R.I.P. Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and Soybeans. C'mon Watermelon!

The zucchini and squash were mercilessly eaten alive by a grub, future moth, that had the audacity to lay eggs and get comfortable inside the trunk of the plant and then start eating it from the inside. The grubs are called Squash Borers. I had a bad dream about these jerks but I assumed they attacked the squash veggie it's self, not the trunk. One day, the zucchini plant is chugging along producing these huge zucchinis like a champ, the next day all the leaves are drooping as if someone scolded it for showing off. 

Six hours later, I am trying to apply some diatomaceous earth (this stuff has become my new best friend) and the plant just topples over, severed at the trunk. I found these chumps inside...

A Squash Vine Borer

Look what they did!

Turns out these grubs are pretty hard to prevent and once you have them, from what I can gather, it is really just a matter of postponing death by infestation. Because the stems of the plant are hollow, the bugs bore into them and then camp out inside. They lay eggs at the foot of the plant and then the eggs hatch and make their way into the plant too. Theoretically you could poke around or actually cut into the plant with out killing it and just remove all the bugs surgically, but it is likely that you would only find a fraction of them since the plant is so huge and branchy. Also, you risk infesting the other plants if you keep the afflicted ones around for too long. That is what happened here. One plant started showing that it was struggling, then the one next to it was on the verge. I ripped out two zucchini and a squash plant all in the same day. Then the next day the other squash was falling over. There was ultimately one zucchini plant left standing, and despite the powder I caked at the bottom and me dripping diatomaceous earth water mixture actually down into the tubes of the plant, they got to it anyway.

Apparently, to really ward them off you need to treat the soil before the plant gets too far along. If I had put some diatomaceous earth mixed in the with top soil first, making the environment down on the ground inhospitable to these crawling bugs and the eggs, it's possible it could have been prevented. The diatomaceous earth is a powder that scrapes up crawling bugs and dries out/makes eggs and exoskeletons brittle (pretty brutal huh?). The good thing is that we got at least two rounds of vegetables from the plants before they went kaput. That's more than I can say for the soybeans. Those fellas never really became edible. I don't know what happened, it was maybe too hot or I let the beans stay on the plant too long. I tend to do that. The soybeans were just losing leaves and getting gradually more yellow. I removed them this weekend to make room for the other plants, and just to stop bringing down the garden. There is something about dead plants that can really kill the spirit of a place (one reason winter really wears on me). 

The woman at the plant store where I brought a zucchini branch to get diagnosed (thank you The Great Outdoors, it's always a pleasure) said that butternut squash is a good alternative in the squash family because it doesn't have a hollow stem. I am a little worried about the melons and cucumbers but I read somewhere that they are less likely to get attacked. I realize now I just assumed this is because their vine tubes are smaller but I am actually not sure at all. It would be pretty cramped I imagine, for big dummies like the ones that invaded my garden. I still went ahead and scattered some diatomaceous earth where the dead plants were and in the soil around the melons. Hopefully the melons will survive. I have been sort of rooting for the watermelon because it still just seems crazy to me that people can grow something that delicious and huge at home.

I was reminded that it is almost always a good time to plant something. Again, I keep forgetting gardening is a constant cycle. I could start planting things for the fall in the current empty spots. We'll see. I am kind of excited about giving the melon plants more room to grow since they were sandwiched between the huge squash and zucchini before. They were already reaching pretty far out into the other plant's territories as it was.

The okra is just loving the heat. Also, I discovered that okra produces a beautiful flower. That was a pleasant surprise. I was moping around the garden, trying to psych myself up to take out the soybeans when I spotted this...

It definitely sprinkled some magic into what was looking to be a pretty grim day.

I have been forgetting to take pictures regularly so here is a run down on progress for most of the plants. I have three Jalapenos. The bell peppers are still taking their time but the plants look full and green, so there's some hope. At least now one of them isn't totally taken over by the zucchini. The bush beans are steadily producing even though something keeps eating the leaves on the perimeter. I have used soapy water spray and diatomaceous earth spray (just a little diatomaceous earth mixed with a lot of water) and it still won't cease. It is hard to tell if I am even slowing down what ever it is that is eating them. The chard is also keeping on, though I still feel like I need to get the hang of when to trim the leaves and figuring out which ones are the best to pick. Also, the cucumber started subsuming one of the chard plants. We moved the trellis I had for the soybeans so the cucumbers could use it. The cucumbers immediately took to it, climbing up. And last but not least the watermelons are looking more and more like real watermelons! They are the miniature kind so I am hoping to pick them soon. I am itching for another big harvest. We got spoiled with the initial squash and zucchini ones.

One tomato turned red and we ate it immediately. It was superb. The other tomato plant has yet to produce anything. We are thinking it is probably a container/root space issue. Not enough root space for the type of tomato plant. Ugh always so much learning. No I'm just kidding, I love it.

Till next time friends.