Every once in a while, I’ll have an idea that’s actually kind of incredible. Remember me talking about planting elbon rye as a cover crop, in the big garden? We let it go to seed, and Don planted all the vegetables in spaces he created in the rye. Eventually, when the rye got dry, he mowed it a little and tramped it down. We have great mulch, and NO weeds, it’s unbelievable. Don originally doubted this idea, but now he’s sold. Usually, we battle weeds throughout the growing season, but the rye roots have kept all the weed seeds from growing.
At the end of the growing season, the rye will get tilled in and should sprout a whole new crop of rye for the cover crop, for next growing season.
The battle with the grasshoppers has begun. I’m putting more nolo bait out again this year. I have a great fogger that’s made of essential oils, but it looks like it might be burning the plants some. Nolo bait is really the best long term control for grasshoppers. It delivers a parasite that affects the life cycle.
The new thing we’re trying for squash bugs, is spreading wood ash on the soil around the plants, but not applying it to the plant at all. The squash bugs live in the soil, and they don’t like wood ash. So far, it looks like it’s working.