The Early Bird Catches the Worm

I have been tenderly looking after my cool season tomato plantings making sure they have been properly pampered. To my horror, when I checked this morning, one of the plants was totally defoliated! Upon close inspection, what I mistook for a stem, was actually a baby tomato hornworm stretching out in a greedy attempt to reach more succulent tomato leaves. Left to his own devices, this tiny larva would have defoliated all my tomato plants, but fortunately this" early bird" spotted and caught him before he destroyed my entire crop! The pick and squish method is the best control, but when these master camouflage artists are too difficult to find, spray with an organic remedy such as Bt or Spinosad.