Eggs ?? Caterpillars - Tomato Plants - Amateur Grower

aido 1976

Hi All,

I hope somebody here can help me,

I have a couple of tomato plants which I started from seed some months ago and are now in full growth planted in grow bags(in a cheap argos polytunnel/green house type thing), and really starting to now show some lovely juicy fruit, of which I am impressed as this year is my first attempt at growing tomatos.

Yesterday while tidying up the around the grow bags and placing some bamboo to support the many off shoots from the plants, I noticed some tiny egg type things around the soil of the grow bags, ye know where the bags where cut to plant the tomato plants. I admit I did pick one up and give it a little squeeze, and popped it, I did not know what they where and so left the rest of them be.

After I was finished I also notice about 10 caterpillars on the ground around where I had being working, small little things that where a grass green type colour and 2 or 3 brown/beige colour ones about the same size. I know tomatos plants and caterpillars don't mix so I sent them off to meet their maker.

Tonight I went out to check on the plants and noticed that there wher some more egg type things (like tiny pearls) where there where none yesterday. I also noticed that a few leaves on the plants are looking a bit raggy as if the are being eaten by something. The leaves have a few little holes in them and there appears to be some strange burn like mark lines on the underneath of others, no particular pattern, but that is the only way I can discribe them.

Is this the caterpillars, does this mean that the 10-12 caterpillars that I deslt wit yesterday are only a spit in the pond and what the hell are the tiny white egg/pearl thing that are appearing the base of the plants in the soil.

And most of all how can I deal with the caterpillars, is there a simple solution to knock up that I can spray on the plants (non-toxic of course) or something.

Sorry for the long post, thank you for reading and any information is greatly appreciated.

Mothman

Tiny pearl like eggs are possibly slug eggs.
And the damage may be slug damage.

Check the plants at night and see what is on them.

Are you sure they are caterpillars (moth larvae) and not larva of something else?

cora09

Are they not nitrogen beads? thats whit i thought they were... sh*t if i knew they were slug eggs i'd had done something with them

swifts need our help!

Most likley slow release fertiliser balls. Are they yellow or white?

Mark