Sed rate (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) Overview. Sed rate, or erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), is a blood test that can reveal inflammatory activity in your body. A sed rate test isn't a stand-alone diagnostic tool, but it can help your doctor diagnose or monitor the progress of an inflammatory disease. When your blood is placed in a tall, thin tube, red blood cells (erythrocytes) gradually settle to the bottom. Inflammation can cause the cells to clump.
Wait to plant your yellow crookneck squash until three or four weeks after the last frost, when the soil has warmed. Create mounds of soil about 2 feet across. Use your hoe to dig a moat around the hill. Use four to five seeds for each mound. Poke holes at the top, 2 inches deep and three inches apart.
Stem Rot on Squashes. Take good care of your squash plants to avoid stem rot. The term squash includes both winter squash and summer squash. Summer squashes are usually eaten while immature, such as zucchini, while winter squashes are eaten when mature, such as acorn squash. These plants are frost tender and grow as annuals in most climates. Squashes are fairly easy to grow, but a few pests, fungi and bacteria problems that can cause rotting of the stem.