I have decided to go a new, crazy route for my squashes. Instead of planting them in my existing two gardens, I am planting them further away in a clearing in our forest. I am sick of battling squash bugs and vine borer. After a winter of research and lots of questions to farmer friends, here is my plan!
Starting squash seeds! We have some really cool varieties this year, check out the list below!
I put 3 seeds in each 4" pot, thin to 2 good plants and plant them together. Keep the soil moist until they sprout. Squash is super easy to grow
Candystick Dessert Delicata
Galeux d'Eysines
Pinnacle Spaghetti
Baby Blue Hubbard
Thelma Sander's Sweet Potato
Uchiki Kuri
Orangetti Spaghetti
White Boer Ford
Rouge Vif D'Etampes
So. The bugs that love squash and cucumbers are the worst. They overwinter, they breed like crazy, fly and last for 3 life cycles a summer here. I have grown zucchinni, winter squash and cukes in my 2 gardens 3 years in a row now. Despite moving the crops around each year, I had so many last year that we did not harvest one single cucumber.
Some cucumber beetles happily munching on a zuchinni blossom while a bee is getting pollen
Some people use pesticides, that isn't an option for us. Neither is row cover for the amount we are planting. Diatimatious Earth is out as well since it can also harm beneficial insects.
My plan for the forest garden is hopefully going to work for two reasons.
- I know for certain that no squash has been planted there for 20 years, if ever. There will be no squash vine borer larve/eggs overwintering there.
- Squash bugs that hatch in my garden can only fly straight across distances with nothing in the way. The 100 feet of forest between my last garden will hopefully prevent them from finding my squash patch!!
An actual squash vine borer larve inside one of my acorn squashes
I will be interplanting Mammoth Russian Sunflowers throughout the area among the squash plants and rim the whole area with tobacco plants to deter deer. I will also be hanging cans with bolts in them from the trees to spook them. Weed smothering will be with cardboard and thick straw mulch until the vines take over, as well as broadcasting clover seeds in areas to keep weeds at a minimum.
These sunflowers!
The final stage of #operationnosquashbugs is to plant a "bait crop" of Blue Hubbard Squash in the centre of my garden that is furthest from my forest garden. The reason? Of all the varieties, the bugs LOVE the Hubbard! They should devour the plants and stay in that row where I can attempt to control the numbers by squishing and drowning them all summer.
I will be documenting this whole shebang. Hopefully it all works out! These seedlings will be ready in 3-4 weeks and the plan is to get them the ground the last week of May with the tobacco plants and sunflower seeds.
Fingers crossed for #squashpatch2018!
Grow babies grow!!
Thank you for reading! Take care of you and yours ❤
HEY! Do you have gardens to feed your family or community or do you grow plants? Please feel free to use the #doyougrow tag for any of your gardening and plant loving posts! I would love to see what you grow and where you grow it 🌱
I am always looking for new tips and inspiration. I believe it is so important to learn how to grow food as food security and our health is so important. Plus, gardening is rebellious!! Save money and put the healthy back in your food ❤ I will check the tag often to upvote and comment, so let's grow good food for our families and earn Steem together!
