Never have I seen a Zucchini plant die! The hail we experienced while living in Cheyenne, Wyoming never even killed the ever producing plant. I have gone from going to bed at night, horror filled, just knowing those 3 inch fruits were going to be 2 feet long when I awake in the morning, to, "What the heck is going on with these plants?!" (yes, you read that right, we are insane enough to love zucchini and we plant more than one plant .... sigh ....). In a short period of time I have seen the plants, tall and thriving, reduced to flat and dieing. The picture at the right was taken when we were hoping it would return to its former beautiful producing self.
First they were checked for the dreaded Squash Beetle. Those little buggers can suck the life out of a plant over night! Alas, no beetle. hmmm .... We don't like to spray our veggie plants. We like it organic. However, nothing organic was working. This called for the tough stuff.
Plants still declined.
The next thing to do was ..... Google.
The culprit? The Vine Borer. Some nasty little worm that is the result of a moth. Once the worm is in the plant there is nothing to be done ....
After the playing of Taps, the plants were pulled .... and new ones planted to take their place. In 3 to 4 weeks we will once again be enjoying one of our favorite garden veggies.
In the meantime, peas are just about finished. Tomato plants are setting fruit wonderfully. Peppers are coming along great, as are the onions and potatoes. We've been enjoying a big variety of lettus, spinach and mustard greens .... the radishes fell short this year, and I don't even want to talk about the cabbage (the life was probably sucked out of them by the vine borers cousin or something)
But even after witnessing the demise of garden veggies, life does go on .... and not just out in the garden. I don't know what has happened! The planets have finally aligned and I have been super charged with creative ideas! Holy cow! This is great!!! Let's just say for starters, I am up-cycling men's neck ties ..... from assorted new accessories to jackets (which I am working on today). Items to be sold via Willow Mesa, and more on that later.
You ALL have a wonderful day!!
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