Please read this - it's important!

There back! Cucumber beetles like the one in this picture. They are damaging, nasty, horrid little things. Getting rid of them is an all-hands-on deck proposal - please check cukes and squash frequently. If they are driven from one plot, they'll just move to the next.

The beetles damage things badly, leaving scars, like the leaves above. 

Using Neem Oil, [organic], hot pepper spray, planting pungent varieties of marigold [French of Mexican] can help. However, the most efficient way to get rid of them is to squash them by hand and clear the eggs off the underside of cuke and squash leaves. The eggs look like the picture above. Don't just scrape them off - scrape them off into a bottle of water and dish soap. They'll still hatch if they are on the ground. It can take some time to get rid of them, but persistence pays off. 

It's time to plant the corn

Need a show of hands of anyone interested in growing a row of corn in the communal corn plot this summer.
Corn does best in close rows, which allows pollination.
Because the corn is cheap, there's no charge, but please keep to these guidelines:
Use the seed we provide, it helps with pollination
Please remember corn is thirsty and requires frequent watering.
If you'd like more than one row, let us know and we'll accommodate those requests as space allows.

Finally, the arrival of corn means the manure pile will be vanishing. Saturday morning, we're going to spread it onto the corn plot and run the cultivator over it to mix it in well.

Thanks much.

Organic pesticide sites -- good info

Our fellow gardener, Christina, sent me a few very good links with information on organic pesticides. Check out these sites!

Extensive List of Organic Pest Control Remedies

http://www.smartgardener.com/

My favorite remedy is pepper spray, which the first link provides a recipie for. Basically, get a whole bunch of pepper flakes from the Christmas Tree Shop, and make a tea. Then strain it (important) and spray it on your plants. It works very well on corn worms!

Thank you, Christina!