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At this point, I've lost two tomato plants and had two others damaged - one severely.
Bottom line - DON'T let any tall grass or weeds stand over the winter anywhere near your garden. I didn't know that and it's too late for me to prevent these things this year, but it'll never happen again.
In reading about Stalk Borers, it seems I'm going to have trouble with them through late July. Even worse, the caterpillars go through several stages and they move between plants at night. One worm will damage or kill several plants. They can't be controlled by insecticides because they're inside the stems.
Even so, I'm going to keep my garden sprayed with liquid Sevin - to the point that the plants are white if I have to. I'm thinking that when the worms come out and bite into a new plant, then maybe the Sevin will get them. I hate to do that because it'll kill all my beneficial insects.
Here's the question: I lost 2/3 of a really good tomato plant yesterday. It had a main fork in the stem about 3" above the ground and one side of the plant was withered above that fork, the side that was about 2/3 of the plant. I took my pocket knife and cut that stem off - no worm, but the stem was hollow, soft, and brown inside. I cut it off a little lower, same thing.
Finally I cut it off right in the fork, trying my best not to damage the other stem - and found the worm. I killed it - but now the stem is hollow and wide open just 3" above the ground with the remaining branch coming right out of the damaged part. I know I'm going to lose that plant if I leave it that way - the main stem will get full of water and it'll rot.
I've been trying to think what I've got in my shop to seal that hole, but anything like constuction adhesive would be toxic to a plant. Isn't there something like "gardening putty" that's used to seal cut-off limbs on trees, etc.? That's what I need, and I need to get it today.
Please let me know what I could use to seal up the hole in that plant, I want to try and save it. Thanks.
I've been raising tomatoes for over 30 years, and I never even knew about "stalk borers". Don't get these things - they're bad!
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