Still organically naive

Guess I'm still a bit green to the gardening thing. Pun intended, of course.

Moved the weak tomato plant to a larger pot this morning. The extra room will do some good, as roots were getting crowded. However, while doing this, I noticed there were dozens of whitefly eggs (larvae?) along the entire stalk. Somehow I had managed to spray the leaves but not the stalk of this plant. Checked the rest and they don't have this problem. Enough larvae and they suck all the nutrients out of the plant. Grabbed the insecticidal soap sprayer and sprayed well.

With the problem now well noted with whiteflies, I'm wondering how much they have been my major problem with growing tomatoes outside. Having tried garlic and even nicotine spray unsuccessfully inside, it seems likely this has been a major issue. Not so much noticed because the larvae are as much or more a problem than the adults. They retard growth, dehydrate the plant and destroy whole branches. Can even kill of the whole plant. Have to keep a close eye out this year.

Transplanted tomato plants are now shooting up by 1-2 inches a day. At this rate, I'll have to stake them in a week or two. The cutting from the other day doesn't look like it's taking. Oh, well. Then again, how many 8 ft tall grape tomato plants do I really want? My daughter likes them but I don't.

The dog may be digging up the potatoes I planted. Not quite sure. Rows look a little rough from her running all over them. If she is, not sure what to do about that. Planting deeper won't help. She digs holes 2 ft deep. Blah. Saw her chewing on a piece of dried up potato. Just hoping it came from the compost pit. She dug a hole next to the cover to get at the compost. Maybe digging out the pit will keep her busy and away from the garden.

Still not feeling great but better than yesterday. Go get some things done here. No word on work tonight. Wish I had the chance to plan more.