No Suds On Tomatoes!

Whatever you do... DO NOT get the bright idea like yours truly to spray your tomato plants and other plants down with diluted dish liquid. 

If there has been a sick child in your home with a temp of over 103 find a way to make a store run for the proper pest control solution. 

If you feel like a sickness is coming on for yourself and do not want to go to the store, do it anyway. 

If you do not want to dress appropriately to drive to the store do it anyway.  Change those ratty clothes and brush your nappy hair and go!  I mean really I could have just put on some shoes that would cover my dirty tired toes instead of worrying about what people would think if they saw those dirty toes.  Who really cares if they don't know that I spent the day in my garden and building nesting boxes for the new chicken yard we SPENT THE WHOLE DAY building.  In hindsight I wish I had just suffered the shame.

Nope!  I got a bright idea... I thought I remembered people doing this before.  I know I remember this tip, but alas I think it must have been a tip to use on shrubbery.  {sigh}  You see... I took an empty spray bottle and poured in about a 1/2 cup of dish liquid and slowly filled it the rest of the way with water.  To mix it I gently turned the bottle over and oever until it was mixed.  I thought I was a genius!  LOL!  Oh... it is so NOT funny now!  My thought was that these caterpillars (oak worms) that were all over my tomato plants would not like the soap and would go away.  They did!!!  Yeah, that worked!!! 

Oh.... but the awful thing that is left behind is my withering plants.  I think I blocked my plants from breathing.  And while I was spraying my tomato plants I sprayed everything else in that garden bed for fear the caterpillars would just move to the next thing. 

I have three varities of bean plants in that bed that now have ashen colored leaves that were once thriving and bright green. 

My bell pepper row has now lost all of it's leaves.  I do hold out some hope because the tops hav a new leaf sticking out of each one.  Sad... like a little flag raised saying, "We surrender!  Don't spray us again!"  Poor things are fighting to live. 

My tomato plants that range in size from 1' tall to 3' tall (most are 3') are the biggest mess.  Awe!  I can not believe the hard work that went into this little garden.  They are all withering, ashen, and yellowing.  I did spray this whole garden down really good yesterday to see if it will wash the soap away.  Time will tell.  And I forgot and left the water on so the ground go super saturated, so maybe that will help.  They look like they COULD survive.  I am still hopeful.  All is not lost... I have learned my lesson!!

And my bumper crop seedlings (bell pepper and tomato) that I have out on my deck.... well, I spray those, too.  Yes, they are ashen as well and the bell pepper plants are naked (no leaves).  And some of my container plantings I did the same to.  Yes, my gorgeous basil that is almost a foot tall that I grew from seed... now ashen colored.  My dill that I grew from seed that my dear friend said was hard to grow.  Well, it was doing well and I was very proud of my efforts.  It is about 7 inches tall... now it looks a little dry.  I have learned! 

And I want to warn you.  Don't do what I did!!!

Fortunately, I was over ambitious with my gardening and I have another garden with peas and cucumbers and such that I did not spray since it is well away from the tomato plants.  And I have another garden waiting for me to be well enough to feel like working in this week that I am going to fill with seeds.  Now, I might be adding tomatoes and bell peppers there as well.  It is late in the season, but I was planning to experiment with bumper crop plantings anyway.  I am not happy about it all, but it a learning experience. 

And so we live... and learn... not all is lost as long as we can gain some knowledge.  The best lessons in life are usually the hard ones!  ;)