Good Companion Plants for Squashes/Cukes?

[TheSeedObsesser]

What are some good companion plants for squashes or cucumbers that will help fend off pests like cucumber beetles and squash bugs? Even if they've never been proven to due so? (Looked for that "Carrots Love Tomatoes book, but the library didn't have it.) I'm creating a plan for that extra acre and I'm trying to plan it out to be (relatively) care-free. And by "care-free" I mean something that's still going to take a lot of work to begin with anyway, but can go nearly by itself after the plants are well-established.

Fun fact(s?) just to give you some background info on what I'm planning: squashes and cucumbers have something called allelopathy. This means that they excrete natural chemicals to inhibit/kill nearby plant growth, much like how Black Walnuts. This does only work on particular weeds. Luckily, the weeds that cucumbers/squashes affect happen the be a good part of what is growing in the field that I plan to plant them. At the same time the shade created by the plants with help to further suppress weeds. I will still have a lot of picking/hoeing to do until the plants grow to a good size.

 

[catjac1975]

Marigolds and radish are the most recommended. Make sure the marigolds are the old-fashioned variety with the strong scent. They will need a lot of weeding before they are dense enough to shade out weeds. I use grass clippings to suppress weeds until the plants are large enough.

 

[baymule]

@TheSeedObsesser ask your library to order Carrots Love Tomatoes for you. A friend of mine works at the library and they order books for people all the time.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I forgot to mention I also plan to use cardboard and dirty straw. Grass clipping/fallen leaves might also be used. I do have some old-fashioned marigold seed already. Will buy radish seed from local stores once their seed racks are up.

@TheSeedObsesser ask your library to order Carrots Love Tomatoes for you. A friend of mine works at the library and they order books for people all the time.

Haven't done that yet, but plan on it. Thing is we don't go to the library very often, despite only being about 10miles away from it.

 

[catjac1975]

Seed-
Cucumber beetles and squash bugs are the most difficult pests to control. I use pyrethrum, an organic insecticide for these bugs. My chickens forage in my veggie garden all winter and I believe they keep the pest population down by eating the larvae. I often use nothing at all all season, but I have pyrethrum on hand. Different strains of veggies are sometimes less appealing to these bugs. Planting consecutively can help. I find my earliest crops are most likely to be pest injured. Certain squash, particularly climbing varieties are less appetizing to the squash bug. I have found Trombocino and Rumbo squashes do not seem interesting to the dreaded SB. Pyrethrum is good for many garden pests.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Trombocino and Rumbo are "C. Moschata" (species name) squashes, which are pretty much immune to SVB. We let all of the birds in the garden during the winter, I would agree that it works to keep the pest pop. down, but it sure does leave the soil hard-panned.

I want to eventually create a setup that won't require even organic pesticides, tilling, and even weeding. My inspiration is coming from one of my favorite authors, Masanobu Fukuoka. I've read one of his books - "One Straw Revolution" and am beginning another. I'd recommend reading them but I'd get them from a library instead of buying them just in case they aren't quite your things. The books are very philosophical. This kind of setup won't work with all crops but I like the ideas behind it.

I'll definitely be using sprays and other methods when this setup is first starting out. So I'll remember pyrethrum. That stuff comes from chrysanthemum plants, so I'll probably eventually be planting the plants themselves.

 

[journey11]

I planted radish seed thickly around the base of my cukes (after they were already up) last year. It was probably my best cukes ever and the plants hung around much longer without succumbing to disease. I guess they are supposed to repel or confuse pests and if they don't bite the leaves of the cukes, then they'll not so easily spread disease. We ate a few of the radishes early on, but I left most of them to go to seed. They also made a nice living mulch, suppressing weeds as well.

 

[catjac1975]

Trombocino and Rumbo are "C. Moschata" (species name) squashes, which are pretty much immune to SVB. We let all of the birds in the garden during the winter, I would agree that it works to keep the pest pop. down, but it sure does leave the soil hard-panned.

I want to eventually create a setup that won't require even organic pesticides, tilling, and even weeding. My inspiration is coming from one of my favorite authors, Masanobu Fukuoka. I've read one of his books - "One Straw Revolution" and am beginning another. I'd recommend reading them but I'd get them from a library instead of buying them just in case they aren't quite your things. The books are very philosophical. This kind of setup won't work with all crops but I like the ideas behind it.

I'll definitely be using sprays and other methods when this setup is first starting out. So I'll remember pyrethrum. That stuff comes from chrysanthemum plants, so I'll probably eventually be planting the plants themselves.

Not that I ever like to have weeds, but keeping up with a large garden is difficult. A few things I have discovered is that ladybug larvae love a common weed whose name eludes be at the moment. Some weed prevents sun scald. Weeds also provide beans and lettuce a bit of protection for that first sneaky light frost. And of course food for bugs. I had some weed I could not get to in a daylily bed where I was stating to notice had a few wild rabbits. I was getting to the weeding and found some nibbled stalks. I left those the bunnies were enjoying.