Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Stink Bugs and Facebook

FBC writes,

I plant a decent sized garden. I grow tomatoes, several types of squash, zucchini, pumpkins, and various peppers. I’m thinking of trying corn this coming year too. The last couple of years have been rough. Between the blight and various pests (especially stink bugs something else I couldn't identify) I’ve lost a lot of yield. What are the most effective organic methods for dealing with these?
First of all, my suggestion is to try to send it all to zucchini and save the rest of the garden...and all of your family and neighbors come zucchini picking time.

Blight effects wet leaves, so the key is to pick off leaves that show the blight as soon as possible and try to aid in drying by keeping plants staked, tied up, and lower leaves pruned back to increase the air flow letting them dry quicker. As for the stink bugs, unfortunately, I have no idea what to do other than swear. Some people suggest planting companion plants that repel them like radishes or plants like sunflowers that attract them away, but I have both in my garden and they still seem to find the tomatoes. If anyone has something that works, I'd be willing to nominate you for a Nobel.

Philo asks,
How can Facebook be worth $50 billion?
Hype and your personal information to sell.

Hanno asks,
What is tastier, crawfish etouffee or boiled crawfish?
It is an empirical question that I plan to continue studying. Steamboat Bill's tonight?