Well, there was nothing worth posting about in August. A very sad summer, indeed. A week or so ago we got our first significant rain (1.25 inches), but nothing since and we're still in an extreme drought up here in northern Illinois.
But, my tomatoes, being right next to a spigot, have done well. They are a jungle, as usual.
And, I have quite the hornworm infestation. I've found several and taken them to the garbage can, but recently they are all looking like this:
Those handy parasitic wasps have taken care of most of them. I'll have to be sure to rake up the mulch this winter, and expose any eggs to freezing temperatures. Assuming we get freezing temperatures this winter, what with all this climate change going on. I think we're going to be considered the American South soon :-) It's going to be over 90 today (Labor Day! In the 90's!).
Amazing photos of these wasps! I've read about them but have never actually seen any of them in my garden. I always wondered, though, just how long they took to kill the hornworms--hopefully, before too much damage was done to the tomatoes. My tomatoes don't look nearly as good as yours; I'm afraid I may not get too many more ripe ones.
ReplyDeleteApparently, the aftermath of Isaac didn't reach you--we had over 4 inches of rain on Saturday and more showers on Sunday!
Just a note to say I hope you are well! And...on a night like tonite, I hope you guys are staying warm!
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Ooookay. All those hornworm photos had my stomach turning. There's just something about bugs on the bottoms of leaves, not to mention insect eggs, and egg sacs... ugh, I feel sick.
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