I should dig this up and divide it but who has time for things like that.
There really is very little time for gardening when there is so much to be done on the farm and The Armadillo and all his skin protocols takes a good two hours out of the day. Bless him. The Vet says to wash the exposed areas with a weak disinfectant, and proceed. He says these are areas where the skin has not yet formed. Not to worry. I found Wai walking around the barn with his sheet still attached to his back yesterday, like a very small well fed ghost. Hullo, he grunted as he strolled past, tripping slightly on his draggy back leg. Daring me to comment.
As usual my zucchini is dying on the vine once they get past a few inches in size. I should just sell the flowers- they go for 50 cents each. 
The young pigs are in training with the electric fence, a fence inside the fence. This is the only shot I got with the camera – look closely – there is a pig outside of the inside fence. So, Camera House sat on a fence post for a while as I enticed the runaway back in. 
OK . Back to work! I started very early this morning – it is hot and humid and there is more rain in the forecast.
Have a good one.
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
60 responses to “Divide-ing time”
106* here yesterday with more to come.
Sigh!
oh mercy- horrible
I too was going to suggest pollinating your zukes by hand. 😊
they pollinate then grow to about 4 inches and die from rot.. c
Oh – similar to tomato blossom end rot. I put oyster shell around mine and water through it. It’s usually soil deficient in calcium. I use crushed egg shells as well – but never have enough 🙂
So glad the news is encouraging for Wai. Those zucchini blossoms look delicious!
Yes they do!! c
Do you have the squash vine borer bug out there? That pest is here in NC and makes growing any sort of cucurbit dicey. Supposedly, you can plant a second crop after the first group go down, because the bugs only hatch once a season, but it has been my experience that I can lose a second crop, too. I like my zukes and cukes and squash, though, so I try, try again.
I wonder if there is a pony fly sheet that might work for Mr. Wai. I imagine he was quite a sight towing his sheet behind him. Maybe something like the Kool Koats they sell at Stateline Tack? I don’t want to put a link in the comment, I think those make the comments look like spam. But they have some that should be able to be made to fit Mr. Wai, I’d think.
Good thinking – Alissa is right on it – she said maybe a foal one.. c
I spotted one for miniature horses there — hope it will help Wai!
I was hoping for pictures of Wai in the back of the cooking oil car. How did that go? Was he ok with it? Glad the vet is thinking positive. Where will you be selling the flowers??
He was booked out so i sent him pictures.. c
Miss C, I have the same problem with my zucchini. Do you have a calcium or PH problem in your soil? Do your tomatoes sometimes do the same thing? Zucchinis need lots and lots of calcium or they shrivel up and die starting from the blossom end. You cannot just use eggshells, they calcium in the shells takes time to break down into a form that the plants can use. You can, however, use milk or calcium supplements for animals or people. Seaweed fertilizers can also help, or bonemeal or lime, though those last two can take time to break down.
You may want to try spraying down your plants with some milk mixed with water 2X’s a week for a few weeks, then see what happens. You should spray the leaves as long as they have time to dry off before night. They will absorb 90% of the calcium through them.
Interesting – I will try that.. c
It has saved my zucchini crops more than once! We don’t have a cow so we just use leftover milk from the grocery store, about a cup of milk for any given plant with a few cups of water, sprayed on. We’re fighting hard to build up calcium levels in our soil. Here’s some articles about it, in case (like me) you like to have the literature on-hand. 🙂
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/zucchini/zucchini-blossom-end-rot.htm
http://www.growersmineral.com/crops/faqs/dont-plants-have-to-absorb-nutrients-through-the
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/squash/squash-blossom-end-rot-causes-and-treatment.htm
Zucchini flowers are fantastic stuffed with either a rice or a white cheese mixture and plenty of herbs!
cheese and herbs for me!
Cheers for Wai. He is obviously a very determined Armadillo and that will help him on this hard joirney to heal that he is undertaking. That and the love and care you are heaping on hom.
It’s wonderful that Wai is not only responding to his treatment but to you care and his environment.
Sometimes we need to stop and eat the zucchini flowers, I put jn half a dozen plants so we could do just that ☺
I had problems with squash bugs one year so after everything was out of the garden I let my chickens in and had no bugs and the next year. I read that borage discourages them so this year I planted some amongst the vines. So far so good.
I’ll have to try that with my chickens.
Wonderful that Wai’s personality is beginning to show. He is looking much slimmer, too. And I didn’t know a cow would choose to hold milk back. Always learning.