Cucumber Beetles and Squash Vine Borers

(Not all my garden is yet in framed, raised beds).

Cucumber beetles and squash vine borers are menaces to cucumber and squash plants.

Right now, my cucumbers are still under a floating row cover, to protect them from

cucumber beetles.  But my zucchini and squash plants are too larger to cover.  The photo

above shows two strategies: first, note the whitish color of the leaves?  This is because I

sprayed the plants with Surround (trademarked,) a fine-milked kaolin clay that is mixed 

with water and sprayed on the entire plant.  Vine borer moths, squash beetles and other bugs

seem to dislike the gritty surface, so it acts as a barrier to their egg laying.  Surround

washes off in the rain and must be reapplied.  The yellow cards hanging from stakes are 

coated with Tangle Trap, similar to the sticky gunk on fly paper.  It comes in a can with a built

in brush lid to ease application.  Cucumber beetles, which transmit wilt (and are more bother-

some to cucumbers than zucchini, but harm it too) are attracted to the color yellow, stick and die.  

When my cucumbers are uncovered, I will put some of these yellow traps in that bed, too.  I 

will monitor the traps to make sure no bees are caught, and, if they are, down will come the

traps.

Happy gardening!

Cucumber Success!

One-day's harvest, July 1, 2014

I recently posted on the methods I am trying this year after two years of cucumber failure. To be fair (to moi) the failure was because I was too busy to get a decent garden in and tried to directly sow my cucumbers. Before I could deal with them, the cucumber beetles struck and the plants wilted.  This year, I started the plants in peat pots. planted them in vole-deterrent cages, covered then with floating row covers, and, when it was time to take the covers off, I sprayed them with a kaolin clay spray (the trademarked surround).  So far, SUCCESS!  The two varieties I planted were Alibi cucumber (a greenhouse type) and Muncher (a pickler) ordered from Pinetree Garden Seeds ( http://www.superseeds.com )  And both are delicious!
Happy gardening!

An Experiment with Surround (tm)

I am sick of cucumber beetles decimating my cucumber crop just as they really get going.  I had some difficulty finding an organic method to prevent or discourage them (after all, most organic methods reduce or control pests, don't fully kill them).  This year, after two years of no cucumbers, I first covered then with floating row covers, a barrier method that allows the plants a good head start before the cuke beetles arrive. Even though these are "greenhouse" cucumbers (they set fruit without pollination) eventually they grow too big for the cover, plus the covers should be removed during scorching temperatures (as we are having now). So, to further control cuke beetles (which spread cucumber wilt that kills the plants), I sprayed with plants with Surround, a trademarked barrier spray made of finely milled kaolin clay (think kaopectate- same stuff!) that discourages the critters from feeding.  However, it does turn the plants sort of white. One concern I have is that this may reduce photosynthesis too much, but it is an experiment, so we will see.  I will have to reapply after a heavy rain.

Cukes with Surround

I am also experimenting with my eggplants: first row covers, then Surround as they get too large for the covers.  Note I sprayed half of each plant, to see if the Surround really reduces flea beetle damage (they eat tons of tiny holes in the leaves).

Keep posted for the results!
Happy gardening!

Barriers

A female vole can have 100 offspring per season and, boy, do we have voles.  I have tried trapping (and releasing) them and vole repellents, both with minimal success (though circling vulnerable plants with gravel in a ring a few feet down surrounded by daffodils seems to work).  I have written about voles before.  These "meadow mice" live underground and tunnel through your yard and garden.  Unlike moles, which create obvious mounds in your yard and do not eat your plants, voles leave no obvious tunnels, just round holes, and do eat your plants. Voles have dined on my root crops, destroyed my snap peas, eaten a tomato plant (I found only the above-ground part of the plant, all the roots were chewed off) and gorged on hostas.  So, here is one solution: I build vole barriers from 1/4 inch garden cloth/wire fencing.  I plant the vulnerable plants right into these baskets into the ground, back fill with soil.  This gives the plants a chance to grow and really seems to deter the voles.  At the end of the season, when I pull out the plants, I find that the roots grew very well right through this mesh.  And I save them to use next year.  If you are making new garden beds, you can line the entire length of the bed with garden cloth to stop the voles!

Above: Vole cage in the making

Another creature to deter?  The bunnies who love nothing better than to eat emerging bean plants!

Beans under garden cloth/fence 

For what other creatures do I use the "barrier method??  Why, cucumber and flea beetles, of course:

Floating row covers over hoops to deter chewing insects.

When the plants are large, I remove the covers to allow pollination.  I will spray members of the squash family with Kaolin clay (sold under the registered trademarked name Surround)(this acts as a sort of barrier too- insects do not like the gritty surface)  which keeps these beetles from chewing the leaves and spreading viral wilts.  I might try it on my eggplants too, though they grew so huge last year, the flea beetles hardly bothered them!  These row covers often last two seasons, sometimes more, but might need a little patching (duct tape to the rescue!). I have heard that old, white sheer curtains can be used as well!

Happy barrier-method gardening!