#caterpillar damage

[inthecityofgoodabode]

October 2021: A Mock Time

Yep, it rained: 

Our Beit Alpha cucumber has decided the end is nigh: 

This volunteer sunflower had its leaves worn out by an unknown caterpillar: 

Friday’s backyard garden harvest. I like this arrangement. It is one part Cthulhu & one part Sumerian beard: 

[inthecityofgoodabode]

July 2021: Extra Humid Saturday At Plot 420

It rained pretty much every day last week so the road to Plot 420 has been too muddy to navigate. Luckily, there was no rain today so a late afternoon trip was in order to see how things were doing: 

The purple hulls are up: 

Okra is short right now but healthy: 

Tomatoes looking good: 

The caterpillars have ravaged one of our corn patches. We had slated spraying the corn with BT for last week but all the rain prevented that. Hopefully, the rain will hold off long enough for us to spray in the next couple of days:  

It is a little hard to see but the deer on the right has his first points. They’re covered in velvet right now: 

Egret in flight: 

This redwing blackbird took flight right as I snapped this photo. It was dumb luck that I caught him right as he hopped off the tree but before he spread his wings: 

Saturday Plot 420 harvest: 

[inthecityofgoodabode]

2020: First Tomatoes Harvested

This Lemon Boy is almost completely ripened. Something had knocked it off the plant about five days or so ago while it was still green so we brought it in to ripen on the counter. If we had wanted it to ripen quicker, we could have put it in a paper sack. You can also add an apple to the sack and the gas it gives off will accelerate ripening even further (That’s why it is a good idea to keep apples stored away from other fruits especially those that ripen quickly like bananas.).

The top tomato is a Cherokee Purple that is just starting to blush. I found the green Better Bush laying in the pot: 

This is why. The stem is practically eaten away. That brown stuff is what some gardeners call frass but I call it caterpillar shit. I couldn’t find the caterpillar so I hope a bird ate it. I washed it off and we’ll see if it ripens before it rots: 

I found another damaged tomato in another pot. This one is a Phoenix. You’ll note the bite marks are sharp with a lot right angles compared to the crescent shaped caterpillar bites in the photo above so this is probably squirrel or rat damage. I washed it off too. Worst comes to worst, it can go to the compost bin: 

[jwtownsendlandscapes]

Caterpillar Appreciation 101

Caterpillar Appreciation 101

by Brandi McFadden, JW Townsend Horticulturist

Sometimes we, as professional horticulturists, remember to stop and smell the roses, but forget to appreciate the ‘bugs and bunnies.’  Our job is to focus on the health of the landscape, especially the plants.  It can be hard to remember those bugs and bunnies are an integral part of the landscape when we find them…

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