Monday the 13th. I have often said I am not superstitious, but to be honest, I might be a little. And the aforementioned date sounds more ominous to me than Friday the 13th, which I have never quite understood as far as superstitions go. Regardless, on the first day of this week, Monday the 13th, I went out to the garden to check for squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes. I headed first to the patch of summer squash, where I immediately noticed large, yellowing, wilting leaves right in the middle. Following these down to the base of the afflicted plant, I found what I feared: a soft, marred stem indicating the presence of vine borers.
As I should have done weeks ago, I grabbed some aluminum foil to wrap the base of the vines with and checked each plant. All but one showed signs of vine borers. Which means that all but one – if I’m lucky – will soon die. I checked over the winter squash, too, also susceptible to the pests. It was hard to tell, but these showed more promise. I wrapped most of them, saying a little prayer that my small effort would not be in vain. Only a few showed definite signs of borers.
Walking back up through the garden, I noticed hints of pink among the early tomatoes – hooray! I began picking the blushing fruits, eager for good news. They are all cracked. The abundance of rain this summer, a mixed blessing, swelled the fruits so quickly the skins could not keep up, and they split. Most of the cracked tomatoes will still be usable, if not pretty, but many will rot before they even ripen. The leaves have spots. I try not to think about what this might mean.
What a bleak update. Where is the good news?
Earlier this month, I sowed a second crop of summer squash, and the little sprouts pushed up through the soil just as the leaves wilted on that first zucchini plant. We may have a few weeks without any summer squash, but sometimes we need a break from zucchini anyway. And the mid- and late-season tomatoes look strong and healthy, with smooth, green fruits hinting at a good harvest – later.
(Did I dig potatoes or pull onions this week? No. I always hesitate to make predictions where the garden is concerned, because I’m often wrong. Neither is quite ready for harvesting yet.)
So. If you have been looking forward to zucchini and yellow squash, come to the Broadway Community Market Saturday morning to get some while you can! I can’t say how long the plants will hold out with the vine borer infestation. I might have some imperfect tomatoes (discounted!) as well, and – who knows – maybe even the first cucamelons! There will definitely be garlic, cucumbers, garlic salt, and an assortment of fun and practical crocheted items.
There is no Community Market without community, and we rely on our customers to support us through good times and bad. So thank you – each visitor to the market means the world to us.
See you at the market!