SQUASH BUGS!

*Already* there are squash bugs on my zucchini -- I guess they wintered in the wood surrounding the plot?

Help! Anyone know of effective, organic solutions? I think many of the remedies I found last year were far from organic.

Jennifer

natural pest control

I came across this:

Mint: plant with tomatoes and cabbage; deters ants, fleas, aphids, cabbage moths, rodents, attracts earthworms

Alfalfa: plant with lettuce, beans, and other legumes; adds nitrogen, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium

Scented marigold: plant with everything; in dense clusters this flower emits a substance that drives away nematodes; near tomatoes it can deter whiteflies

Lavender: plant with roses, alliums, fruit trees; discourages fleas and moths while drawing beneficial insects like bees, lady bugs, praying mantises

Nasturtium: plant with cabbage, cucumbers, radishes and fruit trees; repels squash bugs, whiteflies, and cucumber beetles; blooms prevent aphids from nibbling fruit trees

Garlic: plant with roses, raspberries, cucumbers, peas, lettuce, celery; keeps aphids off roses, repels Japanese beetles and spider mites

Sweet Alyssum: plant with potatoes, broccoli, beans, corn and eggplant; attracts predatory wasps and hoverflies, which devour aphids

Borage: plant with strawberries, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes; wards off tomato worms, adds trace minerals, helping boost disease resistance in nearby plants

What should we do about rabbits?

Hello ... I was at the garden this afternoon and ran into Jackie Gant. She said she's having a lot of trouble with the rabbits this year. She was using red pepper to try to keep them at bay, but she also wondered if we could clear out the one remaining patch of weeds that is along the west wall of the building, to the south of where a few people have their plots/just north of where Tim had some of his stuff. (Can you visualize where I mean?) She has seen a rabbit darting in and out of there and suspects it has a burrow under the weeds. The weeds are quite large, and she said she would need someone else to do this task because she's not up to it.

At first, I thought this was a simple volunteer request, but then I thought that given the time of year, it's entirely possible that we're dealing with a mother rabbit and a nest of babies. Would the babies die if we did this? Like, would the mom freak out, and then the babies would die of exposure/starvation/predators? What if they're really tiny and she can't move them to a better spot? Does anyone know rabbit behavior? :) What is the best way to manage this problem?

Thanks!