I read somewhere that different varieties are more or less attractive to squash bugs. A community garden is a good place to test this (possibly anecdotal) assertion, to see which varieties in your area are less appealing to squash bugs.
Here in northern California, both French and Italian globe squashes were heavily infested with them last year, but I didn't see any on any winter squash -- Kabocha and a volunteer mini pumpkin. I found egg masses every time I looked, so I stopped growing those varieties. This year, I haven't noticed any on the Romanesco or Clarinette or Black-something zucchini or on any of the winter squash plants. I found a lot of them on the Papaya Pear this week (the first ones this year), but last week a neighboring plot removed a bunch of infested squash vines, so they may have migrated to the next-most-appealing (or simply the closest) squash. I also recall reading that the timing was important, but that has not proved true here. Last year, I planted transplants on April 1; this year, in May or June. Tanya _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
