Weekend Gardening: The Mixed Bed

Our garden beds all have a mix of things in them, but this has to be the most mixed up of them all.
This bed is the scene of the The Great Zucchini Squash Disaster of 2009, and we took some measures to improve conditions and hopefully avert problems with the dreaded squash vine borer. Read more
Weekend Gardening: Squash, Cucumber, and Pumpkin Pests
Though the thought of growing your own fruits and vegetables seems idyllic, it is rarely a trouble-free endeavor. Weather, insects, animals, bacteria, viruses, and funguses can all wreak havoc with a garden, sometimes causing small amounts of damage and other times causing a total crop loss. This year the cold wet spring weather slowed our summer garden; rabbits, chipmunks, and birds have all done some serious damage; and this week we lost our battle with squash vine borers, a pest that frustrates gardeners, farmers, and commercial growers. They have pretty much killed off our squash and have now found the sweet pumpkin vines. Something else, probably cucumber beetles, are killing off the cucumber plants, too.
Squash Vine Borers
Weekend Gardening: Not All Garden Pests Have Wings
We planted our garden. It began to grow and we were very happy. First we had this.
































