Gonna have some fat squash bugs.....

[oldgaredneck]

but I hope they do leave us SOME squash! Last year they decimated what few crookneck yellow and zucchini we'd planted - we got maybe 12 to eat....
We planted the following varieties, and I did save seeds from each pack for purity in future plantings, and if I save seeds from this year's crop, they'll not be traded....I'll play "Mad Scientist" with them.... ;D

Spaghetti
Green Hubbard
Table King Acorn
Turk’s Turban
Waltham Butternut
Burgess Buttercup
Delicata
Green striped cushaw
White cushaw
Carnival
Blue Hubbard
Early White Bush Scallop (2 Hills)
Cobnut
Pink Banana Jumbo (2 Hills)
Queensland Blue
Guatemala Culabana
Macedonia
Brazil Aboboca Menina Rajacta Seca (pumpkin squash?)
These are all planted in the back garden where no squash were planted last year

In the front garden this year we planted the regular ol'
straightneck and crookneck yellow and a couple of different zucchini

On the down side, I will have VERY few tomatos this year since 99.99% of our plants mysteriously died....

[canadamike]

Many of us are trying dr Bonner peppermint castille soap, by the way the best soap I ever had to shower with, it is organic, you can also use it in these small hand pumps for personnal hygiene.

We had a report here that ( can't remember who,sorry, it is surely in the squash sub-forum) it was very successful, and Johno added that he had noticed that a hill of them growing in his patch of mint was not bothered, by them as opposed to the others.

alternatively, you can go in a health store and buy peppermint essential oil and mix it with water and a dollop of dishwashing soap I guess!

The soap kills on contact only but the smell is a repellent and stays...

Some people talked about leaf damage if thesoap stays on the leaves and water after, it is not something that has ever happen to me, I still have to witness some ''soap residue damage'' to believe it in my climate, it must be the hot climate or whatever combined with it...but even then, summer is really hot here too, nothing to envy anybody down south, those who have it hotter deserve it are living in an oven, And they deserve it to compensate for the cold here anyway ;D ;D ;D ;D


Michel

[canadamike]

Oh! And I forgot: how is your health now? We are awaiting for a report

Take great care,

Michel

[johno]

I'm thinking of trying to extract cedar oil from fresh branches in a pressure cooker to deter squash bugs. Don't know how it will work out, but if/when I get around to it, I'll post the results.

[canadamike]

There is some Dr Bonner peppermint soap going your way remember?

I would love you to try your thing though. I have seen how they extract it, and it does not need pressure but steam, but I don't see why it would not work. It is far less gentle than simple steam though, you might end up with more extracted than oil...as long as it is aromatic...

And for potato bugs, why don't you cook some fries in the oil to disgust them ;D ;D ;D

Would remind you of my mother in law cooking

[plantsnobin]

While working in the greenhouse, and almost picked up a flat that a wasp was crawling on, and as he was going under it, I didin't have anything handy to smash it with. I did have a spray bottle that I had dissolved some lye soap in, for aphids. I squirted the wasp with the lye soap, and couldn't believe that it killed it. I tried it again on a couple of nests starting in the two chicken house, and it worked again. It knocks them down pretty quickly, and then it takes them a minute or so to die. Works better on wasps than ants.

[pugs]

plantsnobin (Karen, is it?)

Spraying Wasp nests with soapy water is one of the ways members in my bee club use to kill them. I'm not sure why it works, but it is alot safer than chemicals.

Thanks for reminding me of it, I had forgotten.

Pugs

[flowerpower]

If peppermint is a deterrant, I wonder if Pep. Scented Geranium (Pelargonium tomentosum) would be any good. I will make a few cuttings today & plant them out with the squash later on.

I got seeds from someone for Bitter Gourd (Lagenaria). He says it deters the squash beetles by acting as a trap. I guess the bugs eat this instead? What is special about the Bitter Gourd as opposed to any other Lagenaria?

[johno]

I think I got some of the same gourd seeds from the same someone. I planted them a couple of days ago, after I noticed wild gourds coming up. I'm also curious to see what happens. I want to try a few new squash pest tactics this year. They are always amongst the most difficult to deal with using organic methods.

[flowerpower]

John, yeah they came from Arkansas. I never had a prob with beetles until last yr. And not even on all the varieties. The more expensive the seed, the tastier the plant. lol

[Alan]

I love this thread! This is the kind of stuff we definetly need to be discussing!

I always say the rarer the seed/plant and the more limited suplly you have of it the more likely something will eat it.

Witness the little yellow bugs eating my newly emerged LI seed summer squash crops, little bastards!

Diotamcious earth fixed that though, now if they will just come out of their funk!

[flowerpower]

DE- I gotta put this on my list.