Garden season coming up. How can I control squash bugs organicallly?
Related Discussions
GNATS - How to get rid of them?
Somehow my house and garden got tiny gnats that killed my fuchsia plant and fly everywhere. I have tried ALL the Web recommendations - soap and oil dishes, sand in th... See more
Marigolds growing! Should I pinch the buds?
My marigold plants are growing. I heard that pinching the buds until Autumn will allow them to grow without killing the plant. Is this true?
Growing garlic
Growing our first garlic, should we wait until the leaves are drying out before we pick it? Husband picked first one today along with our first potatoes.
How to keep mice out of your garden?
Hi everyone, I have mice in my garden destroying my vegetables and I have also noticed them in the barn and shed. Please can someone tell me how to prevent them from ... See more
What's the best flower/plant to grow in Texas?
I know that opinions vary, but what's your opinion?!I have great luck w Rosemary plants. Green all year long.
Can someone tell me what kind of animal this was in my yard?
I thought maybe a rabbit was burrowing in my yard, but it's almost dead center of my lawn (not a very smart rabbit). The hole is not very deep, and I replanted it onc... See more
Is Creeping Charlie in your lawn a good thing or a bad thing?
Is there a sure-fire way to get rid of Creeping Charley?
https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/garden-pests/squash-bug-con
You can try this DIY bug repellant http://www.hometalk.com/diy/outdoor/pest-repeller/homemade-bug-repellent-8205438
Homemade Bug Repellent
And on this discussion you'll find a lot more helpful suggestions http://www.hometalk.com/diy/outdoor/pest-repeller/q-all-natural-bug-spray-for-our-garden-1689867
All Natural Bug Spray For Our Garden
Sprinkle squash plant with garlic powder.
Look for products with neem oil. It's made mostly from the seeds of neem trees. It targets bugs that eat the foliage so so it won't kill beneficials because they don't eat the leaves.
Dear Martha,
Simple soap and water kill a lot of pests, and a cupful of white vinegar diluted with water is excellent. some of the homemade recipes can be quite expensive.
I live in France, and where we are there are giant bright orange slugs a good 3". My husband refuses to let me have his beer to make a trap :( These are not indigenous to France. The area we live is mild with a lot of rain so you can imagine how they thrive. I found one morning my whole patch of lettuce has been eaten. I do not like killings snails although I do, but these monsters I am happy to go out with a torch at night and take a sharp knife . Aster you find other slugs will come up and eat them, so they are not exactly vegetarian :) The only time they look nice is when they mate. It is a rather spectacular sight !
There is one mystery I have never been able to solve, and that is giant earth worms. I had seen huge worm casts more like small mole hills that puzzled me and had uprooted seedlings. However friends would come back with tales of seeing a giant worm. I asked if they had brought it back, but there would be a "yeuk no way" in response. Well after more sightings it was starting to sound like a fisherman's tale, while they held their arms out to indicate a length of more than 3 feet. :)
Finally one day my husband came back with a dead worm of two feet. I have a photo. He said the other half was still on the road and was too squashed to bring back. So these rumors were true. It looked just like an earthworm, not a brambling.
I have never seen one, and I cannot see anything in books that remotely reaches that length. I would love to know what it is.
One other tip be it amongst flowers or vegetables plant nasturtium ,basil, mint (cologne or ginger are best as they are are really strong), chives and rosemary, along with marigolds and targets. Also lavender, lemon grass, lemon thyme, dill, parsley, oregano, fennel, ordinary thyme and mint, chrysanthemums, petunias, geraniums, common lantanas, 4 o'clock flowers, the seeds are large and easy to plant and they come in so many different colours. Then one that will look stunning is the tall Allium giganteum whose flower heads adorn stalks up to 6 feet tall, are definitely a broad spectrum natural insecticide. It is so striking, with the nasturtium they would be at the top of my list. They even scare off slugs, carrot fly I think, and aphids plus a lot of others. Each plant tends to have their own speciality when it comes to pests.
I love to eat the Nasturtium flowers and leaves in a salad as well as the beautiful hibiscus flowers. I am sure I have forgotten many others, one is nettle. It is my staple diet, but as fast as I pull it up it is back again. The real horror here is the bramble which can cover trees. Even the berries do not have the flavor as the ones in Scotland.
I hope this might be of some small help to you :) and I wish you will have great time in your garden. Is it very big?
Alas this year is going to be a struggle for us just to try and sort so many things on the farm to mend, with not much money.We were struck by several of these freak storms. The last hit the enormous barn. We totally re roofed the house In the 15 years of living here, and that was so expensive. The barn is going to cost the same as the house ! Then we have to sell, it is just too large for two people.
Coming from the highlands you do not have a great deal of money, it is those from the South of England. They can sell their small place buy this property, probably make the three vast barns into gites. Put a swimming pool in, and an all weather arena, and at the end they will still have money in the bank. Life.
We have seen our two neighbors go bio. I hoped that the butterflies and moths might come back like they were when we first arrived. Alas no. I used to see swallow tails every day. I wonder if they will ever come back. It is so sad.
Nature is my passion and I learnt at 17 all the wild plants, roots, and berries I could eat. I do not like the 'term' vegan' I would rather just say I am a plant eater :) In fact 50% is from around the farm, and woods, I collect things to dry too. My husband is a carnivore. If there is any spare time I paint all animals. Pastels too, mostly horses and cats big and small.
Well, I enjoyed writing about flowers instead of going through the bank statements as I should have done :). Now it is already just coming up to midnight here , and the alarm goes off at 6a.m. So off to bed I go
Take care, my e-mail is galeeny@aol.com. In case you have any questions. Have a great week.
Fran.