Losing Battles

I've been reflecting on my last post. Frankly, I guess I'm resigned to the fact that the web is the web and hypertext will always be what it is. I've decided just to leave things be and "get over it" or "snap out of it" or whatever else it is that I'm concerned about.

There are far worse things that happen at sea.

For example, sawflies. I've had an annual problem with them on my pear tree. But this year, it's been too much. There was enough of an infestation that the tree dropped all of its leaves last week. And the pears are going to have to be stripped off, with the hopes that it won't kill the tree. If I had applied myself to the problem sooner, perhaps I wouldn't have lost the crop.

I tried to find Spinosad which was recommended by Pam Pierce who was "Battling a Swiss Chard Pest". I couldn't find Spinosad, but found "Patrol" at a local hydroponics shop. So far, it's killed the nasty critters. They look like a mix between a caterpillar and a slug. And they eat the leaf down to the veins. It would have been a great year.

Young pear before the sawflies devastated the tree.

What's bugging me

Okay, for a gardener the following pictures may be disturbing.



Here are the blasted caterpillars that have devastated what used to be nice cabbages; these two and about 3 dozen of their cousins.



And this is just too aggravating for words. The picture is of the blasted ants, which I have been fighting with borax and diacomatous earth and ant bait traps. I wouldn't be so aggressive if they didn't import or "farm" the aphids and the scale which coat entire plants. I have blasted them off time and time again, and the ants quickly bring the aphids back, repopulating every tender dahlia bud, rhubarb leaf, or lettuce. It's enough to drive me to .... well, I don't know what. The ants are everywhere. I know this is a very active time for them, but I sure can't wait for the rains to drown some of their population. Unfortunately, they have set up home in the greenhouse, which they love in the winter, incubating their young. I bait them again and again, but it's a losing battle.

On to other things. Woke up to a rainy morning (3/8-inch precipitation). Took a few pictures, two of a confused squash that came up from the compost. Now if I thought for one moment I could get a squash, I'd hand pollinate it. But I give the plant about 2 weeks before mildew has its way. The picture below is a female flower:

And this one is male:
Notice at the base, there isn't any fruit/squash forming. The most common reason why zuchini don't grow (and just drop the fruit) is because there weren't any male flowers open and ready when the female flowers are. I've observed that the plant will put a number of male flowers out before the females, but they usually fade before the female flowers are ready. I'm assuming that this is so the plant will cross with other plants nearby instead of self pollinating. I don't do seed saving for squash because they cross so easily (and the results can be disappointing) so I leave it to the experts and just buy a few seeds to sprout. But if I'm really anxious to get a few squash, I'll borrow a male blossom from another squash plant (even a compost sprout) to get the job done. Thank goodness they are so productive. What I might do is fry a few of these blossoms for lunch tomorrow. It would be a nice "off season" treat.