Hey guys
Zone 5b, southern New Hampshire, USA.
I'm still a novice gardener. I want to grow a patch of various pumpkins, squashes, and others. I am looking to figure out ways to fight the two biggest pests in our area: vine borers and squash bugs.
What can I do to keep the whole thing organic or better? Very very open to polyculture but just not sure what to plant and how yet.
Thanks
I like to plant flowers to keep pests away, especially French Marigolds and Sweet Alyssum.
Also building soil health:
Bryant said, "Plants that are healthy will not be sought out by pests animals as readily as those plants that are not getting the nutrition they need, these "sick" plants send out chemical messages that attract the insects that love to feed on the plant, these "sniffles" can be in the form of exudates, pheromones released through the stomata to the air and through electrical messages that travel through the fungal network as well as the root surrounding soil. These are the reasons composts teas are usually recommended to be sprayed on the trunks, branches and leaves of plants.
Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner
I've never won anything before. Not even a tiny ad:
Saving the Life Keepers: The New Science of Sustainable Beekeeping documentary