I picked my first pineapple today.
^^^ Bragger!!! 
A basket, who,are you referring to?
You @bookworm ! But I meant it in a joking nice way! Here we are trying to grow ordinary vegetables and you have a PINEAPPLE to pick - that’s so cool! (at least it is when you live in the midwest - not a pineapple to pick here!!)
Up until last year we grew pineapples in PA. It took forever and we only had one bear fruit (of six), but it was interesting. It all started as a botany project from tops of pineapple we had eaten. They got too big to keep moving in for the winter, so last year was the end for them.
I live in pineapple country. The Japanese came here to Fl and built a community around such tropical,plants. Then the men sent back for wives. There is a Japanese museum and garden in a nearby city, the Morikami museum.
My Gardner says he is not surprised I can grow pineapples, tho I am his only client who does. It takes 5 years to get a new plant to start blooming, and then they only produce one plant per year. Maybe I should change my picture.
I can add that I grew up outside of Philly. My mom had wire mesh around all her fruit trees. She planted onions amidst her vegatable garden. As out little neighborhood expanded, they named the new streets “deer lane, fawn drive, etc. it was a never ending battle.
Here in FL, I battle other creatures to protect the fruit of my orange and grapefruit trees.
@WayOutWestMom Thanks for the suggestion! I have not tried barrier methods. I’ll give it a go - Amazon order is on its way!
Hoping it works for you! There’s nothing worse than having your tomato crop eaten by varmints
Those caterpillars are probably tomato horn worms. They’re the larval stage of a moth. Larvae and eggs winter over in garden soil and emerge when the weather get warm. Later in the summer, the moths breed and lay eggs on plant and in the soil so there’s often a second cycle of worms.
If you want to get rid of tomato worms organically, you have a few choices–
- hand pick them off every day (ick!) and drop them into soapy water to kill them
- Bacillus Thuringiensis --which is a beneficial bacteria you can dust over the plants (BT only poisons worms, It doesn’t kill bees or other insects)
- spray plants with insecticidal soap (which is just plain old soap–not detergent-- dissolved in water. You can buy it pre-mixed. Or you can make it yourself by dissolving a Castile or all natural animal fat or vegetable oil soap in water. Dr. Bonner’s Natural Castile Soap is pretty easy to find.)
If you’re Ok with pesticides, you can spray or dust with Sevin (carbaryl) or permethrin (which is derived from chrysanthemums).
Permethrin is extremely toxic to cats and even minimal exposure is almost always fatal. Don’t use permethrin if you have cats, even if the cats don’t go near the garden.
Both Sevin and permethrin kill bees,
https://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/tomato-hornworms-in-home-gardens/
Awesome! Thanks, @WayOutWestMom !
One more organic method for controlling tomato worms—Neem oil spray. Neem oil is certified for organic garden use by the USDA. It’s non-toxic to humans and 100% safe to eat. (But don’t, it tastes awful…)
And diatomaceous earth might also work if you want to keep it organic, but I haven’t tried it for tomato worms.
Have gotten my first harvest of cherry tomatoes, a bell pepper and some basil, but the bigger tomato’s are still sprigs (one plant has 2 tomatoes growing) and the critters (birds, chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels) are getting at the peppers and my flowers. Grrrr
It’s into 100s here. Tomatoes have stopped blooming/setting fruit due to the heat. I’ve increased the irrigation program to water to 3x day (early morning, midday, late afternoon) instead of just twice daily.One of the tomatoes and a chile pepper plant get full sun all day and have been dramatically wilting despite the extra water so I’ve thrown row cloth over them to see if the little bit extra shade helps.
Picked kale, summer squash, bell peppers and wax beans this morning. Over the weekend past, I pulled out the lettuce (which was bolting & bitter) and planted cauliflower. I dug the garlic (major disappointment–not enough water over the winter, I think) and planted herbs & collards its place.
I also planted penstemons & hummingbird mint on my west-facing hillside this week. The deer have eaten my roses, artemsia, Rose of Sharons, hibiscus and Apache Plume, everything but the autumn sage and cat mint. I’m hoping the dreaded pest find the penstemons & agastache less tasty.
Aside here, during WWII, my mother (then a high school student) was allowed to leave school in late spring to go to the vegetable farms near Niagara Falls, Ontario. One of the jobs she had to do and hated, was picking horn worms off of tomato plants.
I picked my first zucchini of the year today!
@vistajay - I can attest to the effectiveness of BT to get rid of caterpillars. You have to mix it and use it within 12 hours, but you can buy a concentrated bottle and just mix a small bit in a separate spray bottle. Spray the leaves and tomatoes and any caterpillar that eats them will die. Doesn’t affect anything else but don’t spray on plants where you might want to keep the caterpillars, like butterfly host plants. BT is organic, it’s just a bacteria.
Also, pick your tomatoes before they are ripe. They can ripen inside without sunlight. Some birds are attracted to the color red and will go after them while ripe. They can also get an overload of rain and crack. If that happens, keep them on the vine since the cracks can scar over and the tomato can keep growing and ripening usually. If you water regularly, your tomatoes are less likely to crack, and some varieties are more susceptible than others.
Cucumbers are taking over!!! No fruit yet, but lots of flowers. I actually organized a get together tonight at our community garden - a “garlic gala” of sorts - everyone brought appetizers made with garlic or scapes and we had a talk on the history of garlic, types, and tips for growing. Did you know that if your scapes develop the little bulb on the end you can plant the little “bubbles” inside the bulb and the first year you will get basically a clove of garlic- which you can then plant the following year for heads! One scape bulb can have like 100 “bubbles” inside it!
I picked some zucchini, green beans, carrots, raspberries, Sun Sugar Cherry Tomatoes, and Santa Rosa Plums today. All of my lettuces are suddenly bolting. Will plant some baby beets and Swiss chard tomorrow.
Alas!
My full sized tomatoes are starting to blush pink, but I’m leaving on vacation. I’m guessing my next neighbors will be the ones enjoying my first tomato of the season.
^^^ Tell them they can have the 2nd one of the season, but ask them to keep the first one of the season for you!!
Picked my first cucumbers tonight! And picked a few hidden garlic scapes with heads and used them in a beautiful bouquet I made with flowers cut from my yard!