Hi Alicev. I have had trouble with SVB in an all organic garden for the last two years. I was somewhat successful last year with organic methods and am having better luck this year. I'll know in a few weeks exactly how well I did. Here are some of what I use: 1) Tulle and Reemay floating row covers. My SVB showed up on June 8th much to my horror. I covered all the young plants (quite a few) with tulle and the more solid white reemay row cover. As the plants grew larger and started blooming, I uncovered my varieties that are more SVB resistant and let them vine up the trellis. The susceptible varieties were not completely screened off, but the SVB concentrated on the easy ones. The bees, on the other hand, found their way under the tulle (and out again) so I could stop hand pollinating. I like the tulle MUCH better. I can see the plants and the plants breath better and have less of an issue with Powdery Mildew. 2) Manually removing the eggs and checking for frass. I check all the vines for the eggs. They are very small, flat and reddish brown. Occasionally they group in clusters, but only of 5-6 maximum. They are most commonly on the vines, but also check the leaf stems, the new fruit and the curly-q things (technical term). Just scrape them off with your finger or use tape. This is what they look like: 3) BT and Nematodes: when you see frass or have a plant wilting, you can try manually removing the borer, injecting BT (Dipel, Thuricide, etc - BT for caterpillars) or injecting predatory nematodes. I've tried removing the borer by cutting with a razor blade and fishing out with a hooked paperclip. This is what I did last year with the injection method: "I also injected BT directly into the infected vines. I mixed it at 1 teaspoon BT to 1 cup water and injected 1ml at each spot. I used an 18g needle and 3ml syringe. They are available from any farm and ranch/livestock catalog or feed store. I also tried injecting predatory nematodes into the zucchini vines. I mixed it up as instructed, transferred to the sharp needle (the one it comes with is useless) and injected .5 to 1 ml per spot. THIS IS IMPORTANT: wear safety glasses/goggles when injecting. The squash vines will clog the needle occasionally and, when that happens, the needle comes away from the syringe and the bt or nematodes shoot back directly into your face. It is not any fun flushing your eyes out for 20 minutes and then frantically searching the internet to find out if the nematodes are about to eat your eyes (they won't, there have been accidents at the facilities that grow the nematodes and everyone is fine). Also, do not dispose of the needles directly into the trash. Drug stores sell containers for used needles (for insulin needles)." So far, I've injected BT once this year on an infected plant. It is still OK, but I'm watching it. I saved several infected plants last year, but I don't know if it was the BT or the nematodes. Last year, I also sprayed with Thuricide (BT for caterpillars) mixed 4T to a gallon. Wear goggles when you spray it! It irritates the eyes. You need to do this before the eggs are hatched and in the vine, preferably before they are laid on the vine. 4) Radishes - I plant radishes in with the squash, but this only works with plants on the ground. I trellis too many of my squash and, once they reach three feet, the radishes don't protect any more. 5) Resistant Varieties. I have many summer squash and winter squash that have been resistant to SVB in my garden or have a reputation to be (trialing this year). Here's my list - A = very resistant, B = somewhat resistant or C = trialing, said to be resistant. Summer: Gialla Nostrale (B), Serpente di Sicilia zucchetta (C), Lemon (C), Tatume (C), Trombachino/Tromba d'Albenga (A) Winter: Futsu Black (A), Choctaw Sweet Potato (C), Waltham Butternut (B), Dulce de Horno (C), Thai Kang Kob (C), Butternut Rugusa (C), African Winter Squash (B). Shishigantani (B). Hope this helps with the SVB war! If it is too late for this year's squash, replant Tromba d'Albenga now. I did that last year and still had squash until October. Plan for next year and you will be able to have summer squash in an organic garden! It just takes a bit of work. Good luck, Bellatrix Here is a link that might be useful: Predatory Nematodes for SVBs

Good to see you around again vgkg. Sweetpotatoes should be checked for maturity about once a week and when the majority of plants have a good harvest, all the vines should be dug up at once. The reason for checking them regularly is that there are differences in maturity for varieties and based on the temperature they grow in. Hotter temps = faster maturing taters. Georgia Jet at roughly 100 days is one variety that MUST be harvested on time. They just make huge split deformed and often diseased roots if you let them go too long. Okinawan is the opposite end of the spectrum with 140 days to full maturity and often does not make a crop even here in Alabama because our season is really not long enough. DarJones

Poor sweet potato! It has a serious naming problem. Not only does it get stuck with the name of some OTHER tuber that's not even remotely related either botanically or taste-wise (I too have tasted "real" yams, and they're not much like sweet potatoes at all)... ...but they also got their "proper" name STOLEN by a certain tuberous nightshade plant! I heard that the word "potato" originally referred to Ipomea batatas, then was later used used as a more general term for root or tuber vegetables, and then later somehow got stuck on Solanum tuberosa, so that people felt that the original potato had to now carry the qualifier "sweet", even though not all varieties of Ipomea batatas are sweet. Though I guess it's bad enough calling the other potatoes "Irish potatoes", when they're from South America, or calling them "white potatoes" when not all of them are white and some sweet potatoes are white. Basically... we need better words for things. :-P

Honu, Scientific Name: Gynura nepalensis Common names: Dawn Dewa, Leaves of the Gods, Googoolipid, Mollucan spinach, Cholesterol Spinach It may be a plant that tends to rarely, if ever produce seeds and is normally propagated by cuttings. "Native to Nepal, it has received interest recently in Hawaii, where anecdotal evidence of its cholesterol-lowering effects have given it "miracule-cure" status. It is described as a hardy, fast-growing plant that appears related to the Okinawan spinach. No scientific evidence exists to justify any claims of effectiveness or safety. One study found an extract of a plant of the same genus as cholesterol spinach effective in lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels in diabetic rats." http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11571.cfm?RecordID=640&tab=HC "It is not a spinach. Don't call it that. Just call it the low-cholesterol plant..." http://starbulletin.com/2000/01/21/features/garden.html "Cuttings should be transplanted into a clean pot using new, unused potting soil. Keep moist and out of direct sunlight until new growth starts. Mist frequently with diluted strength water soluble fertilizer.   Can be grown in direct sunlight, part shade outdoors. Grows and spreads into a dense gound cover with enough moisture and nutrients. Do not use poisons of any type since this is what you will be consuming. No pests have been observed on this plant.  Can be eaten raw by itself or mixed in with salads. Almost tasteless, this is a good addition to your veggies. Use in place of lettuce!" www.taroandti.com