So I have been MIA from the blog for a few days and I am afraid I come back with bad news. We were out of town for a few days and that was enough for the garden to fall apart. I should have known better. I had read about squash bugs and squash borers, but figured that the plants were strong enough to withstand anything. I was totally wrong! Bugs show no mercy. By the time we finally got around to checking on the garden- mostly everything was DEAD. We had to pull our beloved squash plants that had taken us so much work and so many days to grow. I was devastated. I still am. This sucks. : ( I know it is mostly our fault for being not being observant...I guess now we know for next year. I should have used stronger insecticides- guess the organic spray was not enough.
Pictures of the destruction and the stupid bugs that caused it all.
Wondering how that sawdust from squash bugs borers looks like? It looks like this.
Bugs we found around the garden:
I didn't even know this kind of damage was possible. That black thing is an ugly slug! They ate half of this squash plant and carved out the rest of it.
I guess the only good news is that our tomato plants are still thriving.
Here is what we got from them : 65 tomatoes.
The cucumber is doing OK. But I wouldn't say it is doing well. The leaves are turning whitish and looks like mold or something is on them. But the cucumbers are starting to form.
The strawberries are also making a comeback but the harvest looks disappointing. My husband decided to throw some plastic over his strawberry plants to protect them from the birds and I think it worked, but he accidentally put some of the plastic over the cucumber plant and I think this is why they are suffering now because the ones that were not touched by the plastic seem to be doing well (see first pic).
My jalapeño plant is the one thing that seems to be thriving! I am so glad I planted it, otherwise this would be a pretty depressing post.I think I will try the first jalapeño this weekend.
Don't start spraying poison on your vegetables just because of this! It takes some time to get the garden ecology going in the right direction. Now you know to do some night patrols picking up slugs which will slow the population down a little. Now you know you need to watch for Squash Vine Borers. There are a couple things you can do there; put in a new planting every few weeks. Try wrapping foil around the stems to foil them. Try mounding soil up over the stems so they will grow more roots which can help a plant if it does get borers. And watch for the first sign of borers, dig them out of the stem, mound soil over it and water well. Somethings this will save it. In some places timing is critical. Plants started at specific dates are more vulnerable while those started earlier or later may have less trouble. Plant lots of flowers that attract beneficial insects that will help keep pests in check. Remember if you spray poison you are also killing off the good guys.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to write such thoughtful advice. I really appreciate it. We have hope that at least one plant will survive all this. We did exactly as you said- dug the borers out of the stems and mounted soil over the stems. We did buy something called BT that is supposed to kill the borers, we put some inside the damaged stems, not sure if this will help much or just kill good bugs. :( I will try to bring in some flowers into the garden to keep attracting good insects. At this point I don't know if it is too late to plant more squash- I am in Texas. :/
DeleteThanks again!!
Glad you at least got some tomatoes. Your cucumbers look like they have some form of powdery mildew to me, mine get it every year although usually later in the season. The more vigorous the plants are the more they seem to resist it - if you think they might need a feed then i would make sure they get one. It usually takes a long time to kill the plants so you should hopefully get quite a few cukes before they succumb.
ReplyDeleteThanks Liz! I will continue looking after the cucumbers and feeding them, hopefully this will keep them alive. I guess I better start researching cucumber bugs because I don't want them to die off like the squash did because of the borers.
DeleteThat's a bummer about the zucchini. I would try starting new plants - I was thinking of starting another plant myself except I realized I don't have enough space. Your tomatoes looks absolutely delicious! very nice harvest!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :) We were thinking of starting new plants- I guess we are going to have to look around and see what's out there.
Deletethat's too bad. I'm glad that you have lots of tomatoes though!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, the tomatoes make it worth the effort. :)
Delete;O( oh no!! I know you will continue to have success :) The tomatoes were yummy! You have some good advice, so you will rock it next year.
ReplyDeleteThanks. :D At least you guys were able to eat the last good squash. :) Hopefully when you visit next time, we will have more tomatoes. :)
Delete