'That's a bummer, I was enjoying seeing you do well at that - you should call a gardener' - Dave

The garden was attacked. After a yield of only three to five large vegetables, the squash and zucchini will produce no more. My once beautiful plants have been savagely destroyed from the inside out by a gross looking pest called the squash borer. Moths lay their eggs at the base of the plant which, upon hatching, instinctually bore into the base of the plant - eating it from the inside out. Signs of infestation do not appear until it is too late when the plant can no longer take in nutrients. The only early sign of infestation is a sawdust-like material at the base of the plant from the initial bore and even then it is too late. Preventative measures include pesticides (will not do - might as well buy from the grocery store), picking out the bugs and filling in the hole in the plant with soil (really?), and planting the seedlings initially in cardboard tubes. Cardboard tubes it is.

Dave's comment unintentionally made me feel completely incompetent, but luckily the beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are all fine. I am going to replant the squash and zucchini as we are lucky to have an incredibly long summer so I might get a nice august yield.