I planted a Fall garden in early August. First, I've got to give myself a pat on the back for getting those seeds planted. Now, by some accounts an August planting is a little late. By others, it's fine. The spaghetti squash was growing like... a weed and we were so excited. It looked like it was going to be a bountiful squash harvest.
Then I went away for 10 days.
I came home to a squashless garden. The spaghetti squash was gone - vines rotted and brown. Fruit of the vine crushed and eaten through with bugs. Heartbroken, I pulled the vines out and considered starting over... but it's mid September. I doubt there is time.
The rest of the squash fared no better. Our pumpkins are in the final throes of death and if they could, they'd probably be coughing up blood. The mini pumpkins were crushed and bug eaten. There never were any full sized pumpkins. Our Hubbard and butternut squash never even germinated. And the patty pan squash that had been so prolific this Summer had rotted and died. It was flourishing before we left.
The only clue to this squash genocide was a cloudy, patchy growth that powered every squash plant in the garden. It spread from the spaghetti squash and over to the pumpkins at the far end of the garden. I can't tell if it spread by wind or by pollination or by me but spread it did. We had little yellow and black spotted bugs all over the place too. Not to mention a herd of grasshoppers that did a number on our awesome Dragon Tongue Bean bushes.
Organic gardening is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for the lazy or for those who like to go on vacation.
The only thing I've put up so far this year were several jars of strawberry jam - Strawberries from Costco, not our garden. Nothing from the garden.
Thank goodness we weren't counting on the harvest to get us through the winter. Did I mention that I really don't have much of a green thumb?
