cmonkey :I've thought the same thing too, and remember trying to figure out what they mean by "wild cucurbits". tigrikt - Thanks for posting that article. I love reading those old articles and seeing what people did a long time ago. I had to google "Cymlings" as I had no idea what he was talking about... they are another name for "Pattypan"... interesting. I always wonder what the Native americans did, when they grew pumpkins. I bet they probably had some good tricks they used. Its interesting how the articles names these different pesticides they recommend. Looking them up, they are all banned now for home use for being too toxic. Its a wonder our ancestors didn't all die of cancer and poisoning with all these chemicals they used! I like the idea of an "ovicide". I wonder if we have anything now in modern times would not be very toxic but could do the same thing. Would be a lot easier to just spray the vines than hand pick the eggs.

Maybe they'll make it. The small one is probably a goner, but maybe the ones turning tan will continue to ripen. I know that C. pepo pumpkins will continue to ripen off the vine once they start turning from deep green to orange. I haven't had to pick a butternut early so I can't be sure. All three are still edible, you can eat the small one as if it were a sumer squash. The big ones probably won't store as long as they would if they could completely ripen and they also won't have the same flavor as a completely ripe one.

Cottentop, Congrats on your first corn. The culprit in the corn case is the corn earworm. The exact same worm will move to tomato plants and eat the fruit. On them it is called the tomato fruit worm. Corn earworms can be difficult to fight, and if you happen to find holes in the side of the husk showing where a worm bored its way through the husk, then that's the European Corn Borer. I have both of them most years, but sometimes none at all. With the squash, it likely is the squash vine borer, commonly referred to as SVBs around here. I'll link info on them. That's just a guess, though, because it also could be squash bugs or disease. The linked document will address at least squash vine borers and squash bugs, and may go into other things as well.It's been a while since I read it and I don't remember if it goes into other squash family pests and diseases. It can be difficult, but not impossible, to save plants hit by the SVBs if you can catch them on the day it wilts, or even before that, by scouting the base of your plants for FRASS (grub or worm poop). If you find the FRASS, that means the squash vine borer is inside your plant eating away. You can slit the stem, pull it out, press the stem back together and bury it under soil so the soil acts as a sort of band-aid. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: ATTRA: Squash Vine Borers and Squash Bugs

Thanks wisconsitom. The chew marks seem to have gone away but I am confounded by these Distictis plants which I planted about 2 yrs ago now. I am trying to get several of these plants healthy and spreading over a chain link fence. Mine have spread 10 to 20 ft vines but are showing weak leaf formations mostly at new growth toward the last few feet of the vine. Last year, leaves were yellowed and dropping, and ants were on the plant or nearby. I also had a gopher nearby and was fearing root damage... but the gopher appears gone with some help from a neighbors trap. This yr, I increased watering which seems to have helped. But still have ants (I think ants are a sign of an unhealthy plant?) and now some brown leaves that look like they are getting burnt from the tip inward. We have clay soil and I wonder if that is contributing. This plant thrives in So Cal on chain link fences with mostly sun to partial shade. I see mature plants in nearby yards which look very healthy and beautiful. Out of desperation I fertilized with 15-15-15 although I read doing so may delay first flower production for two years or more, while not actually stimulating much plant growth. Any other ideas are welcome!