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  • From: Gail Hoskisson <moabgail AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Squash Bugs
  • Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 00:04:49 -0600

Out here in hot dry Moab Utah, I've been feeling many of the list members
pain as you've written about mildew and rain and early freezes.

A couple of weeks ago the hottest summer heat finally broke and we now have
very pleasant days in the 80's when the sun only fries you down to your
bones instead of right through your soul.

My little place here in Redrock Country sits by one of the only two creeks
in Moab that actually have water in them all year round, except for the
Colorado River, of course. That means we have these enormous old Cottonwood
trees along the creek and on the West side of our place. The shade from
these old monster trees is a gift I'm learning to deal with.

Since the sun is now heading south and the leaves on those old trees will
fall in a few weeks I've been working on beds of late season salad greens
and root crops that will winter over and take off come Spring on the south
side of our place. Our real winter is only about 8 weeks long here.

So while I've been working on the beds on the South side and pretty much
neglecting all the good crops on the north side except to pick them on
Friday the Squash Bugs moved in.

I should have known something was going on because the leaves on the gourds
have picked up mildew and it is just too hot and dry here for that to
happen.

All of my summer squash plants are just covered with bugs down near the
place where the plant meets the dirt. I should have planted more summer
squash since I never seem to have enough for all the folks who want them.

Any suggestions about what I can do about all those bugs besides wasting a
couple of hours picking them and squashing them only to see more of them the
next time I check under the leaves?

Thank you in advance for any help you might give me. If I can keep the
summer squash plants going until November there will be a lot of happy folks
here in Moab.

Gail





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