Cloudy at first, but even with the clouds it was already 81°F when I arrived, and the heat warning for today is expected to be over 110°F, so it was blistering hot. My main goals today were to water, pick, and do the potato chip test to see if the ants are active in the mound in the RRR. I’m still not sure about the Learning Plot mound — I don’t really see one — but maybe there is one where I started pulling weeds the other day, because I got several bites right away. In the Learning Plot, I placed small pieces of potato chips around the areas where I suspect hidden mounds. I’ll explain later in the post what happened.
While I was watering, I took photos and asked Google how to tell when delicata squash are ripe. Since I’ve never grown these before, I assumed they would be like butternut — where the stem has to dry out or turn brown — but delicata ripeness works a little differently. The signs to look for are:
Full cream color with dark green stripes = mature skin pattern
Firm shape with no swelling or pale patches = finished sizing
Stem is drying (even if still partly green) = the plant has stopped feeding it
Vine around it is yellowing = classic end‑of‑season signal for delicata
The reason why I tried them was because my sister recommended them. She doesn’t garden, but she belongs to a CSA—Community Supported Agriculture. She pays to harvest or pick up bags of veggies from spring to fall. She said these are small one‑ or two‑person sized and you can eat the rind, like mini butternuts and we love butternut roasted or made into a soup.
I plan to pick it tomorrow, as I already picked what I had time for before watering—okra and cucumbers.
I got to RRR and noticed another small tomato transplant in distress. I first dug around the stem to make sure it was not cutworm damage and it appears to be okay. I added the toilet paper collar and then put up the screen I had on hand to give it the much needed shade. I also gave it a good drink. I will know if my doctoring worked.
Right when I was doctoring, I get a text from the garden admin that the person delivering the portapotties is there and can someone show them where to put the three. I was the only board member out there and responded I can help. I quickly texted Robert that I will be late for Documents. All potties in place and I had to go back to get my tools put away, turn off the water, and lock up when I happened to check the potato chip in RRR. The ants were foraging. They love the protein of the potato chip. That means they will eat the ‘Come and Get It’
I went back to my truck for the fert‑a‑lome Come and Get It, an organic bacteria that will kill the ants. I sprinkled the Come and Get It around the mound and it will take 24–72 hours for the mound to die. I think.
I forgot to check the Learning Plot potato chip tests and I guess if the entire chips are gone tomorrow I will have my answer, right?
After Documents I noticed the neighbors were home from their trip out west and we were collecting their mail while they were gone. When delivering their mail I had a basket of goodies—tomatoes, okra and cucumbers.
Now that the fall tomatoes are planted I need to do some moving of the flowers and any basil I can find in the raised bed and transplant them near the tomatoes. I also have seeds I need to use to make a good pollinator and protection ring around the tomatoes. I will turn the two raised beds to pole beans. I need to pull out the cucumbers behind the basil and put in some more pole beans.
With the humidity I need to check any of the tomato transplants and inspect for septoria or early blight and snip it off, and then spray Thursday with my copper fungicide as that will be the coolest day this week for a low‑dose maintenance.
Being a ‘farmer’ there is always something to do that keeps me busy. And I never seem to have enough time to do it all that I want to do. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.