Aa Update on the Great Cucumber Beetle War

  I have officially won the Cucumber Beetle war this summer and I thought that I would pass on what I have learned.  First of all the beetles follow the scent of the plant so that anything you can do to mask the scent of your yummy garden plants will work. This could be marigolds, fennel, lemon balm, nasturtiums, dill, etc. You can even spray your plants with diluted witch hazel or even perfume. The second consideration is to plant these plants before you plant the garden vegetables. If you take an open garden and put your sweet little seedling in there without any protection it can be eaten to the ground by these buggers overnight. The third consideration I would mention is to grow Butternut squash. It seems to be very hard against the beetles. Good luck!

Gardening Update

   I am happy to say that after years of gardening failures this year's garden was a success. Looking back over what I have spent on groceries I estimate that we have saved at least $800 a month if not more. We have also eaten well on the fresh produce. All of the old heirloom seeds sprouted and did beautifully. Here are a few photos of the 3 Sister method that I mentioned in an earlier post. This was a terrific method. I am totally sold on companion planting. I recently learned that squash leaves actually have a chemical in them that suppress weed growth. So the corn stalks provided a pole for the beans to climb. The beans fixed the nitrogen in the soil. The squash shaded the ground and worked as a mulch suppressing weed growth and evaporation.
     I also covered open ground with layers of newspaper covered in a layer of grass clippings. This method saved me hours of backbreaking weeding and watering. I will never garden again without using this method. This is the easiest garden that I have ever grown and I have had the biggest harvests.

I have planted my first Fall garden. I planted radishes with my greens. Supposedly the insects don't like radishes and this protects my greens. I am not sure about this. I saw white moths happily flitting around in them.   I will let you know how it goes!