I love to share my adventures in the garden When I tell my friends I\u2019ve had my peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes in the ground for almost three weeks, their eyes get big and they shake their heads and say things like: \u201cAren\u2019t you worried about frost??\u201d \u201cI thought you weren\u2019t supposed to put anything like that in until after <\/strong><\/em>Memorial Day!!\u201d I reassure them that it\u2019s very OK so long as you have enough \u201chot caps\u201d to cover each one if there\u2019s a danger of frost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHot caps??\u201d they ask quizzically. \u201cYeah, you know, buckets,\u201d I explain. \u201cKeep them handy so you can put them upside down over the plant before you go to bed. That way when the frost comes they don\u2019t get killed. But make sure you take them off first thing in the morning or your plants will get roasted inside those things.\u201d They\u2019ll say \u201cOOoohh\u2026\u201d but I can sense they are wondering whether I\u2019m OK in the noodle or not. Of course when they hear I went to Dollar General and spent $50 on buckets they may really <\/strong><\/em>think I\u2019m nuts (at least they were made in the U.S.!!). Seven buckets at $1.75 each and 13 waste baskets at $2.25 apiece. The guy at Dollar General said, \u201cyou must have a lot of trash!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hot caps or no, there\u2019s nothing quite so unnerving as carefully planting your baby tomatoes, etc. and waking up the next day to find a decapitated stem with its head lying next to it. It\u2019s happened to me\u2026 but only once. The stupid pest didn\u2019t even have the decency to eat the leaves that fell to the ground!! Here\u2019s a picture of the culprit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s called a cutworm. It\u2019s not a worm at all, but a caterpillar; and after it devours the stalk of your baby plant it curls up just under the soil and takes a nap. Then off it goes later to search for another unsuspecting plant stalk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The simplest way to prevent damage from cutworms is to install a cutworm collar when you plant. I learned about cutworm collars after one of my babies got decapitated many seasons ago, and I\u2019ve been using them ever since. Very easy to make. I’ve tried paper drinking cups, but they often have plastic inside or are coated with wax, and I want something that will return itself to the soil after the danger of cutworms is gone. My new magical material is… drumroll… toilet paper tubes!!<\/strong><\/em> Yes!! I start collecting them in the winter and have more than enough by spring. I simply flatten the tube and cut slits about halfway up the roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I carefully prepare the seedling. For tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, I trim most of the leaves off the stalk and bury the seedling \u201cup to its neck in dirt.\u201d All of these plants are members of the nightshade family, so they will grow roots out of the stem if it’s in the soil (makes for a very good root system). Slide the paper tube over the plant and press it into the soil and cover with some dirt so the wind won\u2019t blow it away, while making sure the leaves of the plant are above the top of the tube as shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, enough of that. This week’s video has absolutely nothing to do with cutworms. I\u2019ve never grown Black Eyed Peas, but in my professional opinion, this video of theirs is a lot of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/kakahead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/buckets.jpg\")
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