This great line from Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes, like any great line, had multiple interpretations for me. The most obvious one being that the coronavirus has taken over our world and changed our reality for an undetermined time period. It’s like I’m treading water in a pool I will never touch the bottom of in order to stand and rest. But that wasn’t my first thought when I read this line.

Organic Gardening

Instead I thought of my cucumber plant and my battle with cucumber worms. Every time I plant cucumbers, there is a strong possibility that these stubborn and efficient pests will eat more of my cucumbers than I will. So, this year, I started early.

Armed for Battle

I mixed up my hot pepper, garlic and dishwashing soap spray and hoping to dissuade the worms from liking the taste of my plant, I sprayed that plant every day. It flourished with healthy leaves, petite yellow flowers and baby cucumbers decorated the vines. And then, my spray bottle clogged and before I replaced it, in only two days, I saw the larvae and droppings of cucumber worms. The battle had heightened.

Searching for the Enemy

Not ready to give up and with nowhere to go in my newly quarantined status, I took at least a half an hour every morning to search for the enemy. On my hunt for the hungry worms threatening my bounty, I slowly examined leaves and clusters of young cucumbers. I handpicked and squished wriggly worms laying camouflaged in leaves the exact green color of their bodies and I apologized to each one. I was sorry it had come to this, but it was them or my cucumbers.

So far, the worms had grown big enough only to eat leaves. The plant didn’t look as healthy as it should, but they hadn’t attacked my cucumbers, yet. I had long spring cucumbers and small pickling ones, so many, in fact, I didn’t know what to do with them. I made cucumber salad every other day and had two jars of pickles in the fridge. Last week we delivered food to elderly people from a food pantry (yes, we wore masks and gloves) and I stuck a freshly picked cucumber in each of their bags. And then, I skipped a day of worm hunting, one day, and I lost the battle.

Lost Battle

I had picked all the mature cucumbers, the worms had gotten to most of the new leaf growth, and I couldn’t keep up. I could not find the bottom of the pool. I’m grateful for the many cucumbers I was able to harvest, but it was time to admit defeat. Ripping the plant out, I sighed dreamily at the young tomato plant in the neighboring container. Tomato horn worms will be my next enemy. If I’m not vigilant, that swimming pool with no bottom will again be in my future. Now I know why organic vegetables are more expensive than those sprayed with pesticides!

Thanks, Linda Holmes, this is one great line.

If you can relate to this great line, I’d love to hear from you! Please scroll down and leave a comment.

If you’d like to read more about Evvie Drake Starts Over click here.

If you’d like to read about me and why I started this blog click here.