Out Of One Pot And Into Another

Last year I decided not to grow any squash. My hope was that any squash bugs that emerged from eggs laid the previous year would starve to death and be unable to lay any eggs that would hatch this season. So far, it seems that strategy worked. There hasn't been a squash bug sighting yet. And I've had a good harvest of summer squash while the winter squash is developing quite nicely.

Today I harvested the papaya pear squash beauty you see in the photo above, along with some jalapeño and pizza peppers, to make soup. And yes, it was delicious.

Summertime And The Living Is Tasty

The summer solstice has come and summer is now with us. Though each day henceforth will offer fewer of the life-giving solar rays that produce the bounty of the garden, there is still plenty of time to celebrate the days of summer. And what better way can be found to do that than by enjoying summer squash? Though best when young and tender, this specimen of papaya pear squash still has a few days before it is ready to be harvested. And I can hardly wait!

The Bugs Are Back, So What!?

You would think that after the snowpocalypse of a winter that we had here a few months ago, any squash bug eggs that were left over from the fall would have been totally obliterated. Ah, but insects haven't survived for approximately 400 million years because they're easy to exterminate. And while I'm sure there were some bugs which emerged and died from lack of food because the cold, rainy spring delayed planting, some didn't hatch out until after my squash plants were in their containers and well along in their development.

Their arrival hasn't been a welcome event, but the delay in their appearance gave me ample time to prepare for combat against them and has given the plants the chance to reach a healthy, mature state to help fight them off. As you can see from the photo above, lack of summer squash won't be one of my problems this year.

Ready For Dine Time

The tomatoes are still forming. The peppers are developing. The melons are only at the blossom stage. And the onions are not yet at their pungent best. But the first papaya pear summer squash is ready for its close-up and the dinner table. And it was really great sliced and sautéed with green onions, celery and home grown garlic!

The Tenacious Nature Of Nature

Powdery mildew is the bane of just about every species of summer or winter squash. It's not a matter of if it will show up, but when. It's a fungus that infects the plant and sucks nutrients from it, usually starting with the leaves; which initially take on a white, powdery appearance. The affected leaves will not manufacture as much food as they should, and may turn yellowish or brown and drop from the plant. It can also stunt and distort the plant's buds and sometimes, but less often, the squash itself. There is no known cure, although there are some fungicides which can prolong the life of the plant and reduce the ability of the disease to spread.

When the infection occurs early in the growing season, it means several months of trying to keep the plant alive long enough to produce squash. Since the infection of my papaya pear summer squash plants occurred only a couple of weeks ago, I decided to just let things take their course and see what would happen. I was fairly certain that the plants had given me the last fruits I would see this year and were on their way to oblivion.

As you can see by the photos above, I was wrong. It's hard to believe that the fresh green growth seen in the top photo, is part of the same plant as the severely infected leaves seen in the bottom photo. There will be one more harvest of tender, tasty squash this year. And once again I've been reminded to never underestimate the tenacity of life.