Tomato Plant Cleanup

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by rhines81

For potted tomato plants, even though I hate to do it, I dump all of the pot off-site, soil and everything. One year I had horn worms pretty bad and their moths lay eggs everywhere especially in the potting soil. Dumping the soil took care of a repeat from the year before, although it was at a co$t.

Horn worms dont lay eggs in the soil.
They ((The moth)) lay them on the host plant.
Mostly under the leaves.
There they grow into the horn worm.
Then as time goes by they start to transform and go underground and turn into a pupa;that big brown thing you may be calling an egg.
The eggs are about 1.5 millimeters.

We have a native plant here that has a horn worm look alike that only feeds on that plant.
I have watched the transformation from beginning to----well the beginning again.
Very interesting how the big green worm starts to change into the pupa turning brown and sluggish.

[davidj]

I just let the plant die on site. No cutting, no pulling. 4 feet of hard snow will bring them to the ground soon enough. I've not seem detrimental effects yet, but it may depends on my (cold) climate and growing conditions, we'll see a few years down the road (I've been growing tomatoes for 4 years).

However, I've not grown tomatoes more than two consecutive years on the same spot in my garden, and I'll try to keep it that way, so it may help !

David

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by davidj

I just let the plant die on site. No cutting, no pulling. 4 feet of hard snow will bring them to the ground soon enough. I've not seem detrimental effects yet, but it may depends on my (cold) climate and growing conditions, we'll see a few years down the road (I've been growing tomatoes for 4 years).

However, I've not grown tomatoes more than two consecutive years on the same spot in my garden, and I'll try to keep it that way, so it may help !

David

If it is possible it is always good to crop rotate or move plants around in the growing area.
It upsets the natural life cycle of several pests to some degree.

[GoDawgs]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Thank you for this pic as it has solved a mystery for me. Last spring while digging a new bed just outside of the garden I uncovered this big brown thing and had no idea what it was. Your chart shows me it's the pupa of the moth!

[JRinPA]

There are three bad garden moths that make pupa like that. Maybe more?

Hornworm
Squash Vine Borer
Cutworm
I don't think any of the cigar casing pupa are considered to be a "good" moth.


edit of course I went and looked up luna moth just in case, and they are a bigger cigar colored casing. It has been a few years since I've seen a Luna Moth here but up in the poconos and more undeveloped areas they are more common. Too many farm fields here. I do have a no cigar pupa policy when I am digging/forking. I can't say the odds of them getting in the soil of a garden bed, but I have to think it much lower than garden pest moths.