Month: July 2012

Tomato Hornworms and the Awesome Braconid Wasp Super Hero

We were in the garden Sunday morning, and while I was glancing at my in-ground tomato plants, I noticed what looked like white spikey roots growing out of a tomato leaf. Mind you, my eyesight is not great, but I immediately thought about how weeks before, I noticed low branches were beginning to develop roots where they were touching the ground.

I took a closer look, and yuck! I was mortified to see a big fat icky green worm with rice-like eggs on it’s back. I wasn’t wearing my garden gloves, so I called DH to come and grab it off. Luckily, he broke off the whole leaf (more on that later) and kept the bugger intact.

I was fascinated by this little pest, so I took it into our workroom, grabbed the camera and took some photos.

Then I googled, and learned that we had a Tobacco Hornworm (with a menacing-looking horn on its back-end, that actually isn’t menacing or harmful at all!) and those weren’t eggs on its back. They are Braconid Wasp larvae cocoons.

(click for larger view)
hornworm with wasp parasite cocoons attached

The more I learned, the more grossed out but fascinated I became. It’s literally the movie “Alien” come to life!

What happens is the female braconid wasp lays eggs under the skin of the hornworm, and the baby larvae feed on the worm, as he sits, paralyzed on a leaf. They eat their way out of the layer of skin and spin themselves into a cocoon, where they continue to eat their “host” until they eventually emerge from their cocoons as adult braconid wasps.

hornworm with wasp parasite cocoons attached

I have had the worst case of heebie jeebies all day thinking about it, especially after seeing all the youtube videos and photos. Yuck. Just thinking about the wasps eggs hatching inside a living host and popping out is enough to give me nightmares!

But I was a good doobie, and I put the hornworm, complete with leaf, back over near our tomatoes. I’m hoping that all the wasps will hatch and feast on any hornworm pest population left in my garden.

Nature is wonderful, isn’t it? And I have discovered so much about nature in just a few short months, it’s amazing and thrilling!

It also makes me sad because so many home gardeners don’t think twice about using toxic pesticides instead of allowing Mother Nature a chance to handle it herself!

UPDATE 2012-08-19 ~ This morning, I noticed TWO more icky hornworms covered with the Braconid wasp cocoons, and I let them be on the plant. Exciting. I hope the wasps hatch and attack any future hornworms on my tomato plants.

YouTube:
Horned worm vs. Braconid Wasp – CTnaturalist Online
Tomato Hornworm covered with white cocoons of Braconid Wasp
Tobacco Hornworm Parasitoids Emerge from their cocoons

Homemade Refrigerator Pickles & Ideas for Used Pickle Juice

I’m excited to have a bounty of pickling cucumbers in my garden this season. I had such a huge batch the other day, that I decided to make homemade refrigerator pickles.

homemade fridge pickles

After googling a few recipes, I found some basic instructions over at http://hipgirlshome.com/.

Notes: Originally I used the quantities from the original recipe: 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, & 1 Tbsp salt, but when I poured into my larger jar, it wasn’t enough to fill, so I quickly made a second batch using half the ingredients, then poured into the jar separately. It seemed to work fine, but next time, I’ll use larger quantities right away.

Keep in mind, if you are using a smaller jar, you might start off with the lower quantities.

PS I am not a pickling or canning expert. I’m still learning, so follow at your own risk! :)

My Recipe for Homemade Refrigerator Pickles

  • Lots and lots of fresh pickling cucumbers
  • 2 tsp white sugar
  • heaping 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
  • heaping 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
  • heaping 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tsp dried dill (I didn’t have fresh)
  • 1.5 cups mix of apple cider & white vinegar or mix of any tasty vinegar you’d like
  • 1.5 cups filtered water
  • 1.5 Tbsp kosher salt
  1. Slice the pickling cucumbers – I cut both ends off, but it’s very important to cut off the “blossom” end, because there is an enzyme that might cause your pickles to become extra-soft. The blossom-end is the opposite of the little stem-end.
  2. Fill a large glass jar with the sliced cukes, leaving a little head room.
  3. Using a mortar & pestle, crush the seeds with the dried dill, then sprinkle on top of the cucumbers in the jar.
  4. Add the sugar, salt, water and vinegars to a saucepan and bring just to a boil – the dill aroma took me back to my grandmother’s house, where she used to make homemade pickles too.
  5. Pour hot brine over the cukes and spices in the jar.
  6. Allow to cool, then cover & refrigerate. I didn’t tighten the jar lid completely, I read that there are gases that build up, and so it’s good to leave a little escape room for air.

I did not have to wait a week like the original recipe suggested; my pickles were scrumptious after just a few hours: crunchy and spicy.

In fact, they were gone within a week’s time! A really great bold flavor. I loved the kick from the mustard seeds! I was snacking on small cupfuls!

homemade fridge pickles
homemade fridge pickles

Re-using Pickle Juice

Now, I’m pondering what to do with the leftover “used” pickle juice.

I have a couple of ideas myself like finishing a recipe with a few splashes (I finish most of my soups & sauces with balsamic, so the pickle juice might also work well) or roasting with potatoes, onions, squash, etc.

I also found some great ideas online

  • Make more pickles, although they won’t be as bold and crunchy
  • Add to fresh baked/cooked beans recipe
  • Because the used pickle juice is diluted, it’s been suggested to add rounded tsp salt w/ Tbps or two of white vinegar & then reuse for new pickles
  • Steam your vegetables with it
  • Make pickled hard boiled eggs (never had them, interesting?)
  • Add to homemade salad dressing
  • Add to tuna, potato, egg salad recipes
  • Add to cole slaw
  • Add to mashed potatoes
  • Use as a brine/marinade for meat
  • Make pickled beets or green beans or other vegetables.
  • Make pickled onions (yum)
  • Use to clean your dirty BBQ grill
  • Drink it (hmm, not sure I like that idea!)
  • Freeze in cubes to suck on in hot weather (replenishing electrolytes)
  • Mix 3 oz with 1 chopped pickle spear & 1 pkg of cream cheese for cracker topping/dip
  • Mix butter and pickle juice for bread spread (that sounds strangely delish)
  • Make Pickle Rye Bread, this sounds yummy too!

Gardening Diary: Busy Bees Buzzing

I was weeding the vegetable garden this morning, and it made me so happy to hear the sound of working bumble bees buzzing in my blossoms. A few whizzed by my ear, and it’s funny but it didn’t scare me or make me flinch. Oh how times have changed.

I’m in the thick of it, working side by side with bugs!

What’s New?

The weeding has been kept to a minimum because of the thick layer of grass clippings I added around the tomatoes and peppers.

The cabbage is bouncing back. The critter(s) hasn’t been back, so I have only one that has been eaten to the stump. The rest seem to be doing well. My container cabbage is really thriving!

No cabbage worms to speak of for awhile now. I hope that is normal, and they are not just hiding deep inside the cabbage heart ready to pop out when I cut into it after harvest! eeek!

I only have one remaining brussels sprout plant in a container. It seems to be okay, but I’m not really an expert on what it’s supposed to look like at this stage. Let’s just say that the leaves are continuing to grow.

My carrots, well, I don’t think they are going to make it, the greens are stubby and not full and lush like you might think. But I am leaving them in the ground just in case the critter comes back. I’d rather him eat the rest of the carrot leaves and leave the other veggies alone.

I removed all the pea vines a week or so ago, and today, I pulled up what was left, along with the lettuce stubs. I hope to plant some more beets and some Chinese greens in mid-August for cooler harvesting. Yum.

What else?

OMG, the tomatoes are out of control. I’ve harvested a lot of cherry and sun golds. Still waiting for my big ones to turn red.

The ones in containers are doing okay, but they are mostly tall and skinny. Probably bolted?? The in-ground tomatoes are all over the place, branching out in all directions, definitely crowding my poor peppers.

The carmen peppers are goners I think, but I do have hope for my jalapenos.

Pickling cucumbers are awesome. I already made a batch of homemade refrigerator pickles. Oh they were YUMMY!

Eggplant is also excellent. We had some last night, sauteed with some green beans, scallions and cherry tomatoes. I don’t know that I’d plant eggplant again. Yes, it seems easy to grow, but after awhile, what do you do with all of it? haha. Even though the fruit is thin, long without much seeds, I’m realizing there isn’t a lot to do. I’m going to have to google some more recipes. I know I’ll probably be making some roasted veg pancakes using it.

Oh and speaking of beets (earlier), the ones I’ve planted are good. Cute and small. Love the beets!

I still have my two containers of butternut squash. There’s blossoms, but I don’t know if I see any female fruit blossoms. I think by now, there should have been some fruit, no? Oh well, next time I will plant in the ground or in a larger container.

On the other hand, the watermelon seems to be doing super well! DH is very pleased. Both the watermelon in the ground and in the large recycling bin have lots of fruits, getting larger and larger. It’s exciting. We can’t wait for harvest!

I think that is it for now. I still haven’t posted many photos. But I’m taking them regularly so I can see the progress, especially for next year. I’ve been so busy with my new job, that it’s been difficult to juggle everything I used to do now that I have less time. But I’ll eventually manage. DH has been a big help!

Project Food Budget / My Healthy Budget: July Month 9 / Week 4

Project Food Budget Weekly total: $62.04

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

July – Month Nine, Week Four

This week, I spent $62.04, with a monthly total of $379.97. That leaves $20.03 for the rest of July.

Yikes, I hope I’ll make it this month. It’s going to be tough, but I might give myself an extra few bucks to get by if I need it. I will try to stay within my $400 budget though.

The thing that seems to be slightly throwing me off is the meat CSA. I have a stockpile of meat in the freezer so I’ve been trying to use it; I don’t think my choices would necessarily be the choices I’d make if I didn’t have all this meat to consume!

Lesson learned! We don’t consume enough meat to warrant a meat CSA again! We’ll do things differently next winter. I will probably place one or two large orders and drive to the farm myself for pickup, instead of them delivering every month for 6 months.

Weekly Totals:

Dining Out: $25.00
Groceries: $37.04

Spending Details

Whole Foods $13.87 (inc credit $11.82 refund): fresh ground peanut butter (sale! DH has been bugging me for peanut butter muffins), bulk sucanat sugar, bulk organic rolled oats, canned organic diced tomatoes, organic low sodium chicken broth, Grafton 2 year cheese, organic bananas, (2) limes, organic plums (sale), and local (CT) eco peaches.

Market Basket $10.48: watermelon, cantaloupe, salsa

Meat CSA $: $12.69 skirt steak (Luckily, products from the Meat CSA are paid in full, so technically no real money is actually spent, but I apply the cost to my budget as we consume it.)

Week of Meals

  • Thursday: Bread pizza with salsa and feta
  • Friday: Chinese takeout
  • Saturday: Skirt steak braised with canned tomatoes, onions, garden jalapeño, baby bok choy over pasta
  • Sunday: Dinner with mom
  • Monday: Leftover skirt steak and tomato sauce over white rice
  • Tuesday: Roasted garden potatoes, garden eggplant, and onions topped with a fried egg
  • Wednesday: Bread pizza with salsa & feta – my ole standby meal when the budgeting gets tough!

Want to Join the Project Food Budget?

project food budget

It’s never too late to join the Project Food Budget!

If you’d like to participate, get the details and let Emily know you’re on board!

Here’s who else is budgeting:

Project Food Budget / My Healthy Budget: July Month 9 / Week 3

Project Food Budget Weekly total: $87.92

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

July – Month Nine, Week Three

This week, I spent $87.92, with a monthly total of $317.93. That leaves $82.07 for the rest of July.

Yeah, spent a little bit more than I’d like this week, but I needed to stock up at TJ’s. With $80 left though, I think I’ll be okay for the next fourteen days, since I should only need produce. Fingers crossed! :)

Dining Out: $12.80
Groceries: $75.12

Spending Details

Amazon Subscribe & Save $5.45: 6 pk Wild Planet tuna – had account credit of $7.25 – good deal!

Trader Joe’s $48.23: watermelon, bananas, 6 pk organic kiwi, frozen wild blueberries, peanuts, organic raisins, walnuts, raw almonds, shelled pistachios, balsamic vinegar, organic raspberry spread, peanut butter (USA not organic), organic half & half, and feta cheese

Market Basket $8.74: Athena melon, bananas, and instant yeast (yes, I’ve decided to go back to instant yeast.)

Wilmington MA Farmers Market $12.70: Beets, carrots, fennel, green beans, summer squash, and baby bok choy

Week of Meals

  • Thursday: Hot dogs on bread with side of leftover roasted potatoes & onions
  • Friday: Leftover frozen pizza
  • Saturday: Roasted beets, onions, kousa squash with bulgar topped with feta, fried egg & pea pods
  • Sunday: Summer veg soup with leftover frozen beefalo brisket, and barley
  • Monday: Leftover soup over pasta
  • Tuesday: Leftover freezer beefalo tomato pepper sauce with added fresh veggies topped over barley
  • Wednesday: Stir fried green beans,  baby bok choy, with quinoa and fried egg

Want to Join the Project Food Budget?

project food budget

It’s never too late to join the Project Food Budget!

If you’d like to participate, get the details and let Emily know you’re on board!

Here’s who else is budgeting this week:

Gardening Diary: Tomatoes!

Yay!

The other day, I noticed a couple of my cherry tomatoes were on the verge of “redness” and this morning, I was able to pick some red cherry and sun gold tomatoes! 11 in all! (I picked 1 sun gold to taste to make sure they were ripe)

Unfortunately, there is a critter(s) that’s eating some of my leaves. The planted brussels sprouts plants are gone. I plucked one out of the ground a few days ago, and the other one is also now down to the nub as well. The cabbage right next to it is also being eaten, but I’m leaving that, hopefully it’ll keep eating that and leave the other cabbages alone. We’ll see.

My carrot tops are also being eaten. They were lush and tall the other day, and they’re a bit shorter when I looked this morning. The lettuce I was saving is pretty much gone too. Oh well.

I’ll be pulling the pea vines out of the ground maybe today or later in the week. They have given all they can give. I think it might have been a bit too warm for them this season, I didn’t yield as much as I hoped. I know I’ll plant earlier next season, and maybe that will help.

Hmm, what else? Eggplant is getting taller and bushier. Lots of blossoms, but no sign of any fruit yet. The butternut in the container by the garden is blossoming. I don’t think I see any “female” though, so I’ll keep an eye on that.

Our Sugar Baby watermelon, on the other hand is thriving! The plant in the ground has finally taken off, and there are a couple of little watermelon babies. The one in the recycling bin has a lot of fruit, some getting quite large! We moved the container to the middle part of the yard so it’ll get more sun. I’ll have to google if it’s okay to have so much fruit, or if some should be pruned to make it easier for the stronger ones to flourish. I did notice some blotchy holes on a couple of fruits.

And back to the tomatoes, wow! The ones in containers are a bit leggy, but still bearing fruit. But the ones planted are thriving beyond belief. Bushy branches taking off in every direction! I’m hoping that is a good thing! They seem very healthy! I keep having to re-stake!

Pickling cucumbers are doing very well. I’ve picked a bounty of cukes already, with hopefully more to come well into August!

My peppers, eh, I don’t have high expectations for most of them. There have been some blossoms on the jalepenoes, but unfortunately some are so close to the tomatoes, that they are getting shaded by the low flowing branches. I’ll have to rethink some staking. The bell peppers in containers have shown some blossoms, but I don’t know if they are able to go forward into fruit. I might skip peppers next season, and just stick to the farm stands and farmers market, where they are plentiful!

When I started my garden I had recently become unemployed, but thankfully, I did find a new job, but that means my time in the garden has been cut back considerably. I’m a little behind on weeding, but it still seems to be thriving. I’ve been adding grass clippings and that helps.

So, that is my update! I’ll add some photos later.

Project Food Budget / My Healthy Budget: July Month 9 / Week 2

Project Food Budget Weekly total: $110.57

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

July – Month Nine, Week Two

This week, I spent $110.57, with a monthly total of $230.01. That leaves $169.99 for the rest of July.

Geez, by the 8th day of the month, I blasted through a huge chunk of my monthly allotment! I am hoping I can stick to a $55 weekly sum for the next 3 weeks, but I will not be too upset if I have a little budgeting overage this month!

Dining Out: $26.00
Groceries: $84.57

Spending Details

Lots of produce and a couple of splurges this week: a turkey pie and olives!

Seven Acres Turkey Farm $17.50: homemade turkey pie & (2) dozen jumbo eggs

2 trips to local farm stand $11.12: blueberries, kousa summer squash, red leaf lettuce, and (6) corn on cob (from CT, eh, wasn’t the greatest, but not bad)

Wilmington Farmers Market $14.30: From Farmer Daves – beets, spring onions, cherry tomatoes (to die for!), and (3) small kousa squash. From Bountiful Basket Farm – Quart of mixed new potatoes (yum)

Whole Foods Market $34.60 (2) jars of Mindful Mayo with WF coupon, diced organic tomatoes, organic salsa, organic plums & peaches (sale), cantaloupe (sale), organic green grapes, 2lb bag o’ organic carrots, organic bananas, crumbled feta (sale), and olives from bar

Meat CSA $7.05: Ground beefalo (Luckily, products from the Meat CSA are paid in full, so technically no real money is actually spent, but I apply the cost to my budget as we consume it.)

Week of Meals

  • Thursday: Turkey pie (from farm) with stir-fried veggies
  • Friday: Take out
  • Saturday: Dinner at parents – Pizza
  • Sunday: Pasta topped with crockpot beefalo tomato pepper sauce
  • Monday: Baked eggs, feta & brown rice
  • Tuesday: Leftover freezer pork tenderloin & beefalo chuck with new potatoes, onions, and a big ole veg salad
  • Wednesday: Hot dogs, sautéed beet greens, & snap peas in corn tortillas with a large veggie salad

Want to Join the Project Food Budget?

project food budget

It’s never too late to join the Project Food Budget!

If you’d like to participate, get the details and let Emily know you’re on board!

Here’s who else is budgeting this week:

Gardening Diary: Fascinating Bug Life

I saw two awesomely interesting things today in the garden.

First I saw a small-sort-of-dragonfly-ish bug with some sort of white stuff under it. Initially I thought he was caught in something, so I touched it with my scissors and he flew off. He landed on another tomato stake and I got a closer look.

Then I thought, is he eating that white butterfly? Or is he mating with it? LOL. You know how it’s so difficult to really tell! hahaa.

Anyway, I watched as the white butterfly got smaller and smaller, yep he was eating it. It was truly fascinating. I wished I had my camera with me!

Then just as I was nearing the end of my garden weeding, I noticed a group of ants dragging a green worm. It looked like they were stinging him, and he was violently thrashing as they carried him into their ant hole. It was like something you’d see in a horror movie, but again, quite fascinating!

It’s funny, two of the pests I dislike (white butterflies & green worms) were being taken out by other garden bugs! I love nature! Life is good!

I am glad that I decided against using BT on the cabbage. No, my cabbage plants are not perfect, but I’ve been trying to keep up with picking off the green worms/eggs, and it seems to be working. In fact, the worm quantity has been reduced drastically. I wonder if that is normal as it gets warmer? I’m still a bit leery; I keep having visions of cutting into a cabbage, and there’s green worms deep inside. Yuck. I don’t know if they eat from the outside in, or the inside out.

PS. This morning, I picked a bounty of pickling cucumbers and peas; I also picked enough oregano to share with a neighbor. I can’t wait until our tomatoes are RED!!!

Project Food Budget / My Healthy Budget: July Month 9 / Week 1

Project Food Budget Weekly (4 day) total: $119.44

My healthy budget goal is to eat seasonal (local if possible,) home-cooked meals while sticking to a $400 monthly budget for all food including groceries, dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, and gardening.

There’s two of us eating (mostly) 3 meals per day. My husband occasionally eats take-out lunch at work, & that $ comes out of his personal cash stash.

July – Month Nine, Week One

This week, I’ve spent $119.44, leaving $280.56 for the rest of July.

Dining Out: $13.14 (Wendy’s)
Groceries: $106.30

Spending Details

A few staple items this week, like olive oil and butter, and even though I have a freezer full of CSA meat, I splurged on sale chicken drumsticks @.99lb at Whole Foods, and a small tub of US-grown unsalted roasted cashews, which we haven’t had in the house for MONTHS!

I had three Applegate Farms $1 coupons that were set to expire, and Market Basket was having a sale, so I splurged on turkey bacon, deli slices, and hot dogs. Summer is here!!!!!

Market Basket $46.83: Applegate turkey bacon, Applegate sliced roasted turkey, Applegate beef hot dogs, 5lb bag o’ vidalia onions, organic peaches, bananas, (4) Chobani yogurts, Tub o’ plain whole yogurt, Fleichmann’s active yeast (3 pk envelopes), & California olive oil

Whole Foods $46.83: (4lb) Chicken drumsticks, peanuts, cashews, raisins, rolled oats, dried shredded coconut, canned diced tomatoes, organic valley cultured butter (coupons), organic valley half & half (coupon), carton of organic egg whites, organic pineapple, watermelon, & organic cherries…also returned the SAF Instant yeast.

Local Farm $7.15: (3) pickling cucumbers (.39 ea), large lettuce ($2), & blueberries ($4)

Meat CSA $15.84: Beefalo NY Strip Steak, wow, that was yummy! (Luckily, products from the Meat CSA are paid in full, so technically no real money is actually spent, but I apply the cost to my budget as we consume it.)

Week of Meals (4 days)

  • Sunday: Beefalo NY Strip steak (from CSA) with roasted potatoes & onions and large garden-fresh salad
  • Monday: Leftover potatoes & onions and bulgar topped with fried eggs
  • Tuesday: Baked chicken drumsticks with lentils and large veggie salad
  • Wednesday: Homemade veg Broth with leftover chicken, leftover lentils, and brown rice with veg salad

Want to Join the Project Food Budget?

project food budget

It’s never too late to join the Project Food Budget!

If you’d like to participate, get the details and let Emily know you’re on board!

Here’s who else is budgeting this week: