July 9, 2014 by Born To Organize

For the Love of Pumpkins

I love my pumpkins. After a good night’s rest I’ve decided that I won’t take it lying down.

Their demise that is.

In case you missed yesterday’s post, my nemesis the squash bug recently moved in. You can catch up here.

Female flower at the ready as a bee swoops in

Actually I did take one thing lying down: pictures. How else would I get a shot of the underside of the leaf and the attached eggs?

Squash bug eggs on the underside of a pumpkin leaf

Leaves, tendrils, flowers and…more eggs

In a word, yuck!

I laid flat on my back and took photos looking up. Fortunately, no one walked by at the time or they surely would have called the paramedics. Amazingly, I managed to get back up, then spent the better part of an hour looking at the underside of every leaf on the pumpkin vines.

That scrutiny lead to another discovery: eggs on some of the pumpkin plant stems. In the end I’d scooped several adult bugs into my dry bucket, along with infested leaves and stems. I removed dead or browning leaves as well as spent flowers, making it easier to detect the adult bugs They were happy to crawl on my glove and from there they went into a bucket. I dumped the infested leaves and bugs into the curb side green waste site, and within an hour the ‘green monster’ came by and scooped the entire pile into the back of the truck. This was another tip from one of the sites: rip them out and compost them.

Infested stems and leaves

The lovely Pauline at The Contented Crafter looked up companion plantings for me, something I hadn’t thought of nor come across in my reading. Ah, the web is vast indeed. There is enough room in the boxes for additional plantings so I’ll give it a try. Nasturtiums unfortunately need opposing growing conditions, but dill might work. I’m going to look for some at the garden center.

It’s unlikely that I removed all the eggs this morning. I’m pretty sure others still lurk on the vine. With daily checks, however, I hope to slow them down and possibly keep them at bay.

Stay tuned.

Trailing the deck

July 8, 2014 by Born To Organize

Decoy Pumpkin Fail

Did you hear that long exhale? It’s been one of those weeks in the garden.

A squirrel shredded my garden swing cover.

Gathering nesting material

My decoy pumpkin died…

Decoy pumpkin no more

…and the dreaded squash bugs descended on my beloved pumpkins.

Squash bugs dancing a jig…or something

A bit of history

I spotted a single squash bug on the side of the house in early spring. Thanks to a dry, warm winter, they happily overwintered. Further reading tells me they’re a hardy bunch and can survive under a blanket of snow. In any event, they’re back.

The idea was to plant a decoy pumpkin in the back garden, hoping to draw them away from the other plants. I planted three varieties of pumpkins in EarthBoxes™ on my deck, as far away as possible from the ‘scene of the crime.’

Unfortunately, the irrigation in the decoy box stopped working. Pumpkins are thirsty plants, and by the time I realized, it was too late. Whether or not it would have worked is anyone’s guess, but it’s now a moot point.

A colony of squash bugs are now residing om my beloved deck-top vines.

I’ve learned a thing or two from a handful of sites, but nothing that gave me any hope. Apparently squash bugs need the squash to reproduce. They’ll go in search of other food, but it’s not until they find a squash plant that they set up house. Some of the professional growers plant ‘sacrificial’ crops like pumpkins (what!!!) to defer the damage away from pricier crops in the same family. Imagine choosing cantaloupe over pumpkins. Why I never!!!

After last year’s debacle, I assumed the bugs liked the fruit alone and that I would be safe until then. Nope! They lay eggs on the underside of the leaves.

Damage

According to John Capinera of The University of Florida:

The squash bug causes severe damage to cucurbits because it secretes highly toxic saliva into the plant. The foliage is the primary site of feeding but the fruit is also fed upon. The foliage wilts, becomes blackened, and dies following feeding; this malady is sometimes called “anasa wilt.” Often an entire plant or section of plant perishes while nearby plants remain healthy. The amount of damage occurring on a plant is directly proportional to the density of squash bugs.

The plants look healthy. I’ve been knocking the large bugs off the leaves, but I’ve yet to go in search of the dreaded eggs. The bees are a buzz every day, moving from flower to gorgeous flower. A couple of pieces of fruit have reached the size of a baseball.

Deck-top pumpkin crop

Developing pumpkin

Regardless of the outcome of this year’s crop, it might be time to take a year off between plantings. I know a lot of gardeners rotate crops for this reason. I took a break from growing tomatoes after a nasty tobacco (tomato horn worm) infestation. They’ve been fine ever since.

I’ll keep you posted.

Resources:

The Old Farmer’s Almanac: Squash Bugs

University of Florida: Entomology and Nematology

Living with Insects: Squash Bugs

August 28, 2013 by Born To Organize

Pumpkin Harvest, Cousin Shelley

Squash bugs

If you’ve been following along, you’ll know this is pumpkin harvest week at gardeningnirvana. The probable final count is ten, 12 if you count Frank and his cousin Shelley. I left a few late-season fruits on the vine since I’m nothing if not optimistic when it comes to pumpkins.

The squash bugs continue unabated, so I need to come up with a plan. I want to use the soon-to-be vacated planting bed for my cool season crops, but not until the bed is pest-free.

I’m soaking seeds on the kitchen counter as we speak for peas and beets. Broccoli seeds don’t require a good soak, but I need to get busy setting them out soon. The first day of autumn in our hemisphere is still a month away. The changes in the air say otherwise. I hate to miss a good planting opportunity.

In case you missed yesterday’s post, here’s another peak at Frank.

Frank aka a pumpkin casualty

Frank wears his scars proudly, forgiving the gentle gardener for her blunder. Shelley on the other hand has piercing eyes and a lopsided grin, courtesy of an unknown pest. Since everyone loves a good ‘before and after’ shot, without further ado, here’s Shelley:

2013, 08-27