David Austin Roses evokes trusses of fragrant many petalled blooms hanging on an arbor in the quintessential English garden. I have seen many of these examples over the years in my travels in the UK and also the western part of the country, but in the Mid-Atlantic region, this effect is harder to get, but …
Don’t Kill That Tomato Hormworm!!
Working outside I encounter a lot of unusual pests and annoyances. One of my most despised pests is the Tomato Hornworm. Tomato Hornworms are really big green alien-like caterpillars that can munch through and devastate your vegetable garden. Nondescript brown moths lay pearl-like eggs on your tomato, pepper, or eggplant, from which the big green monsters …
When Not to Kill a Hornworm
Tomato Hornworms are really big green caterpillars that can munch through and devastate your vegetable  garden. Giant brown moths lay pearl-like eggs on your tomato, pepper, or eggplant, from which the big green monsters will hatch and start to eat voraciously. The juicy grass-green caterpillars can strip a plant overnight and then start demolishing the fruit. Frass & …
A Tomato Grower’s Best Friend
As you look for that first tomato this summer, and you find a tomato hornworm with white rice shaped projections emerging from it that look like aliens, leave it alone! This is nature taking care of a pesky caterpillar that you don't want to be eating your tomato plants. The parasitic wasp that does this is …