” I like your way of gardening! Not much hassle but great rewards.”
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“I’ve been gardening for over 30 years but have learned so much from your posts. I appreciate your thoroughness and orderliness. Thanks so much.”
“Gardening is so much easier and productive since I’ve met you, Theresa. I really mean that–you have helped me so much! I used to break my back fighting weeds, poor soil, etc. Not any more!”
“—you are providing others with invaluable help. — Tending My Garden is a fantastic resource – and (the feedback) is the proof. I feel so thankful to have found it.”
“I’ve just come across your website and found so much information on onion growing it’s amazing! –”
” I came across your site searching for why my cucumber plants were wilting mid-afternoon and whether I should water them. I have not stopped reading your posts since then. —- very addictive —–will be my go-to site for my gardening needs.”
“I’m so glad I found your website!! The info is exactly what I’ve been looking for! —– more than just the typical stuff you find posted everywhere. While landscape design is my profession Vegetable gardening is a passion. I can’t wait to read more of the past posts!!”
“These days, I am no longer googling for my gardening needs. I am TMGing.”
“One of the things that sets you apart is that you know the difference between tried and true advice as opposed to the stuff we read in those ‘generic’ learn-to-garden books. I have stopped worrying about so many things since I began reading TMG.”
“The way you communicate with your readers is just marvelous! You provide such a wealth of gardening information! I am so glad to have found your blog, I`m learning so many new things here!”
“— your blog was instrumental in getting me past the ‘paralysis of over-analysis’ phase of my balcony garden…I was intimidated and lacked the knowledge I needed to get started. Your ‘can-do’ style inspired me to get started and see my summer-fall season as an experimental phase of ‘research and development’…”
“—This is the most in depth, informative blog on gardening I’ve seen.”
“—–This is what folks need to hear and it is exactly what is missing at the book stores as well. —-With all of the books, videos, encyclopedias, and google searches I could get my hands on, THIS SITE is my #1 source and a benchmark to which all other sources are compared and measured.”
“You have changed my whole gardening life! ”
“I love gardening and would never stop my subscription (to TMG). I’m learning more from you than I have in years of trying it by myself.”
” I am just so encouraged by all that I am reading from you. I can’t make myself leave your site!”
“My garden has doubled in productivity since I started reading here.”
“I wanted to let you know that from your guidance, I have discovered that ‘less is more.’ I was planting the old fashioned way–rows with lots of weeds to take care of–. Then I learned your secret of mulching heavily with straw and/or leaves. What an amazing difference. The soil is always ready for a seed or two in an empty spot and weeding is minimal. Last year we harvested twice as much produce in half the space.”
“Theresa, I’ve been gardening for about 40 years, and in the last 10 or so have tried my hand at gardening organically. I bought the books, read the websites, took the magazines, etc., but have been largely overwhelmed and discouraged. I happened upon TMG and have been reading for around 3 months. Now I know I can really do this!!! Thank you so very much for being so realistic and practical. And also for being so open, willing, and giving. You are a blessing!”
“I have learned so much, actually far more from you than from any gardening magazine I have ever subscribed to.”
“— I’m in the process of switching from chemical-based gardening to organic gardening and your website has helped me tremendously. There’s so much info on organic gardening – some of it very conflicting. You present stuff in an easy to understand, logical way.”
“Every time I hear something “out there” about gardening, I think…….wait that sounds too complicated, Theresa keeps it simple…….do what she does. Lol. You have kept me from jumping on the crazy train! ”
“I discovered your blog just last week while searching the web for information on raised bed gardening. I was actually pricing rough-cut lumber from a local saw mill, and looking for design ideas for wooden boxes when I stumbled upon your post “Contained Raised Beds? NO WAY!” I have not left your blog since!
I am so impressed with the information I have found here, as well as how much you put into it. I appreciate how you respond so thoughtfully to your readers’ questions and comments. And of course I LOVE your “common sense” approach.”
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“Your wonderful blog and the manner in which you handle explaining things in incremental steps is just amazing. I am on a steering committee for a local community garden effort and your blog will be my recommendation to anyone who gets involved.”
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“Finding your site thanks to Diane’s flowers has helped continue my education but in a very easy manner. I’ve found that your experience has confirmed that heritage gardening does not have to be exhaustive but more fun. I find your thinking about gardening assured me that my “maybe I’ll just let nature do the work” is ok and now I’m learning why.”
“Just read your post on Garden diversity- as always excellent, thorough and you have this ability to give all the information one might need in a nutshell – keeping the reader engaged all through.”
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“Even tho I am on the other side of the world and the seasons are reversed, your insight, knowledge and experience are so valuable to me as a starting out organic gardener.”
“I directly credit the MAJOR increase in productivity in my garden to you. —-(it) is amazing compared to how my garden used to operate.”
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” I read each post you write as though I am a sponge; sucking up every last word you write, and holding onto it tightly. … your philosophy on gardening is inspiring. I feel light years ahead of some of my friends who have been gardening for much longer than I, and it is all thanks to you and your easy to read, vital information.”
“I just read your post on using straw once sprayed with 2-4D. Then I read a few more snippets … I think I’m in love…just to find an organic gardener blogging in such a practical way.
It is a fact that we live in a world with more than a few undesirable chemicals infiltrating the world we live in, but we have to understand what will decompose, what is persistent, and how to proceed. … reading your commonsense words just made my day. ”
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” I think there are more people than you know who would love to garden with your ideas – they just don’t know it’s possible.”
“Your postings ALWAYS shed light in a slightly different way —. It’s like taking a walk around the garden with a favorite friend who can be relied on to share the truth.”
(I want) ” to tell you how much I enjoy your blog, your style of writing, the clarity of the information you provide and the very obvious expertise you have achieved.
Reading your blog and the information about your book has given me hope that I can try again (to garden), this time with much greater success and a lot less work.”
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“Last fall I found TMG and purchased your book. I took to heart your wisdom and applied it to my garden. I added lots of leaves and organic matter. After I planted my garden and applied lots of mulch I have done nothing but harvest. My garden is not perfect but my family is eating, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, okra, cucumbers and swiss chard. That is a complete 180 (degrees) from the previous 2 years. Real soil works, mulch works! If you are a new reader to TMG …unplug from Big Food and the chemical marketing matrix!”
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“What I’ve learned here has proven to be a major life changing part of our lives over the past 5 years.”
“—and I love reading your posts and using them as my garden encyclopedia.”
“I finished reading your book! Thank you so much! It was well worth the price and the shipping! ” (This reader is from Japan and her shipping cost was $25)
How about stink bugs, Theresa? We are losing all our tomatoes, green peppers, even some of the hot peppers. So far, our squash has been left alone. Bah!
Thank you for the research on squash bug behavior…I will file it away for some future year.
Peace
Gail
Hi Gail,
I’ve been fighting squash bugs for 33 years, so I know a lot about them. (Know your enemy.)
Our regular old stink bugs are usually not a problem. I think the stink bug you are talking about is that one that is from Asian countries that was “accidentally” introduced into this country. They have not yet arrived in my garden, but I’m sure its just a matter of time.
It’s horrifying because they do such damage and there’s no natural predator here.
The squash bug, vine borer, potato beetle and cucumber beetle keep me busy enough. I don’t look forward to having to deal with this “new” stink bug as well and I know it’s been hard for you to see your beautiful tomatoes and peppers ruined.
I would apply every strategy to them that I apply to squash bugs. I think they’re even worse than squash bugs because of the damage they do directly to the fruit. But — we have to start somewhere — so — the things that come to mind without ever having experienced this horrible bug are:
1. Kill everyone you see.
2. Use row covers when its possible. (As with squash bugs – if they hibernate in the area you use rows covers on – the row covers won’t do any good because they’ll come out of the ground there. I don’t know this stink bugs life cycle.)
3. Use a shop vac (I’ve never done this, but a lot of folks have great success with this.)
Again, I’m so sorry about your tomatoes and peppers. I hope more solutions are on the horizon.
Theresa
Theresa,
Should healthy zucchini plants continue to produce during August and perhaps even later? My plants are wilted looking and dried up, but they were prolific through June and July. I had a large number of squash bugs attack so I’m wondering if they did my plants in or it’s just that they were finished. I removed all the eggs I found and killed all the mature bugs I could find and spayed with a pesticide. After spraying I haven’t seen any more bugs, but the plants immediately started looking terrible. Maybe the insecticide killed them! As a first-time gardener, I just don’t know.
Yvonne
Luckily I haven’t seen any squash bugs these year but I had them last year. My biggest problem is those awful cucumber beetles. They killed off two of my cucumbers but strangely they aren’t interested in my patty pan squash yet. I’m waiting for the squah vine borer to hit because I always get those too. My curcubits have more bugs than anything else in the garden.
Hi Yvonne,
If your zucchini produced well through June and July, they’ve done a good job. I have had them produce longer, but it has been the exception rather than the rule. I think without squash bugs they would go on indefinitely.
As you know, I’m an organic gardener. Even the so called ‘eco-friendly’ or sprays suitable for organic gardeners still have an impact on beneficial insects and the bees. So I tend to stay away from those as well. If I do find it imperative to use one of eco-friendly sprays I try to plan carefully around the activity of the bees, spraying after 7PM when they are not active. Even then I check to make sure they are not on the plant.
As you may or may not know, bees are in big trouble and we as gardeners need to do everything we can to make sure they have every opportunity to survive to continue to pollinate for us.
Since your plants started looking terrible immediately after spraying — it would not surprise me if the insecticide didn’t have something to do with it.
I would encourage you to resist spraying and if you feel you must — then at the very least check out the more “eco-friendly” options at someplace like Garden’s Alive.
I wish you much success in your gardening endeavors and hope you will find TMG both encouraging and helpful. Nice to have you as a reader!
Best,
Theresa
Hi Christine,
Bugs definitely seem to have been less this year. I think you are most fortunate not to have had squash bugs! If the borer has not gotten you at this late date you may be safe from that — at least for this year.
Regarding the cucumber beetles. They really like the cucumbers – no doubt about it. And they end that plants production way too soon to suit me.
I just read something recently about a lady who had had great success with Kaolin Clay which is marketed under the name of Surround. She said one bag lasts two or more years for her. It’s perfectly safe and coats the plant. She said the beetles go elsewhere is you start using it immediately when the plants get leaves. Otherwise, she said it doesn’t work as well.
I’m very tempted to try it next year. It gives a dusty look to the plants and I don’t like that ——but the plants look horrible when they get that disease ——-
so I guess it’s a toss up. You might want to check it out. Garden’s Alive sells it as Surround.
The lady also said she planted varieties resistant to the disease such as Eureka and County Fair. Eureka is a pickling cucumber. County Fair is too but is said to be used as a slicer as well. I’ve never tried them, but might try County Fair since it is suppose to have excellent resistance to bacterial wilt.
She also does successive plantings which I do as well.
If you can add some of these strategies to your arsenal — (me too) — we might have better luck next year.
Hope this was helpful, Christine.
Theresa
What should I do if I want to plant my fall crop were I had my squash and lots of squash bugs? Do I need to do anything to my soil before I pull them up and till?
Hi Angie,
I’m not sure I totally understand what you have in mind when you asked “Do I need to do anything to my soil before I pull them up and till.”
If you have not killed the squash bugs (some might be killed by tilling) then they will hibernate close by this winter. They might move off a bit when you till, but they’ll be there.
If I have not addressed your concerns, please let me know. Give me more detail about what you are thinking and we’ll try again.
Theresa
This squash bug is new to me and is a disappointment since this is the first year that our pumpkins are plumping up! Today, I found a flower full of the bugs (got a fabulous photo of them and spent an hour on-line identifying and reviewing organic controls).
Is it possible to pick off the flower that is infested? Can I use dish-soapy water to clean off any other areas that are infested or ‘egg’ed ? Right now, I just want the pumpkins to survive. I will do the hard clean up, later, so the bugs won’t be a problem next year.
Hi Frances,
When you said you found a “flower full of bugs” – it made me wonder if we are talking about the same bug. Google “pictures of squash bugs” and then Google “pictures of cucumber beetles” just to make sure it is the squash bug we are talking about. Usually cucumber beetles are the ones that many times stay in the flowers. The squash bug adults like the stems and underneath the leaves. The nymphs of the squash bug also like to stay on the under side of the leaves. But you can find them anywhere on the plant including the fruit.
Soapy dish water will not kill squash bug eggs. They need to be taken from the leaf (sometimes they are found on the stem as well) and removed totally from the area. Some folks try to crush them, but they have great survival ability. I remove them from the garden, put them in an old plastic bag, and put them in the trash.
And the soapy water won’t kill the squash bugs.
Picking off flowers that are infested with cucumber beetles will not get rid of the beetles. If it was the squash bugs in the flowers — it won’t get rid of them either — unless you kill the bugs.
Squash bugs are hard deal with. Even conventional gardeners who use sprays have a hard time with them. They have a tough hide that protects them from poisons.
Diligence in killing them and clean up is the best control. And keep in mind that may not mean you’ll never have them again. Some years are better than others. And certainly we want to keep the numbers down, but you can still have them no matter what you. The idea is balance. If you keep the numbers controllable — you should be ok.
Why don’t you send me a picture via email so I can see the bug you are talking about — theresa@tendingmygarden.com.
Good luck with your pumpkins. I’ll bet they’re beautiful!
Theresa
Hi Theresa. Wondering if you tried the County Fair cucumbers this year and how they did?
Heather
No Heather, I did not try County Fair cukes. I did try the Diva and loved them!
Theresa
I was just wondering if diatomaceous earth would control the squash bug? or get rid of it totally.
Minimal control Eddie. And no, it will not get rid of them totally.
Theresa
My squash and zucchini were doing very well but we’ve had unusual hot weather and no rain. I see promising looking squash and zucchini only to watch them turn brown and soft before they’ve matured. What is causing this and is there a remedy?
Susan, I’ve had the same thing happen. As a matter of fact it happened this year a few weeks ago. Very dry and hot and those wonderful little squash turned brown and soft and I didn’t get the last few I had hoped for.
When conditions aren’t right, that can happen.
Theresa