Tomato Hornworm Feasting on a Pepper Plant

The tomato hornworm is the larval stage of the Five-spotted Hawk Moth. Both stages of this insect are formidable to see, but the hornworm is not a welcome sight in the vegetable garden. Their preferred food is the leaves of tomato and pepper plants. Since they blend in so well with the foliage, you may not notice them until you start to see damage.

Because the hornworm is so large (about the size of a pinkie finger), the easiest way to get rid of him is to simply remove him from the plant and dispose of him. You may be lucky enough to attract parasitic wasps to your garden who will do the job for you. Parasitic wasps won't hurt you, but take a look at the next photo to see what they'll do to this guy.

Saving Tomato Seeds

Selecting a good tomato to save seeds from is the most important step in the process. There's no point in saving tomato seeds if you're not saving them from high quality fruits; the resulting plants (and their fruits) will be of inferior quality.

Here's what you're looking for. Save seeds from an open-pollinated, rather than hybrid, tomato. Seeds saved from hybrid tomatoes won't come true, and there's no way to tell what you'll end up with. This may take a little research. If you're unsure whether the tomato you're growing is an heirloom or a hybrid, a quick internet search or a glance through a few seed catalogs will tell you what you need to know.Save seeds from tomatoes that are fully ripe, but not over-ripe. Seeds from over-ripe fruits could already be on their way to germinating or flat-out rotting. Save seeds from the best-looking, best-tasting fruits on the plant. When you save from the very best, the resulting plants will be predisposed to having those same desirable qualities.It's fine to save seed from plants that have suffered from blight or one of the many wilts that affect tomato plants.