I went out to the garden today and found the zucchini plants collapsed---both of them exactly the same way, with leaves wilting suddenly. Yesterday they seemed healthy and tough, but now they look like they've had it. I'm afraid this may be the end of the zucchini for this season, and I am a bit sad.
A quick Internet search suggests that the culprit is the squash vine borer. (What did people do before the Internet, anyway.) Bad news---the larvae will stay in the soil, so I've now got two curcubit diseases to deal with. One possibility, I suppose, is to not plant curcubits for a couple of years. Or maybe plant them very late, as the vine borer, like the cucumber beetle, apparently is only active through early July.
I had thought that the rabbits might have gotten to the plants somehow, but there doesn't seem to be any sign of that. (Why would they chew on the base of the stem when they could eat the zucchini, which they don't seem to have done.) There were a couple of tomatoes that looked chewed, however. At this point, it doesn't worry me, I have plenty. But I would prefer to stop it now, before whatever might be getting at the tomatoes decides to have more of them.
On the pleasant side, the first sunflower opened up. Some of the sunflower plants are seven feet tall, and very majestic. It should be a great show when they all open up.
Ooh, sounds pretty! Sunflower pictures, please.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your squash vine borers.
When I have more, I will hazard a picture. But you may be able to see them as you go by our house. Some of the sunflower plants are higher than the privacy fence.
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