Monday, July 19, 2010

Garden Update #4

I know you have been waiting with baited breath for the latest garden update. Today's update will be a real shocker. This week's post is a "good news, bad news" report.
The good news is: look at this row of peas!


The pea pods are everywhere!


We should have our first mess this week! I love seeing them turn purple!



Other good news: the okra is still growing. Now they are taller than Allie, our yellow Mountain Cur. We are even seeing the first little pods shooting up.

And now for the bad news:

Our squash plants have fallen prey to the 'squash vine borer' (melitta curcurbitae).


How sad! We went from beautiful plants one day, to laying on the ground the next. Needless to say, it took some investigation on the Internet to find out what our problem was. Once discovered it didn't take long for us to locate their entry point (just above the soil line on the stem) or one of the culprits (a white larvae - really gross looking - it made Jim gag). We also found out that the squash vine borer does not limit itself to squash...so we have to keep a close eye on the cucumbers and the cantaloupe.



I picked our first cucumber yesterday. The vines are covered in baby cucumbers about a half inch long.


The cantaloupes are full of blooms with a couple of little orbs beginning to show. I hope we are able to save the cucumbers and cantaloupes. We have dusted everything with Sevin like the website recommended and covered the squash vine bases with more dirt in hopes of keeping them alive. It may be a lost cause though. If so, we will get the squash out of the garden in the next few days in hopes of keeping the rest from being contaminated.

Still no new tomatoes, though the plants bloom like crazy. Not sure what is going on there.

And that is what is happening in our garden this week. See you all next week. Hopefully with only good news!

11 comments:

Doll Clothes Gal Pal said...

Looking very good there! How I love gardening and seeing your labor literally bore fruits/veggies. :) Can't wait for the next update! Keep it up!

Robin said...

I see chairs at the end of your garden...do you sit and watch it grow... :)

B said...

Ha! I noticed those chairs last week:) looking good yumm

Allen and Rita Smith said...

I think you and Jim are doing a wonderful job. Can't wait to taste some of veggies of your labor. You do plan on canning or freezing some of it?

Allen and Rita Smith said...

I think you and Jim are doing a wonderful job. Can't wait to taste some of veggies of your labor. You do plan on canning or freezing some of it?

Anonymous said...

You can replant your squash, the vine borer usually kills the plants. Actually you can plant them every two weeks so that they won't all be coming off at the same time. The rest of the garden looks really good. Aunt Fran

Anonymous said...

You can replant your squash, the vine borer usually kills the plants. Actually you can plant them every two weeks so that they won't all be coming off at the same time. The rest of the garden looks really good. Aunt Fran

Anonymous said...

You can replant your squash, the vine borer usually kills the plants. Actually you can plant them every two weeks so that they won't all be coming off at the same time. The rest of the garden looks really good. Aunt Fran

Fonda said...

Robin - Yes, we do sit in the evenings and watch the veggies grow. Either that or I sit and watch Jim work after I get too hot to continue! Ha!

Rita - I hope I get enough to can some of the veggies. Let's see if we can ever get the tomatoes to growing and can save the cucumbers and melons from the squash vine borer!

Aunt Fran - if I can find more squash seeds, we will be replanting. They have already taken most of the seeds out of the stores by now.

Thanks for dropping by!

Unknown said...

I think I have some squash seeds i can give you... cant wait for some fresh peas.

Rose sterling said...

Your garden is getting well. I also love green beans turning into purple one. All of your plants are really great. You can just replant your squash and be aware of it every 2 weeks.