SHP Forums

(Probably Jules will be the one to answer this... but there might be others!)

Last year I planted tomatoes, and nothing ever spawned... Well, about six weeks ago, suddenly this plant sprung up and grew wild! It was suddenly huge and everywhere - and it turns out to be those tomato plants. And it was doing awesome; I didn't really even need to tend to it - it was growing crazy on its own. Well, a few weeks ago, I went to check and something has devoured most of the leaves. What would be a good suggestion (for the future, as it's probably too late for this plant) to keep insects off of it, without resorting to chemical spray?

EDIT: Never type while a customer is rambling in your ear. Changed the title... Thank you DPX (who was kind enough to PM me so not to embarrass me, but I will admit my error! LOL) : "Just so you know, you're looking for "plant advice," not "plant advise." Advise and advice are different words, although somewhat similar in meaning."

Without knowing exactly what your problem is, all I can suggest off hand would be some kind of companion plating, like nicotiana, which is toxic to some pests. Depending on what is eating them, perhaps certain beneficial insects could be a solution.

XD!

The little critter that ate the leaves of your tomato plant is probably a Tomato Hornworm. They are *very* hard to spot unless you have a good eye. I make Patrick find them for me since men are supposedly to have better depth perception. They are so nasty. Try squishing them and they bounce back like you poked the Pillsbury Doughboy! You have to take a scissors and just cut them in two. All this yummy nasty green liquid comes out of them. It's so freaky! But yeah, those little bastards will mow down any tomato plant they can get their grubby little paws on!

I wouldn't recommend using any chemical sprays. I think it's pointless to use them if it's a hobby garden, not something to feed the masses because it takes out the learning experience out of gardening. To me, it's like taking an organic tomato and spraying it with nastyness. I suggest using the evil scissors method.

There *are* natural sprays out there made with cedar oil and neem oil, some of which I do buy for aphids and squash vine borers (which are harder to control). Bad bugs HATE the smell of cedar and neem (and other strong natural scents like marigold) and they actually close their breathing passages and suffocate themselves to the smell of cedar (neem, they just avoid it). Good bugs are not affected by cedar since their breathing mechanisms don't work the way the bad bugs' do. This is where I get my organic garden goodies: wondercide.com. Everything is pet/pregnant lady/kid friendly. They started their company when their dog almost died because of flea medications. I like Evolv. I sprayed it on some aphids that were running amok on my beans and they stopped moving in less than three seconds! Wondefense is good for an overall spray of plants for the ones you can't see as easily. Does this help?