Garden drama

My "adventure with gardening" has had a few losses and a few new “pets”.

First . . . my acorn squash and several of my zucchini plants have died. They just wilted and then the stems disintegrated in my hands. Some say it was a mildew and others a borer. It could also have been a sickness that cucumber beetles possess. I lost a couple of cucumber plants to them as well so I am apt to blame them. I cannot totally complain – we have been eating zucchini with EVERY meal for the last two months. Plus, the acorn seeds I saved not thinking they would grow, produced ONE acorn squash. It may not sound productive but it was an experiment after all.

I have managed to save at least ONE zucchini plant and it is producing as we speak!After spending countless hours on garden net I cleared out the dead stuff and mounded dirt on the damaged parts of the stem. In a couple of days, I will be eating MORE zucchini. Now, “lovingly” referred to as Zombie-cchini.

After coming home from vacation, we were bountifully blessed with four eggplants, a pound and a half of tomatoes, three zucchini and a “pet” groundhog. He/She (not named of course!) was living under my sunroom DIRECTLY behind my veggie bed. It had to walk down the center plank, past all of the green onions and broccoli to get to its home. Naturally, I was a raving lunatic and utterly distraught for two straight days!My amazing husband JUMPED into action. Luckily, our neighbors across the alley had just caught two the week before and still had the trap they borrowed. I waited to rest of the evening, and most of the night and then halfway through the next day. Still no sign of the silly pest! Upon further reading, it seems that the groundhog does not like the “pitter patter” of stomping children and the noises of a house with four children ages 7 and under. So, with the assistance of my mother in law and sister in law (and their subsequent knee braces and crutches), we all headed out of the house for the day.

By the time we arrived home, the PEST was in its cage and ready for my husband to find it a new home – across THREE highways and far away from my veggies.

Our last "pet" is one we have had for a while and I REALLY like her (or him). One night, while tidying up my living room, I “stumbled” (after a screech and a jump) upon a small praying mantis on my husband’s chair. How it got in our house, I will never know – though, I have PLENTY of suspicions and animal loving boys to blame! I quickly grabbed my husband and, without actually TOUCHING it, instructed him to take it straight to my veggie bed.

Well, after a couple of months – I still have a pet mantis! Whenever I am out there, I will find her hiding somewhere, eating all of the pets I don’t want. She is a very useful pet and getting quite large – I guess that means that she is eating VERY well!!!!!