GREEN TOMATO WORMS

I was in our garden and there it was a big green tomato worm! It aet a whole bell pepper. Now the fight was on. In one week, I found about 30 of them dang green worms.

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. The tomato hornworm is a large green caterpillar with a horn-like tail that does tremendous damage to tomato plants. The hornworms have distinctive creamy-white V-shaped stripes along their sides. growing up to 4 or 5 inches in length, known for their voracious appetite. These common garden pests can cause severe damage in vegetable gardens, particularly in midsummer. However, the destructive caterpillars can be challenging to spot on tomato plants because their green color blends in with tomato foliage.

Most of the time I spot the signs of a hornworm before I see the actual caterpillar. The first things you will notice about a hornworms presence is denuded branches and fruits with huge sections eaten out of them. Hornworms love to eat foliage and since they are such large caterpillars, they have a big appetite which means they poop all over! So, watch for bits of black slimy frass (droppings) on the lower leaves or on the ground.

Getting rid of tomato hornworms for good isn’t easy. It takes patience and vigilance to spot the giant fat green worm-like insects. Usually, handpicking the worms and dropping them in soapy water is the most effective way to eradicate them. However, there are several ways to prevent tomato hornworms or control their numbers.

Tomato hornworms can deprive a plant of its leaves leaving them stripped of foliage and vulnerable to sunburn. In severe infestations, they may also feed on the green fruit of tomato plants, causing direct harm to the crop. They also feed on other plants in the Solanaceae family, including peppers, potatoes, and eggplants.

Tomato hornworms undergo complete metamorphosis, transitioning from egg to larva (caterpillar) to pupa and, finally, to an adult sphinx moth. After feeding and growing as caterpillars, they burrow into the soil to pupate and eventually emerge as moths.

Tomato hornworms develop into large, robust moths known as “tomato hornworm moths” or “five-spotted hawkmoths” (Manduca quinquemaculata). These moths are brown heavy-bodied insects with a wingspan of around 4 to 5 inches. They and feature distinctive yellow spots on the sides of the abdomen.

Natural predators of tomato hornworms include various birds, such as sparrows and finches, as well as beneficial insects like parasitoid wasps, which lay their eggs on the caterpillars.

Tomato hornworms leave behind dark droppings, known as “frass.” You may find these droppings on leaves or the ground near where they are feeding.

Tomato hornworms can be challenging to identify on plants because they blend in well with their environment. However, if you spot one under the leaves or crawling on the stems, you can safely remove the caterpillar by hand. Tomato hornworms are harmless and won’t sting you, despite their stinger-like tail, and they are not venomous to humans

One of the first signs of a tomato hornworm infestation is extensive defoliation. The caterpillars can quickly strip tomato plants of their foliage, leaving behind denuded stems and branches. This defoliation not only impacts the plant’s ability to photosynthesize but also makes the fruit more vulnerable to sunburn.

As they feed, tomato hornworms often leave telltale signs behind. You might notice bare stems and branches where the caterpillars have feasted. Also, they typically excrete large amounts of dark droppings called “frass,” which can be another indicator of their presence.

In severe infestations, tomato hornworms can also feed on the green fruit of tomato plants, causing direct damage to the crop. Their chewing results in irregular holes or scars on the surface of tomatoes.

Tomato hornworms are not exclusively tomato-eaters. They also feed on other plants in the Solanaceae family, which includes peppers, potatoes, and eggplants. So, if you grow any of these hornworm hosts nearby, you might find these caterpillars on them as well.

The tomato hornworm life cycle consists of four phases — egg, caterpillar (larva), pupa, and adult moth. The eggs hatch about seven days after the female lays them. From when the caterpillars hatch until they are full grown it takes around four weeks, and the adult moths live for 10 to 30 days.

During the larval stage, tomato hornworms generally stay on the same plant, devouring the leaves thanks to their voracious appetite. Through most of the larval stages, the tomato hornworm retains its identifying features — creamy white V-markings and a black horn tail.

The third stage of the tomato hornworm life cycle is when it goes underground to pupate. The pupa is a large, reddish-brown segmented cigar-like object with a loop at one end.

As their name suggests, the tomato hornworm favors tomato plants and can quickly devour entire leaves, small stems, and even parts of the immature fruit. When these destructive garden pests attack the fruit, they leave large scars on tomatoes.

However, these ravenous caterpillars will also gorge on eggplant, potato, tobacco, and pepper leaves — all plants from the nightshade family Solanaceae.

However, it’s good to note that tomato hornworms are not dangerous to humans. You can safely pick the worms up without fear of being stung. Additionally, despite their insatiable appetite, the green hornworms won’t bite humans, and their black tail isn’t a stinger. Therefore, physically removing them is the best way to prevent damage.

Have you found any green tomato worms in your garden?

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Blessings, Margarita & Stace

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HELLO JUNE 2025

HELLO JUNE 2025

As we step into the month of June, we greet it with open arms and hearts filled with positivity. June arrives like a breath of fresh air, bringing with it a sense of renewal and opportunity.

It’s a time to shed the remnants of the past and embrace the present moment with optimism and enthusiasm. With each sunrise, June offers us a chance to start anew, to set our intentions, and to pursue our dreams.

Let us welcome June with positivity and inspiration, ready to embrace the possibilities that lie ahead. it’s a season of blooming flowers, vibrant colors, and endless possibilities.

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  1. HELLO MAY 2025
  2. HELLO APRIL 2025
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  4. HELLO MARCH 2025
  5. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025
  6. MERRY CHRISTMAS 2024
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Blessings, Margarita & Stace

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY

St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day observes of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and a whole lot of green.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually on March 17, the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. St. Patrick’s Day will take place on March 17. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!

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Blessing, Margarita & Stace

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS

SPRING FORWARD 1 HOUR

In 2025, daylight savings time starts on Sunday, March 9, and ends on Sunday, November 2025.

According to Wikipedia – Daylight saving time, also referred to as daylight saving, daylight savings time, daylight time, or summertime, is the practice of advancing clocks to make better use of the longer daylight available during summer so that darkness falls at a later clock time.

  • Why did daylight savings time start in 1970? In the early 1970s, America was facing an energy crisis, so the government tried an experiment. Congress passed a law to make Daylight Savings Time permanent year-round, but just for two years. The thinking was more sunlight in the evening would reduce the nation’s energy consumption.
  • Was daylight savings for farmers? Myth: Daylight Saving Time was Created to Benefit Farmers – The truth of the matter is the agriculture industry lobbied against daylight saving time in 1919. Some believe it was then that farmers became associated with daylight saving time, even though they were only involved because they were against it.
  • What time do farmers wake up in the morning? Historically, farms all had cows to milk, and it’s most comfortable for the cows to get milked at evenly spaced times each day, which means on a two a day milking cycle, you find farmers milk early (say 5am and 5pm) to eat dinner at a normal-ish time and see their kids before bedtime.

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  6. HELLO DECEMBER
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  9. Hello World

Blessings, Margarita & Stace

Hello World

Welcome! Come on in and stay a while. We are a husband-and-wife team with 3 adult kids and 3 grandchildren. Our simple living journey started back in 1998. God blessed us greatly. We brought our two family’s together and was able to purchase our first place together.

We worked hard at our first place making it a working farm.

With the love for horses, I started boarding horses and giving riding lesson. Stace was right by my side every step of the way. Our business grew. We sold that place and moved to a big horse facility that would hold up to 65 horses. It was a lot of hard work. We went from a hand full of horses to the sems busting open. We were at full capacity. Over the years there I showed, trained, and gave lessons.

We moved again to a larger place. Some of my clients moved with us. At our new place it was laid back. we still showed our horses. With the property we were able to go on long rides and enjoy the countryside.

Due to injuries over the years, I started slowing down. We found the place we are now and had to have it.

We picked up and moved again. In 2009 Stace and I started Tailspin Farms in Stockdale Texas.

You can ask us about rabbits, chickens, goats, pigs, cows, horses, honeybees, gardening, home cooking, Bar-B-Q, Canning and just living the simple life.

Stace and I want to share our knowledge and experience of this hard work we do called farming or homesteading. So, come along with us and our family as we go through this journey.

Blessing,

Margarita & Stace