I just repinch the lowest leaf stem again and keep watching for them. They can hid though well if you have a lot of foliage. My problem this past season, only in the spring though was armyworms. They got so bad I had to use 7 dust. But only once got them early on.
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Post by Pharmer Phil on Oct 7, 2012 6:55:12 GMT -6
If I was putting bhut juice on tomatoes, I think I'd be sure and mark it on the calendar. I don't want it on all my tomatoes, not sure how long the weather would take to wear it off. I guess a test is in order. Lazy guy that I am, BT is my cure for Hornworms. A big bag will last me several years. Most of the eggs seem to be laid near the top of the plants here, so I just scatter it along the top at 2-3 week intervals. I still keep an eye out for them, don't think I had any this year. Agreed had a member here in the first year that wanted a hot pepper spray recipe to use on most everything in the garden......I posted a formula for the spray... ...with a warning about NOT..spraying your strawberries with it.. thought that might make for some really HOT shortcake...but then..it might be good  |
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Post by mogarden on Oct 8, 2012 2:52:56 GMT -6
Phil: Any idear how long it would take a good strong bhut tea to break down? I'm sure rainfall would enter into the equation, but what if it didn't rain for 2 weeks, just sunlight and mild breezes.
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Post by Pharmer Phil on Oct 8, 2012 7:08:33 GMT -6
Phil: Any idear how long it would take a good strong bhut tea to break down? I'm sure rainfall would enter into the equation, but what if it didn't rain for 2 weeks, just sunlight and mild breezes. not sure Mo...I'd think with no rain a coupla weeks Taste test?? think Ya would wanna go repel an elephant?? I had heard this b4...but... just sumpin I phound while seeing if I could find an answer Mo... Check it out: World's Hottest Chili Used as Elephant Repellent |
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Post by Compost Pharmer on Oct 8, 2012 15:44:11 GMT -6
After pondering the idea, sleeping a few mights, and having a few lunches, I won't use it full strength. Was thinking about a few drops in 5 gallons of compost tea. My problem is, by the time I get home from work, the horn worms may have eaten about 1/3 of the plant. Not saying that there may be 4 - 5 horn worms on each plant. If I was home all day. I could check in the morning, again at lunch time and finally in the evening. Not only do they eat the foliage, but also some of the tomatoes that I have been eyeing and impatiently waiting to ripe, This past year i picked off at least a half dozen on the tomato, eating it. Don't get me wrong, I like sharing, with the neighbors, but not with the pests.
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Post by Pharmer Phil on Oct 10, 2012 3:35:28 GMT -6
heck I think I've only seen 4-5 here since 98 Cp... well yer in luck, well sorta...they eat the inside of your plant during the day anyway...making them hard to find... they don't like the sunlight much... so, they are easy to find at night with a flashlight because they come to the outside of your plants... sounds like a great time to walk the rows and look |
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Post by Garden Happy on Feb 17, 2013 7:16:22 GMT -6
I got a better idea,just dust your plants with Diatomaceous Earth.It kills them flat! Sprinkle your ground also. In florida it even kills COCKROACHES!!!!!!!!! they live thru nucular leeks! Organic ,all it is is ground really fine to a power sea shells but it kills bugs because it acts as glass inside them.It's also a natural fertilizer and good to add into the animal feed.Google it and find out over 180 ways to use this wonderful stuff.I even did in Michigan. And at tractor supply in the horse supplies area a 20# bad is only $12.99 this is in 2013. Cheap compare to alot of other stuff.i try this first then if that don;t atke care of it get the hot spray out,but it will. Other method i find very effective is pay a child 5cents a bug/worm and not my good bugs,that deducks 25 cents elder from their lot.They remeber real fast good from bad that way!  |
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Post by jerseycub on Feb 17, 2013 11:04:33 GMT -6
Compost Farmer: We plant over 250 tomato plants last season, when ever I fount those tomato horn worms on my plants they would have those white wasp eggs on them...I just left them alone and in a few days the worms would start to dry up from the larva feeding on them + I think it encourages them to stick around that area to hunt for more. The reason I say that is because In previous seasons I would pluck them off the vine and crush them, I was finding more and more until I read about the little white eggs I was seeing now and then, and that I should leave them alone to feed on the horn worm. It worked out very well last season....I would see one on a plant and let it go as I said and there was little to no damage done to the plant. Most of these home remedies work for a few days as long as there is no rain to wash them off and they are not as affective as the predators are, you just have to let them do there thing. If you don't see any wasp eggs on the worm then by all means pick the little b...terd off. Between myself and a fellow farmer we have more then 600 tomato plants and last season we had no significant damage from the tomato horn worms. It may sound like a bunch of malarkey but it works. I had to be convinced too....and I ain't no easy sell. I was a big believer in spraying what ever chemicals were available that were OMRI approved to control my pest problems, well that can get real expensive in no time. I learned to try the more natural way of controlling pests and it works in most cases, by letting predators do the work for you.
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Post by spuds on Feb 18, 2013 8:30:30 GMT -6
I got a better idea,just dust your plants with Diatomaceous Earth.It kills them flat! Sprinkle your ground also.180 ways to use this wonderful stuff.I even did in Michigan. And at tractor supply in the horse supplies area a 20# bad is only $12.99 this is in 2013. Thats real cheap.If you use it in food storage make sure you only use food grade,a lot pricier.If thats food grade thats insanely cheap. Love the stuff,works on dog fleas too.And house fleas. |
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Post by spuds on Feb 18, 2013 8:38:07 GMT -6
Compost Farmer: I learned to try the more natural way of controlling pests and it works in most cases, by letting predators do the work for you. Yup,I figure the bugs get some,and we get some,hows that saying go,1/3rd for the bugs,1/3rd for weather.1/3rd for us or something like that? Whatever,I like letting nature blance but if I was a commercial farmer,that isnt feasible for a major agribusiness I hear. Lucky for us we can let nature do its thing. |
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Post by jerseycub on Feb 18, 2013 8:56:52 GMT -6
Yes Spuds if you are growing hundreds of acres of vegetables there are some critters you have to spray for at times, in my opinion, but there are those that would disagree...like Rodales. As far as our small operation is concerned, it is easy for us to check every plant every day....and we do just to see how the plants are doing, as well as prune the tomatoes and stake peppers and check the pole beans, squash and so on. One thing we had problems with last season was stink bugs in our winter squash, I did end up using some insect spray on them, only because they are persistent little B@#$%.
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