i read in an old book by Peter Chan that when the wind blows, the base of the stem gets rocked, and an opening is formed in the soil. The stem is then vulnerable to these borers. After a windy day, he suggests pushing the soil back in. I threw a halloween pumpkin in my backyard last year, the vines are now huge, but no sign of borers. I can't comment on his technique since I haven't tried it, but I think variety makes a difference too.

Sure, you can still use them. One of our new-to-us and now-a-favorite recipes for butternut squash is the Beef and Butternut Stew linked below. We were pleasantly surprised how well the squash held up to the long cooking time in the broth. That might work well with the ones you think are drying out. We've re-thought our garden plan and are planting more butternuts (we got 16 large Waltham's this year and only have five left) because we discovered they make a great substitute for sweet potatoes. Here is a link that might be useful: Beef and Butternut Squash Stew

Plenty of ideas, recipes, and uses for all vegetables. It takes a bit of time to read through the many hundreds of threads and posts. Here, I must harvest my cukes every day, or they will not produce. Luckily, I decided early on what vegetables I want to grow, and how many plants of each. A good for instance is broccoli, and leeaf lettuce. Broccoli is now all harvested, except for a few small flowerettes here an there. The leaf lettuce I grew are about 7 dufferent types , all of which have very close naturity dates. I have picked about 25 pounds of it and have given a lot away to friends and neighbors. Because of the success of the letce, I planted more seeds in the beginning of July, these are just now showing several leaves. For squash, none ths year, but my favorite is butterup types. Things like crooked neck summer squash are good too, but if I plant them, there would only be a few, so I am not overwhelmed. I did post an note about making cucumber sandwiches, and I am sure the kids would love these on a hot summer day. You have lucked out and have been fortunate enough to get produce that would definately save you money later on. As payback to the generous people, I must assume that your going to give them some of your home canned items, or other things. If you can't pick yourself, maybe a pick your own by the customer would help. My apples are just now starting to ripen and, I do plan to make something out of them, when the weather is cool enough, I also have garage sales, which help to reduce my over abundence. Because I do can, some of the older canned items are also offered in my sales. Most are simply tomato sauce and pickles.

Sally, everyone seems to like this recipe. It's more soft and squishy and kind of sweet, instead of crusty. I brush the tops with melted butter when they are done. I use the bread machine to make the dough, just put in the wet ingredients, then the dry, be sure to check after it starts kneading to make sure you don't need to add flour. Sometimes the squash is "jucier" than other times. I've used canned pumpkin chunks, mashed with a fork, and frozen squash puree, they work fine too. When the machine finishes the "dough" cycle I remove the dough, shape it, let it rise and bake in the oven. I usually roll the dough out and cut it with a biscuit cutter. You can also make these with sugar, white or brown, but I like local honey in them and I often use the dough to make cinnamon rolls, then drizzle them with maple or apple cider glaze. Butternut Squash Dinner Rolls 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water (110ð to 115ð) 1 teaspoon sugar 2/3 cup warm fat-free milk (110ð to 115ð) 1 cup mashed cooked butternut squash 1/3 cup butter, melted 1/3 cup honey â¢1 teaspoon salt â¢2 cups whole wheat flour â¢2 to 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar; let stand for 5 minutes Stir in the milk, squash, butter, brown sugar and salt. Add whole wheat flour. beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in enough all-purpose flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down and turn onto a floured surface; divide into 20 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Place 2 in. apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. With a sharp knife, make shallow slashes on top of rolls. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15-17 minutes. Annie