Country Lore: Readers’ tips to live by

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Dogs can be trained to eat tomato hornworms.
Dogs can be trained to eat tomato hornworms.
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Keeping bees around your garden can increase fruit yield.
Keeping bees around your garden can increase fruit yield.
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June Van Houten prepares her northern sofrito recipe with delicious hot peppers, such as Aji Dulce and Aji Crystal.
June Van Houten prepares her northern sofrito recipe with delicious hot peppers, such as Aji Dulce and Aji Crystal.
June/July 2006

Our Dogs Hunt Tomato Hornworms
Trellis Creates Garden Space
Chickens Feast on Japanese Beetles
Bees Increase Fruit Yield
Delicious Hot Peppers
Easy Tomato Watering

Our Dogs Hunt Tomato Hornworms

One day last July, my sister was looking closely at our tomato plants and noticed a great deal of damage due to the large, green larvae of the tomato hornworm moth, which lays its eggs during the wee hours of the night. My sister started searching for the hornworms and picked off at least 15.

Our dogs, Heidi, a yellow lab, and Zorro, a German shepherd, became very interested in what my sister was doing, so she offered a worm to each dog. Heidi and Zorro are always hungry, so why not? As unappetizing as it sounds, the dogs gobbled them up. The scent of the hornworms was with them, so the dogs began nosing around in the plants to find the tasty morsels.

  • Published on Jun 1, 2006
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