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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Cucumber Beetle Invasion
  • Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 08:25:26 -0400


On May 29, 2010, at 1:09 AM, Jay Sleichter wrote:

Is it just at my place or are cucumber beetles taking over the world? I lost one planting of beans to them and another one almost


Are you sure it's cucumber beetles in the beans? I've never seen that; though I do sometimes get bean beetles in the beans. There's a predatory wasp you can buy for the bean beetles -- does work, but you have to order them at just the right time; you can't order them ahead and store them, and they don't overwinter this far north -- I'm not sure how far north they do survive. Watch out for the shipping costs, on small orders it'll be a big percentage of the cost.

http://greenmethods.com/site/biocontrols/pediobius/


Row cover is out of the question. Plants are too big for it.

You can't use row cover on cucurbits after they go into bloom anyway, they need insect pollination; at least unless you're growing all parthenocarpic varieties. I often do row cover them till the female flowers appear, though; that buys you significant time.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale







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