Squash bug myth busted.

[Kassaundra]

I should add that radishes do attract other garden pests, PLUS, if you let them stay in the patch you can:
1) take up space that weeds want
2) see pretty white and lavender radish flowers
3) create something for you vining plants to climb
4) attract pollinators for your vegetables
5) harvest radish seeds for your next radish plantings.
I pick them, put them in a spot to dry, then harvest the seeds like you do when you save garden beans for next year.

6) Feed butterflies so I can photograph them
7) Free feed for my feeder insects
8) Free food when I get my meat buns
9) Tasty radish pods, much tastier then the radish root

 

[Ridgerunner]

I should add that radishes do attract other garden pests, PLUS, if you let them stay in the patch you can:
1) take up space that weeds want
2) see pretty white and lavender radish flowers
3) create something for you vining plants to climb
4) attract pollinators for your vegetables
5) harvest radish seeds for your next radish plantings.
I pick them, put them in a spot to dry, then harvest the seeds like you do when you save garden beans for next year.

6) Feed butterflies so I can photograph them
7) Free feed for my feeder insects
8) Free food when I get my meat buns
9) Tasty radish pods, much tastier then the radish root

10) Feed them to chickens. They are not my chicken's favorites, but the leaves and even the way overripe, huge, pithy bulb eventually disappears.

 

[Kassaundra]

I should add that radishes do attract other garden pests, PLUS, if you let them stay in the patch you can:
1) take up space that weeds want
2) see pretty white and lavender radish flowers
3) create something for you vining plants to climb
4) attract pollinators for your vegetables
5) harvest radish seeds for your next radish plantings.
I pick them, put them in a spot to dry, then harvest the seeds like you do when you save garden beans for next year.

6) Feed butterflies so I can photograph them
7) Free feed for my feeder insects
8) Free food when I get my meat buns
9) Tasty radish pods, much tastier then the radish root

10) Feed them to chickens. They are not my chicken's favorites, but the leaves and even the way overripe, huge, pithy bulb eventually disappears.

I think my chickens have to much choice b/c they won't touch them even if ground in a meat grinder. My chickens won't eat pumpkin either, I have let it set out until it has rotted and they never did/ would touch it. My husband made little wire cages for me to put greens in and when the girls were in a run they would eat the greens, but since they now have about 1/3 acre to roam they won't touch any caged green I put out, however if I put old bread in it, they devour that in seconds!

 

[ducks4you]

6) Feed butterflies so I can photograph them
7) Free feed for my feeder insects
8) Free food when I get my meat buns
9) Tasty radish pods, much tastier then the radish root

10) Feed them to chickens. They are not my chicken's favorites, but the leaves and even the way overripe, huge, pithy bulb eventually disappears.

I think my chickens have to much choice b/c they won't touch them even if ground in a meat grinder. My chickens won't eat pumpkin either, I have let it set out until it has rotted and they never did/ would touch it. My husband made little wire cages for me to put greens in and when the girls were in a run they would eat the greens, but since they now have about 1/3 acre to roam they won't touch any caged green I put out, however if I put old bread in it, they devour that in seconds!

WhatEVER my birds DON'T eat ends up composting and in my garden bed, so it's a win-win.
Have we all quoted enough here yet?!?

 

[baymule]

10) Feed them to chickens. They are not my chicken's favorites, but the leaves and even the way overripe, huge, pithy bulb eventually disappears.

I think my chickens have to much choice b/c they won't touch them even if ground in a meat grinder. My chickens won't eat pumpkin either, I have let it set out until it has rotted and they never did/ would touch it. My husband made little wire cages for me to put greens in and when the girls were in a run they would eat the greens, but since they now have about 1/3 acre to roam they won't touch any caged green I put out, however if I put old bread in it, they devour that in seconds!

WhatEVER my birds DON'T eat ends up composting and in my garden bed, so it's a win-win.
Have we all quoted enough here yet?!?

Nope.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Radishes are supposed to repel squash vine borers. White icicle radishes, not the red radishes. Nasturtiums are supposed to repel squash bugs. I think I got that right. Anyway I tried both.

A few years back I planted white icicle radish seeds when I planted the squash seeds. They came up real well. I started nasturtiums from seed and had them already established when I planted the squash seeds. Did absolutely no good. Borers and bugs both hit pretty hard that year.

 

[hoodat]

I had read interplanting radish and allowing it to seed would either repel the squash bugs or hide squash plants from them. By observation I have thourghly busted this myth.

I doubt there is any way to hide your plants from squash bugs in Oklahoma. I cleared some land there that had never been farmed and had woods all around it but the squash bugs found it as soon as it was up.
I'm sure glad that squash bugs don't like Southern California and borers are also scarce here. Our only real problem with squash here is mildew.

Have you tried spraying w/ LAB for powder mildew. (Korean Natural Farming lactobacillicus made from rice water and milk) I read about using it for powder mildew a couple of years ago but w/ our massive drought haven't been able to test it. It is supose to out compete w/ the powder mildew, but be neutral to the plant.

I don't really worry that much about the mildew. It doesn't usually show up till the plants have produced so many zuchini they are about worn out anyway. If I want a late zuchini crop I just do a second planting as far removed from where the old zuchini grew as I can manage. The old mildewed plants get taken out and composted.

 

[bj taylor]

sweetmissdaisy, first you have a locust swarm, now you've got wolf spiders galore. whew! that's scary. I've seen two wolf spiders lately (in the house unfortunately). I am seeing golden orb spiders in my tomatoes. they're welcome as long as I don't put my face in it's web reaching for a tomato.

btw, I've seen a sprinkling of grasshoppers here. not bad yet.

I like the idea of planting outside their breeding season. I think they're about done here. I wonder if it's too late to grow squash. it's blazing hot & going to stay that way.

 

[Kassaundra]

Preditory spiders are awesome (as well as other preditory insects) I encourage them all I can, but still have insane amounts of squashbugs.