That is funny. Who would have thunk that would have happened. Love the chandi and the glass house. Guess you will have to rethinh what you will replace the candles with........altho I would be temted to leave those attention getters up for a while!!

Hi Patty, I hope you're doing well. I also hope you know that there are no dumb questions here. I harvest my zukes small just like Carol does because I believe that's when they are at their highest quality. You can let them get larger (much larger!) but at some point the quality deteriorates. Squash Vine Borers (SVBs) may not find your plants every year, but most years they find them sooner or later. This year, I've lost the two squash plants in our granddaughter's garden to squash bugs, but haven't lost any of the 8 squash plants in the main garden yet to SVBs, which is actually pretty surprising. I think the SVBs will find them sooner or later, because I see the SVB moths around all the time. Larry, There are almost no sure-fire methods to keep SVBs from finding your plants The most successful method is to grow your plants under a barrier that prevents the moths from landing on them. Even when you do that, you have to either uncover the plants at blossom time so the pollinators can find them, and it is likely the SVBs would find them at at that point. Or, you have to remove the barrier long enough to hand-pollinate the squash plants yourself and then there's a chance the SVBs will get on the plants while you're hand-pollinating. The barrier could be a free-floating summerweight row cover made out of Reemay or Agribon or something similar. You would have to weigh down every edge of the material securely to keep the SVB moths out. Or, you could suspend the row cover fabric over a frame made of something like PVC pipe or electrical conduit or wire hoops. The other option would be wood framed cages that fit securely over the squash beds. These could be made of 1" x 2" framing and metal window screen type material. I say metal screening and not fiberglass screening because grasshoppers can eat through the fiberglass and might conspire with the SVBs against you. I have pretty good luck some years by putting the leg portion of pantyhose over the squash stem when the plants are very young. The bottom portion of the hose is beneath ground an inch or two to keep small SVB grubs from crawling underground and getting on the stems that way. I cut the leg 6" or 8" long and at the time the plants are small, it lies bunched up on the ground. As the plants grow taller and larger I pull the stocking up, up, up to cover more and more of the stem, packing mulch around it to hold it close to the stem. Is it foolproof? No. Do the SVBs usually find the plants anyway? Yes. Usually, though, by the time the SVBs finally get the plants, I have harvested all the zucchini and summer squash we care to eat and freeze and am ready for the plants to die. Some people spray their plants with Surround, a kaolin clay product and believe that its grittiness keeps the SVBs away. I don't know if that is true nor do I know how effective the kaolin clay is in keeping insects off plants. I really don't like the look of kaolin clay on plants, but that's just me. Dawn

Glad you all liked them. I have several favorites, like the rat...who woulda thunk a rat could be dressed up? And the Corgi Bus, the Chihuahua Turkey, oh, all of them are great. But I think my personal fav is the turtle/shark. Who would have even thought to dress up a turtle? And the 'costume' is so goofy yet hysterical at the same time. Love it!

whoa.. you are really over thinking this ... the pips MUST BE coming out of the crown.. where ever it might be ... repot it.. leaving the crown an inch above the soil ... so the crown will dry out.. stop the rotting ... perhaps repot it.. in a month or so ... i would guess.. that bruce would have told you to throw the whole thing into bleach .... i never liked doing that.. they all died ... but most likely.. they were dead before i tried to do it.. lol ... others can discuss that ... i also never really liked cutting into already rotting plants.. all you would be doing is opening wounds in unrotted flesh.. for the rot to spread.. but.. if it would pull apart.. why not ... bonsai is a system of pruning roots a couple times a year... to force dwarfism on a plant ... i dont know what you would accomplish giving the roots a haircut ... aw hell ... run it over with the car.. and repot it.. and be done with it .. lol .. ken