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Updates & Garden Pests, Squash Bugs

🌱  Summer Gardens & Summer Bugs🐛<!–


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Big Gardens and Big Insects.

Insects love a tasty vegetable meal as much as the rest of us. The pest of the week is the Squash Bug. The #1 thing to remember with them (as with most garden pests) is that an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of effort and trouble down the road. More info below.

Orchard News! We are hosting a Fall Festival at Weaver Creek Park on October 12 from 12pm-4pm. We could use volunteers & community support on the day of the event. If you might be able to help out, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/GE6sDomuVCh27dVp6

If you are interested or would like to learn more about becoming a vendor or sponsor, sign up here: https://forms.gle/bCQMQ7XeSbuMYFG27

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A little extra information about goings on at the orchard.
We have a large group of ~50 volunteers from Amazon coming out next week to help us renovate some of the orchard! It is going to be a big day. If you are interested in coming out to help us, please drop by any Saturday (major holidays excepting) at 10am for a short garden workshop and gardening.

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Summer gardening note: To help conserve moisture this summer and help improve the growth of your plants, see this previous newsletter for information on garden mulch: https://mailchi.mp/a64e25ccfbd8/seed-saving-5216209 

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Zucchini Slices 
Straight from Australia, the land down under, this recipe features Zucchini baked in an egg batter. Kind of like a quiche but without the crust.

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Squash Bugs!

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Squash Bugs
What?
Common insects which can infest squash and related plants in large numbers.

Squash bugs are in the order Hemiptera (aka. True Bugs) and have piercingsucking mouth parts which are used to consume plant juices from Cucurbits (family Cucurbitaceae; aka gourds such as squash, melons, and cucumbers).

What do they do?
Squash bugs feed on Cucurbits, stressing plants and potentially reducing yields, killing foliage, and potentially also killing young plants.

When?
Squash bugs overwinter as adults in debris in and around gardens; they begin feeding and mate in late spring, and lay eggs around June. Eggs hatch in about a week; a second generation emerges in late summer/early fall potentially resulting in massive infestations.
 

Image below: Small bronze colored squash bugs eggs on the underside of a squash leaf.
 

Squash Bugs
What can be done? 
The key piece of management is to prevent infestations by conducting a thorough garden clean-up in the fall (more on this in a coming newsletter!).

Early detection (and removal) of the bugs is critical for preventing out-of-control infestations later in the year. Crush eggs in June (photo below) which can be found on the underside of leaves.

Nymphs (not adults) can be partially managed with insecticidal soaps which are different from common hand and dish detergents (Note: always read and follow the label on any product before application).

Additional information from trusted academic based resources.

https://agsci.colostate.edu/agbio/ipm-pests/squash-bugs-2/
 
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74144.html
 
https://bugwoodcloud.org/resource/files/27985.pdf

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