Food of the Gods

Anyone besides us remember that movie? Horror movie, enormous rats eating people because of a pesticide or something? Yeah well this is our own little version. I had planted tomatoes, basil, green bell peppers and jalapenos. The tomatoes were growing like crazy and two days ago we noticed that something was eating the tops of the plants. I figured it was deer since it was only at the tops that we saw it. We saw small black droppings near the plant but at first figured it was from the couple of frogs that hang out there as well. WRONG. Alex makes this concoction to keep the ants away and was going out front to put it there under the front stairs. Suddenly I hear him say "Oh HOLEY Cow!" He comes back in the front door and says that there are big green caterpillars eating the tomatoes. I sighed and said well take him off. He says "No, you don't get it, it's huge and creepy" So I go outside and take a look and yep they are big and creepy but hey they're eating my dang tomatoes and now with the "Tomatoe Famine" as I call it (and being half Italian lol) I am royally ticked off that this sucker is eating my plant. Look at this little beastie -





Turns out it's called a Tomatoe Horn Worm. They aren't even a caterpillar that turns into a pretty butterfly - WHAT NERVE! They turn into what's known as a Hummingbird Moth. Here's a pic which I found on neoperceptions.com - all rights remain theirs.



So anyway I was annoyed and - according to my son - I have more testosterone than most of the men he knows - so I grabbed a hold of this little creep and flung him about 20 feet. I was feeling much satisfaction until I saw another one. ARGH!! I went to grab him and the sucker turned on me - I assumed to bite me cause hey - ya know - survival of the fittest - so I yelled at him "Don't you try to bite me you little tomato monger!" And I chucked him over with his friend. But that is not the end of the story. There were 7 of these little buggers! I was livid, the third and fourth ones must have heard their friends screams or something because I had to yank them off the plant. And their bodies are squishy. They feel like those stress tubes filled with water. I didn't want to hurt them really I just wanted to get them out of my garden. Well number 3 wasn't so lucky cause I swear I poked through him when I ripped him off. I turn around and..... wait, let me preface my next statement with this one. Alex is very calm, VERY mellow - the total opposite of me. He has the patience of a saint really and does all of the manly things that a man is supposed to. Now with that being said I will continue my story. I turn around after ripping off number four and pitching him like Mike Piazza to Clemens - and there, standing in front of me, WITH GLOVES ON - is Alex. I said "You have GOT to be kidding me!" sigh. I said "Fine Tarzan you rip off the rest of them." So I hunted and he ripped and tossed. And just because I am a sadistic woman I had Alex collect them after we made sure there were no more and dropped them in front of one of our trees which has a birds nest and I yelled "Come and get it!"

So this is what my poor Tomato plants look like now:



I took 4 tomatoes off and there are approximately 15 more on there and seemingly untouched. So we will be keeping an extra special eye on the garden for the next week or two.

OK I gotta run and get some things done ;) I will be putting together a post regarding special sales and what not this weekend so keep checking back.