You folks need to give yourself a pat in the back. I posted an entry that asked about the bugs eating my zucchini, and several of you stated that they were squash bugs. But they didn't LOOK like the squash bugs in any of my books, so I was confused. This morning, while qicking tomatoes to run thru my Squuezo strainer, There were MORE of them. In my PUMPKINS. Acck!

Hubby heard my panic, and called the extension agent. He came over this afternoon (I was impressed!), with his Audobon field guide in hand. It didn't look like the bugs in HIS book, either. So we went back to his Jeep, and spread the books he had in there all over the hood. There, in a little color picture, were my bugs....and they WERE squash bugs. The other books just weren't showing the nymph stages, and this picture did! It took three different books to identify the bugs, what the eggs looked like, and what they did to the plants. The folks that put together these garden guides need to get all their info together.

So it is off to town to get some Sevin--that seems to be the insecticide of choice, tho I hate to do it. They overwinter in the leaves and tems, so I will have to burn the vines, etc. this fall, and not compost them.

On a gloating note--he said that my tomatoes were some of the best that he had seen in the county. They are funky looking, but still bearing; a great many folk's plants have just died. And he wondered how I had such a good stand of lettuce, this late in the year, with no shade or cover. Counldn't answer that one, but I planted some more today!

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), August 30, 2000

Answers

Leann: What part of the country do you live in, that you get such great service from the Extension Agent? Every time I have gone to ask them anything, they just say they don't know, to check the library. Of course, ours is only about 21, looks like he just graduated from highschool, and doesn't seem to know beans about anything. I sure don't know how he got hired! Jan

-- Jan in Colorado (Janice12@aol.com), August 30, 2000.

We live in Brown County, Indiana. Maybe it is just how those Purdue graduates are ;o) ! The ones that we have had have been good 'uns!

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), August 31, 2000.