Well, it's official. The squash crop is dead, stupid vine borers!!!! Yup, all of my plants are now garbage. Well, I think there are 2 still out there, but they could get yanked at any point!
So, you may ask, what the heck is a vine borer? Well, it's a bothersome pest that lays it's eggs at the base of your plant. They then hatch, chew into your plants and there they set up shop, chewing away. You may notice a wilt on your plants, maybe fruit that starts but quickly dies. At that point, it's too late! They are inside the stems cutting off all nutrients. Go look at the stem, you will probably see the tell-tale "frass", a sort of orangy sawdust where they have been chewing. Now, I've read that some people poke a sharp object in the stem to kill it, or even carefully slice open the stem, remove the worms and then rebury it to encourage new roots. Mine were so bad they just got yanked.
Now I must read and research and see how to get rid of the pupae that might be lurking in the soil...I'll have to try tilling and treating the soil along with crop rotation.
However, things are looking much brighter the next bed over - I have beans and peas!!!
The beans are "Kentucky Wonders" and the peas are Southern Purple Hull. As they mature the pea pods do turn a beautiful shade of purple and then you know they are ready to harvest. I am SO looking forward to making my first pot!
Well, that's all for tonight, I hope your garden is thriving without a pest problem. Happy harvesting!
