I harvested my first zucchini, and dang it grew fast. And wonky, what with being confined to the limited growth room between the cramped vines. Behold! My first baby photo!

About a week later, I reaped the second zucchini, which the squirrels apparently found and tested out. You can see the teeth indents.

It doesn’t look like there will be any more zucchini this season. The plant leaves are riddled with powdery mildew.

While overcrowding might be responsible (poor air circulation), I wonder if there’s another reason, since the Surprise Pumpkin Plant on the other side of the garden also sports some very prominent patches of powdery mildew.

According to the internet, it is a common fungus, most likely to occur in the cool night-warm day combo of spring and fall. Which, yes, that is exactly the weather we’ve been having, and apparently an environmental state that powdery mildew and I both adore.

I removed some of the more heavily mildew-ed leaves from my Pumpkin Plant, and I may end up completely tossing the zucchini remains. I’m also going to try a baking soda + Castile Soap + water mixture to try washing off the spores. Fingers crossed!