Inside and Out

Because we haven't put up deer fencing at the house yet, my vegetable garden is growing behind a make-shift fence made of PVC pipe and bird netting. It actually works quite well and the netting squares are large enough that they don't distract from the view too much. But just because you plant your squash seedlings safely behind the fencing doesn't mean they are going to stay there! My favorite example of this is the above pictured "Buttercup" squash. As the vine grew inside the fence, the imature female squash pushed through a hole in the webbing. It was pollinated and began growing. And growing! It still hasn't reached full maturity, but is large enough now that you can see how the weight of it is pulling down on the fencing. It is fortunate that the deer don't seem to enjoy squash fruit like they do squash leaves.

These "Butternut" Squash are outside the fence too. The vine they are growing on had crawled out of the fencing before they were pollinated. I put bricks underneath each of them and they have been very happy.

Just so you don't think all my squash are poorly behaved, here's a picture of a nice trio of Delicata". Yes they are growing against the fence, but they are inside the fence! I must admit though, I do have at least 3 other "Delicata" that are all growing outside the fence. It just seems to be a theme this year!