Fall Tomato Pest

There were almost no tomato worms during the summer, I blamed the heat and drought.

To my surprise, I found a huge tomato worm on one of the rather pitiful fall tomato plants.    He waited patiently while I went back inside for the camera and then posed very still while I took the shots.  Appreciated but his mistake.

Note the dropping on the branch behind the worm.

First Freeze Warning - Fall 2011

The first freeze warning of the season is predicted for tonight.  It should only be a light freeze or more likely just near freezing.  

Regardless, it was time to move the potted plants.  The most tender came inside the house but most remained outside in a protected location on the back porch.

The back porch faces east and gets sun until early afternoon so it is the warmest place outside the house.  A good thing in the winter but so not a good thing in the summer.  Normally, the west side would be warmest but here the west side is shaded by large oak trees so without direct sun it is not as warm.

The pepper plants are still loaded with peppers so  I picked what was ready and left the immature peppers to their fate.  If they freeze, oh well, I guessed wrong.

The sweet peppers, I can deal with but there were just too many hot peppers for us.  The Jalapeno peppers and New Mexico Big Jim peppers have both done very well in the heat and drought.

A quick phone call to the chef at one of the local restaurants, Rolling in Thyme & Dough, and the peppers were an ingredient in Bistro night Pepper Stew.  It's refreshing to discover that the barter system can still be used Drippin'.  We haven't outgrown that country practice, yet.

Too many hot peppers =
Lunch for 2 at my favorite local restaurant.