Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Battle Continues

I have already written about our problem with the squash vine borer and the destruction of our zucchini plants. Even after we pulled out all but 2 zucchini plants we are still finding little eggs and evidence that the pest is still lurking around the garden. A few days we have even seen the moth and have been able to swat at and kill 2 of them. Here is a picture of one that Daniel injured and we were able to get a closer look.
We have been finding the eggs on other plants, mostly the acorn and spaghetti squash. Daniel has been on a hunt throughout the days these past few weeks searching for these tiny brown eggs. One morning he even got the girls to search with him and paid them a quarter for every egg they found!
See if you can find one on this plant.:)
We have had pretty good success with keeping the acorn squash plants alive, but it has taken a lot of work. A few days ago I ordered some beneficial nematodes from Planet Natural that we can apply to the garden. They will attack and hopefully get rid of this pesky problem and we can have healthy squash beds without all the worry. A few friends of mine have had really good results for a long time after introducing the tiny beneficial worms.

We have had several zucchinis and I've been making the wonderful sweet bread with them. I've shared this with lots of people already and everyone loves it so I thought I'd post it here. It is a little healthier than the traditional recipe (still has a lot of sugar) and is very tasty! I made up the recipe by combing ingredients from this recipe from Cooking Light and one from my all-time favorite cookbook, Joy of Cooking. Then I substitute Ener-G Egg Replacer for the eggs.

Healthy Zucchini Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 egg substitutes Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/3 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups shredded zucchini (12 ounces)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix wet then dry ingredients in separate bowls. Stir together.

Divide batter evenly between 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 40 mins to 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.



5 comments:

William Kruidenier said...

Having tasted the product, I'm delighted now to have the recipe.

Question: Does that say 3 cups of egg substitutes? Seemed like a lot?

William Kruidenier said...

I'm really astounded at the number of the borer eggs you've found. Are the nematodes the ones you inject into the plant stem?

Jennifer said...

William, Yep, you are right. It should be 3 egg substitutes which is 4 1/2 teaspoons of Ener-G powder to 6 tablespoons water. (directions for substitutions are on package.)

About the eggs on the plants--Yes we are very frustrated. The eggs have been found every day and lots of them on all different kinds of squash and melon. I hope we can get those nematodes and apply them in time. I'm not exactly sure what the process will be for putting them in the garden. I am hoping they will come with directions. If not we can research it a little more. You can probably find more info on that site that I linked for Planetnatural.com.

William Kruidenier said...

Jen--
Didn't you mention one of your friends who talked injectable nematodes? Those would be the only ones that would have a significant impact on SVBs. Nematodes are microscope worm-like critters that come in a powdery solution that you mix with water and pour on the soil. The nematodes burrow down into the soil and kill all manner of bad bugs that are pupating in the soil -- as the SVBs do as part of their life cycle. The problem is that the SVB larvae go into the soil AFTER they have done their damage on the squash plants. The only benefit that soil-based nematodes would provide would be to attack the pupae in the soil which would prevent the next generation of SVB moths from hatching. That's good -- but it does nothing about the zillions of others that are flying into your yard from other sources. On the other hand, the injectable nematodes (and they may be the exact same thing) would destroy the SVB larvae inside the squash stem and thus prevent the damage to the plant. The injectable ones would definitely be the way to go, it seems. Hopefully the nematodes can be used for either purpose -- soil-soaking or injecting. Post something when you get them and let us know what you do.

Thanks for the recipe clarification!

kellycowan said...

yummy recipe! i love zucchini bread but my recipe has even more sugar! i'm glad to find a new one.