[Community_garden] squash bugs

[yarrow at sfo.com]

I read somewhere that different varieties are more or less attractive 
to squash bugs. A community garden is a good place to test this 
(possibly anecdotal) assertion, to see which varieties in your area 
are less appealing to squash bugs.

Here in northern California, both French and Italian globe squashes 
were heavily infested with them last year, but I didn't see any on 
any winter squash -- Kabocha and a volunteer mini pumpkin. I found 
egg masses every time I looked, so I stopped growing those varieties.

This year, I haven't noticed any on the Romanesco or Clarinette or 
Black-something zucchini or on any of the winter squash plants. I 
found a lot of them on the Papaya Pear this week (the first ones this 
year), but last week a neighboring plot removed a bunch of infested 
squash vines, so they may have migrated to the next-most-appealing 
(or simply the closest) squash.

I also recall reading that the timing was important, but that has not 
proved true  here. Last year, I planted transplants on April 1; this 
year, in May or June.

Tanya