good bye (for now) winter squash

after weeks of pruning, re-routing, stepping over, and watching the squirrels destroy all my efforts with in a few days, all the winter squash had been pulled from the garden. it's a sad feeling, but also a liberating one as well. because, one of the biggest things i've learned this year is, never underestimate being able to walk freely through your garden. moving through the pathways should not be an exercise in balance and agility. but all is not lost. i'll simply chalk up the 2011 the winter squash/three sister garden debacle to a very sweaty and dirty lesson learned. so, now i give to you the few bits of wisdom i gained through this experience, and perhaps in doing so, map out a better plan of attack for next year.

1. winter squash vines grow very fast and long. 

and once done so, are very hard to maneuver around without stepping on them or cracking a leaf steam. seen here, one squash plant has over run the potatoes and is heading towards the onions.

here a different squash vine is invading the cucumbers and will shortly take over a few pepper plants.

now with all the winter squash removed, i can walk around the garden again.

it also makes room for a second round of potatoes. 

2. two sisters may just be enough.
once the sunflowers really got going and produced huge leaves, the squash plants in the middle of the three sisters layout failed to get enough light to thrive. also the squash started to climb up and pull down the sunflowers, as well as, the beans that were trying to grow up them. so for next year i'll try planting bush varieties of summer squash, and setting them only around the perimeter in the three sister garden.

(the calm before the storm)

3. the little prickers on the squash vines hurt.
those suckers are not pleasant when they get under your skin, and are very hard to see and remove from in between your finger. of course, that problem was easily solved by a pair of garden gloves. and even though i really don't like wearing garden gloves cause they make my hands really hot, in this case, i'll just have to grin and bear it. plus i did find some cute and cheap ones USA made.

4. row cover just night be the way to go... dang squash vine boarders!!!
i should have known the minute i spotted the adult moth that trouble was on the way. i should have also covered my stalk bases with burlap. at one point i though i might be in the clear after doing a little squash surgery, but as it turns out, in the end that method didn't work out so well for me. you see, i read that if you see little sawdust like holes in the base of your squash vine, you can cut it open and removed any worms, then cover it back up with a big pile of dirt and all will be well. (in theory at least.)

(that base does not look good.)

(a little squash surgery to get the day started.)

see, you would think i was in the clear from the picture above with no worms spotted in the base. but, you'd be wrong. i did cover this plant back up with dirt, gave it some extra water, however within a week or two, once i started pulling out all the squash, almost everyone, including this one, had live active little white wiggly squash vine border worms. yuck.

therefore, next year, i'm gonna try using row cover. which has it's down side cause the good buggies can't come around and pollinate your female squash for you. but, one thing i didn't have any trouble with this year, was getting my grove on with the squash flowers. which leads us to lesson #5...

5. squash sex is kinda fun.
once you learn to identify the male flowers from the female flowers, the rest is cake. that is, once you get past feeling like a complete perv out in the garden taking the make flower and penetrating the female flower, and then going in and out, in and out, in and out.... you get the picture.

some folks use a paint brush for this act of violation, but i watched this video, for a quick and easy lesson on how to spread love in the squash patch.

6. squirrels are just plan mean and have no consideration for my feelings. 

just look what they did after all my hard work.....

just a few bites out of this one....

total destruction!!!!

that's just plan rude!!!!!

7. when you can, grow up!!!
and i'm not talking about my pouty mouth whiny baby attitude in regards to the squirrels. i mean, whenever you can grow something upward on a support, do so. here is the trellis i am gonna try for next year's winter squash trial. not only will it help save space in the garden, but i've also read that squirrels are more apt to eat the fruit that it is closer to the ground. so getting the squash up in the air might help a little. (we'll see about that when they start attacking my tomatoes next.)

8. and, in general, this season i've also learn....
it really is best to get all garden chores done before 10 am,
cleveland does not possess the power of teleportation
(but rather, he's just one really smart little guy),
and coffee sacks make fabulous pathways and help keep the weeds down like nobody's business.

now off into the garden i go.........

p.s. a big thank you to the guys at sun ministries for the idea of using the coffee sacks in the garden (which i totally jacked), and for showing me the site with the squash trellis.... you guys rock!!!