So Texans, Where do you Stand on Tomatoes?

[SpookyShoe]

Blushing "Sugary" grape tomatoes:

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[karstopography]

Nice! Sugary is listed at 60 days. What’s it been since transplant? @SpookyShoe 70-75 days, something like that? Strange shape, though, for sugary as I believe it is more of an elongated grape tomato.

I figure I’m a minimum of 20 days away from color break on anything I have out there.

Whatever it is it is a good feeling getting some color in a garden tomato.

[SpookyShoe]

My tomato crop this year was from purchased 4" potted plants. I put them in the ground on March 1. I recall buying the plants around the middle of February. The "Sugary" tomato is actually elongated but I took the picture from looking down at the plant so you can't see the length of the fruits.

Here's a better photo where you can actually see that the shape is elongated.

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[karstopography]

Oh, right, my math is off by a month. 45 days since transplanting. Very nice!

[karstopography]

Pulled off three hornworm eggs, plus killing one new hatchling. Killed by blunt force trauma several small armyworms on the foliage. I knew the caterpillar free spring would not last. No sign of leaf footed bugs yet.

[karstopography]

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Found a couple more tobacco hornworms on Cleota Pink. Cleota pink looks like it will make sizeable tomatoes.

[worth1]

Cought that puppy right off it's Mama's teat.
Good show.

[karstopography]

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More hornworm and other caterpillar eggs on the tomatoes. Not sure what the three brown ones are. They look familiar, but cannot remember which butterfly or moth produces them.

[karstopography]

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Trouble in paradise. A squirrel left this very munched on and what I think is a Pruden’s Purple tomato at the base of the water oak for later enjoyment.

Meanwhile, I added reinforcing green bamboo stakes to each tomato plant. Tied those new stakes to the old stakes for additional support. Experience tells me the dry bamboo will fail in a gale, which are routine in May, and my tomato plants will be damaged in the fall. The green bamboo is stronger and able to bend and withstand strong winds much better.

[karstopography]

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So after I added the new green bamboo reinforcement stakes to the tomatoes, I had the tops of the bamboo left over with a lot of bamboo leaves and small branches. Instead of burning this like I normally do, I looked into what bamboo leaves might be good for.

Turns out quite a lot. The species of bamboo that grows on my plot is Bambusa Textilis Gracilis, which according to several sources I came across makes a choice tea, the leaves anyway. But, bamboo leaves like these also have rather strong anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and are known to suppress soil pathogens. They also are high in organic silica and protein and a number of antioxidants.

So, I cut the side branches of bamboo leaves from the main stems and in the leaves went into my tomato raised bed.

[karstopography]

After all the bamboo chopping, I went inside to take a nap, succeeded with that and went back outside to take a look at my handy work.

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This is what greeted me. Same tree, different tomato, definitely Pruden’s Purple this one and one tomato I had my eye on for being a week or two away from color break. The lake, from which I have seen squirrels drink from, is literally 40’ if even from this tree.

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I put some of my Tennessee Red peanuts there next to the tomato which I left in place. I’ve yet to see this squirrel. He/she struck first when I was cutting the bamboo, the second time during my nap time.

This is not a peace offering, the peanuts, or appeasement on my part. It is an inducement to come to the table where I will be ready to serve this particular squirrel with pewter or lead, right in the heart or head.

Two tomatoes in three hours, war.

[SpookyShoe]

"Sugary" grape tomato.

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[karstopography]

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First color break of 2025 in my garden is Vorlon. Did not expect this to happen in April.

Not a particular impressive looking tomato, but the first flowering truss tomatoes like this Vorlon are often on the runty side.

[karstopography]

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In other news, this tobacco hornworm was in the process of devouring my Brandywine C. Plant. Also found 15 hornworm eggs, a cluster of tiny army worms eating on Dester, a couple of fruitworms. I then performed my first spinosad treatment of 2025. Hate to spray anything, but the worms were starting to get the upper hand.

[TX-TomatoBug]

@karstopography, on your photo of the bottom-side of the Vorlon, are those two holes from worms? Or is that just a common tomato formation?

[karstopography]

@karstopography, on your photo of the bottom-side of the Vorlon, are those two holes from worms? Or is that just a common tomato formation?

Those holes aren’t worm holes, at least I don’t believe they are. Normally, worm holes have oozing and wetness and other nasty things going on. These holes are dry and look to be just part of the original blossom scarring.

I’ll find out when I slice it. I would have let it sit on the vine a bit longer, but with the squirrels around, that’s a highly risky endeavor.

There’s been no new squirrel activity since my previous post. There is one less squirrel so maybe I took care of the only offending squirrel, at least for now.

[Wildcat82]

After all the bamboo chopping, I went inside to take a nap, succeeded with that and went back outside to take a look at my handy work.

IMG_6171.jpeg

This is what greeted me. Same tree, different tomato, definitely Pruden’s Purple this one and one tomato I had my eye on for being a week or two away from color break. The lake, from which I have seen squirrels drink from, is literally 40’ if even from this tree.

IMG_6172.jpeg

I put some of my Tennessee Red peanuts there next to the tomato which I left in place. I’ve yet to see this squirrel. He/she struck first when I was cutting the bamboo, the second time during my nap time.

This is not a peace offering, the peanuts, or appeasement on my part. It is an inducement to come to the table where I will be ready to serve this particular squirrel with pewter or lead, right in the heart or head.

Two tomatoes in three hours, war.

If a squirrel or some bird came down and ate a tomato or peach once in a while I wouldn't mind that much. But these little bastards will take 1-2 bites out of a half dozen fruits at a time, ruining all of them.

[karstopography]

@Wildcat82 In my experience, these squirrels are party animals with the bigger the party, the better. If one squirrel gets away with pilfering a tomato or two, then that becomes four squirrels each taking several tomatoes, and next it is sixteen squirrels…

I live in a squirrel metropolis and nearly all of them want to party. I’m trying to carve out a few hundred square feet of a no squirrels zone. Other than the lake, there are no natural barriers to the squirrel’s movements.

I keep the pressure on them for sure. I believe squirrels are pretty smart. What I want them to learn is that the hundreds of acres around me are safe for squirrels, but the area around my garden is potentially fatal for squirrels.


Squirrels presumably lived eons on wild foods that didn’t include my tomatoes or eggplant. Continue to enjoy those wild foods squirrels and everyone will get along. Eat my tomatoes and eggplant, then you are most certainly risking your life.

[SpookyShoe]

In El Lago it is against the law to discharge a firearm. Probably a good thing, lol.

[karstopography]

In El Lago it is against the law to discharge a firearm. Probably a good thing, lol.

Yes, I live outside any municipality. I do use subsonic .22 LR cartridges and make sure of backstops. We live on over six acres. My BIL in Sugarland uses a pellet gun on his squirrel problem.

My other neighbor once in a while shoots a shotgun, which most definitely isn’t sub sonic. I think that’s how he deals with snakes. There isn’t a lot of audible gunfire in our neighborhood, but it isn’t all that uncommon. The city limits start 1,000 feet to our east.

The sub sonic rounds are super quiet. That’s why I like them.