The perfect storm of issues: The Scopattizo di San Donato Part 2

Unfortunately, my San Donato encountered both pests and disease the rest of the season. I was constantly fighting against cucumber beetles and bacteria wilt. Only later did I learn that the bacteria wilt was caused by multiple factors. Though I assumed it was the result of just the cucumber beetles, it turned up in other gardens without the cucumber beetles. It was only then that I realized that the disease was likely also present in the compost that was provided free by the city. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Near the end of the season I had to deal with gopher or ground squirrel issues as well. By that point, I was pretty much done for the season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, the plants did pretty well. The fruit looked beautiful at times, though I didn’t eat much of it because I wanted so much to save it for seed. Unfortunately, in the end it did not matter. Some kind of genetic issue that had plagued my previous crop only multiplied in the current crop. All of the seed that I harvested were a puffed out teardrop shape and were very light. I have rarely ever seen anything like this happen before and, given that this happened twice in a row, I will likely have to acquire completely new seed before ever attempting to grow this variety again.