Congratulations! You have squash.

My husband walked in today, after his morning run and presented me with a yellow crookneck squash. He said, "Congratulations! You have squash." I think he was beginning to think my straw bale garden experiment wasn't going to turn out very well, but I must say I am impressed.

You can see the photo I took on Monday morning proving that my squash plants were bearing. I think I was actually trying to prove two things with the straw bales. I wasn't trying to prove that things would grow in straw bales. My friend Charlotte Nelson has proved that over and over. She has impressive results using straw bales for her beautiful garden.

I was trying to prove you could grow things organically with straw bales. I was also trying to prove to myself that the pests that had been plaguing our squash crop for the past several years could be controlled if you would move the planting around to different locations.

So far, I haven't had any pest problems at all in my straw bales. I feel really excited about the prospect of using straw bales with organic gardening. I think they are quite a good fit because this has been even easier than I expected with little trouble. I also know that even if I decide not to grow more vegetables in this location next year, I know my bales will create a rich environment for this area. (I am actually thinking of planting some fruit trees in this location. This would be a perfect spot if I can tame the vines!

This is just an update. I hope to have plenty of squash from my 6 vines over the warm weather months and will be monitoring closely for pests.