In article
,
Isabella Woodhouse wrote:

In article ,
"Marie Dodge" wrote:

OK guys, my tomatoes are still covered with whitefly and their small green
babies that look like minute aphids. My friend, looking at them today, said
she believes they also have spider mites. Her eyesight is better than
mine.
The NeemOil did almost nothing nor did the Seven dust or Malathion or
Bug-Be-Gone. I also sprayed the garden with 1 Tbs. Epsom Salt per gallon of
water and if anything, the failed peppers and infested tomatoes look worse
today. Any suggestions to save our crops this year? The squash are too far
gone with millions of white fly and borers. The squash crop will be removed
and burned tomorrow. It's impossible to get the sprays under all the many
thousands of leaves. Suggestions anyone... other than to torch the three
entire gardens.

While we don't usually have this happen in the gardens, I keep some
plants on my deck and they have a tendency to get whitefly when it is
especially hot and dry. To forestall this, I spray the foliage every
day with the hose after the late-afternoon watering, paying special
attention to the undersides of the leaves. That works about 70% of the
time for me. When it doesn't, I use those sticky yellow traps (like
cardboard) and those catch gazillions of whiteflies and aphids.
However, you need to situate them so that the birds cannot sit atop them
and get stuck. I think there are pheromones for them as well.

I can really identify with your squash problems. Those squash vine
borers are really horrible. I can't tell you how many times my DH has
had to do "surgery" on the vines in the past to save them. This year,
for the first time, we put row covers over the zucchini (four different
cultivars) and they are all producing and doing well. I go out early
every morning and hand-pollinate the female flowers with a little brush.
This is not at all difficult with squash flowers. We've never, ever had
summer squash this nice before. We use the lightest weight 8 foot wide
Agribond (like cloth not plastic) over a make-do lashed wood frame. We
started with tensile steel hoops but the plants were much to large and
vigorous for them. Our beds are 4 feet wide and we're smack dab in the
middle of the country.

We're going to use row covers on some fall crops as well, both to keep
out pests and extend the season. Best thing since sliced bread.

Isabella

Wow, I'll have to try that! I'd given up on growing squash long ago
because of the borers...
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people
until they put their foot down." -- Stephan Rothstein