Homesteader Depot

Tag: growing plants

  • Preventing Tomato Worms

    Preventing Tomato Worms

    Is your garden plagued with hornworms or tobacco worms? Also known as tomato worms, these pests can destroy your plants, as they’ll eat the leaves, stems, and even the fruit, leaving pretty much nothing behind. If you enjoy fresh tomatoes – as well as the pleasant experience of growing them – this is a problem. You need to take care of these pests as soon as possible.

    Till Your Soil Well

    Since tomato worms are the progeny of moths (and they turn into moths over the course of a few months), they appear at the same time every single year. Moths lay their eggs on the ground, those eggs hatch in the spring, and before you know it, you have tomato worms eating your crops. The best thing to do is to till your soil up extremely well before planting season begins. This kills the eggs, either burying them deep underground or destroying them before they ever have a chance to hatch. Plus, well-tilled soil leads to some great tomato plants, as it brings all of the nutrients up to the surface. Your plants will thank you.

    Know the Signs

    If you’ve tilled your soil, but are still worried about a tomato worm infestation, then you need to keep an eye on your plants. The main signs to look for include giant holes in the leaves, as well as plants that have leaves one day and very few the next. These worms grow to be about four inches long, and have small horns on their heads (hence their official name – hornworms.) They are the same green shade as the leaves, making them tough to see. With that said, they do become active at night, so you’ll see them crawling around.

    Pick Them Off of Your Plants

    Although it’s not ideal, you can pick hornworms off of your plants. Just put on some gloves, head out to your garden at dusk, nighttime, or during the waking hours, and individually remove them from the plant. You might want to put on some magnifying glasses to help you see them, and you’ll need some sort of portable light. Although it will take some time to remove all of these little guys off of your plants, doing so doesn’t really harm the worms – that is, unless you squish them. Feel free to rehome them to the other side of your house, away from your tomato plants.

    Spray Them with a Hose

    If picking the hornworms off doesn’t sound like your idea of a good time, then spray them off with a hose. Many of them cling to the undersides of the leaves or on the stems. Although they are somewhat stubborn and will hang on tight, you can indeed remove them by spraying their hiding spots with a hose. Just don’t use too strong a spray, or your plants may become damaged. If you do this right, then you won’t have to go with the non-organic “nuclear” option: a non-systemic insecticide.

    Use Insecticide

    Although this should be your last resort, insecticides do work well. There are types made to deal with hornworms that won’t harm any other insects. Make sure to read the label to ensure that you’re purchasing the right kind. In addition, choose a non-systemic insecticide. This type stays on the leaves of the plants and doesn’t soak into the fruit or stems. It only harms the insects that it intends to. Everything else stays safe. Insecticides aren’t ideal, but if you don’t want to spend hours upon hours picking tomato worms off of your plants, you may not have much of a choice. Sometimes you have to make do.

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  • Can You Grow Miniature Fruit Trees and Non-Native Plants?

    Can You Grow Miniature Fruit Trees and Non-Native Plants?

    Can You Grow Miniature Fruit Trees and Non-Native Plants?

    Well, the short answer?  Yes.

    It is possible to grow just about anything on a homestead or even in an urban environment, with the right care and maintenance. And, if you are successful, you can provide yourself with your own rice, coffee, citrus fruit and more.

    The main trick?  Growing everything in planters and pots, essentially creating a mobile farm.  During the summer they can be kept outside.  When it turns cold you have a few options:

    • Cover the plants with clear plastic to create mini-greenhouses
    • Move them inside your home
    • Move them into a greenhouse structure

    If you have space, consider closing in a porch to create a sunroom/greenhouse.  This will make it easy to keep an eye on your “babies” and make it less obvious to passers-by that you have this food source.

     

    First, what is a Miniature Fruit Tree Anyway?

    Before you begin picturing a tidy row of little trees that Mr. Miyagi would be proud of, you need to understand whatever you choose to cultivate is still going to be fairly substantial.

    Depending on the variety, you are going to need space for anywhere from a 3-foot to a 10-foot tall tree.  The key thing to remember though is no matter how small the tree is; the fruit will still be a normal size.

    Before we get too far, you will probably be glad to know that NO genetic engineering is used to create mini fruit trees.  Instead, it uses an age-old grafting technique, allowing the new tree to develop in a natural way.  By grafting a branch from a fruit tree to a separate rootstock, the trees only grow as tall as the new root system lets them.

    While you are taking all this in, here’s a list of potential fruit trees you could add to your property.

    • Apple
    • Pear
    • Apricot
    • Peach
    • Nectarine
    • Lime
    • Lemon
    • Grapefruit
    • Orange
    • Grapes
    • Tangelos
    • Almond
    • Coffee
    • Banana
    • Cherry
    • Fig
    • Olive

     

    Or, you can get really adventurous and get one of those new-fangled “fruit salad” trees that have three types of citrus trees grafted into one.  While there is a part of me that considers this to just be so wrong, if it means you only have to care for one tree instead of three to get the variety you want, why not?

    Non-Native Plants

    Besides the standard lettuce, spinach, zucchini, carrots and other native veggies and grains we are accustomed to including in our gardens, have you considered others, such as rice, cotton, and peanuts, or beans? If you’ve done any research on long-term food storage options, you’ve probably seen rice come up on everyone’s list of suggestions.

    You can produce rice in multiple containers to provide yourself with an excellent source of this long-term storage food. As with the mini-trees, your mini “rice paddies” will need to be moved indoors in winter, whether that’s in your home, or into a greenhouse.

    If you live in a fairly temperate climate, you may not need to rely completely on containers to grown rice.  If you have an area you can “flood” and make marshy, you may be able to grow an entire crop between frost cycles.

     

    You CAN take it with You!

    Another great advantage of cultivating mini fruit trees and planter foods, if you decide to move, you can take it all with you. Granted this would have to be during a carefully planned move, not a bug out scenario.  But, if you find you are ready to try a new place, you can make arrangements for your “movable feast” instead of starting over from scratch.

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