Podosphaera Xanthii

Our squash plants have been nearly laid to waste by a nasty mildew – called powdery mildew (podosphaera xanthii) - that appeared about 2 weeks ago. It’s been a humid, hot summer, and while the heat is no problem, the wetness is. Spores of all kinds thrive and grow in the damp. 

Last night, we found that two of the plants had died; the others are struggling. So, it looks like we’ll be removing the squash plants this week. I started squash seeds in a germinating tray with the hope that we can get some late summer squash, but I think we’re cutting it close. It could be that we are nearly done with squash for the season. Boo.

The blight has also taken a lot of our lovely basil. Good thing I succession plant throughout summer, but we lost a large number of young plants, so I started some new seeds last week.

We’ve entered the part of summer – late July – when the garden starts shifting. Some plants are reaching the end of their life cycles. Others are just starting to peak (our tomatoes are ripening). Others will peak soon.

We picked lots of squash this week, and I jarred most of it. I love cracking open a fresh jar of summer squash. 

Thank you, Mother Earth!
/II\
Namaste