Peggy, row covers may be an answer with flea beetles. I don't have much experience using them. My primary veggie garden is so exposed that I have trouble with wind blowing just about everything away (even the plants :o(. Some areas don't have trouble with flea beetles and some years are worse than others. In my garden, brassicas suffer the most. The worse time comes early in the season but I've learned the flea beetle larvae are feeding on the roots of the host plants throughout the year. These flightless critters grow up in and hang out in the soil as adults. The idea of using row covers for protection reminds me of using plastic tunnels and then discovering that I'd inadvertently created a wonderful home for ants! I am not, however, saying that if wonÂt work. One thing, the more stones or debris on the soil surface - the more problems I have with the flea beetles. So, some gardens have had very few problems and others have seen brassica devastation. To suppress the critters, rotenone/pyrethrum spray not only on the growing plants but on the soil surface has worked well. When the plants are small, it is easy to overspray around them onto the soil. As with any pest - if you don't have 'em or can live with Âem, don't spray 'em. And, even if rotenone/pyrethrum is organic and isn't very persistent, it IS a poison. Steve

Forgot to answer your question re: freezing. Squash - I frankly don't bother since they're available year-round in the supermarket & I feel that once defrosted the texture is miserable. Just enjoy them while you have them in the garden. Eggplant - Doesn't freeze well raw or blanched. Gets mushy, dark grey, & gruesome looking. However - if you dry the slices or cook it in a dish first (eggplant sandwiches, lasagna, parmagian, etc.), it freezes just fine. Beans - Blanch in boiling water for just a minute or 2, drain well. You can then just pack in plastic bags, excluding as much air as humanly possible, pack in vacuum-seal bags, or spread on a tray to freeze individually & then pack in bags - again, remove as much air as possible. As for peppers - sweet peppers I usually wash, core, seed, & dice or cut into strips, dry well, pack into plastic bags & freeze. No blanching. Hot peppers I just wash & dry well & freeze whole in plastic bags. Frozen peppers won't thaw out crisp, but work perfectly fine in cooked dishes, sauces, salsas, & stirfries for flavoring. It's also incredibly easy to slice & seed the hot peppers in their semi-frozen state. Hope this helps you.

Going grocery shopping now?!! Will do it.

Yes, there is such a thing as a "little bit of stir-fry" and you can make enough for one or two by following a simple ratio of ingredients. I have a meal plan where I place stir-fry on Wednesday's menu. I use vegetables (and often leftover meat) from the previous two or three days of meal preparation (if I'm chopping vegetables for Monday's meal - I'll just do enough for subsequent meals at the same time), occasionally I'll add something from the freezer, and I also use rehydrated freeze-dried veggies in stir fry - but any and all of those choices will work. I figure 2-3 ounces of meat per serving along with 3/4 to 1 cup of vegetables per serving, and 1/2 a cup of rice on the side. Use a ratio of ingredients that fits your serving size requirements. I sprinkle it with lemon pepper if I want to skip the sauce, or adapt a favorite sauce to this small amount.