Oh Butternut Squash, Why Do You Treat Me So???

When I introduced butternut squash to my garden midsummer, I was optimistic I'd have absolutely no issues growing it in the space. And yet, this is what it currently looks like ...

Butternut squash, my problem child ...

Grrrr ...

Black-Eyed Susans Make a Grand Entrance!

I am a little bummed it's already August, but my flowers continue to bloom and will through probably the end of September! Lots of time yet! This weekend, my black-eyed susans bloomed! Love it!

Black-eyed susans make their entrance! (gnomeknowsbest.blogspot.com)

Organic Solutions for Powdery Mildew

Lately I've been trying out the
ready-to-apply Natria neem oil
solution. Not as cost-effective as
buying concentrate, but easy!

I've relied on neem oil nearly exclusively to treat garden problems over the past two years after hearing of it from a friend on, where else, Facebook.

It's an insecticide and a fungicide, and pretty darn effective when applied early on in a problem in the garden.

I went out to my garden the other day after not visiting for a day, and discovered the rain and cooler weather we've been having had contributed to a breakout of powdery mildew.

Not the best picture of powdery mildew, but here's one of my cucumber leaves. You'll see it looks like a bunch of powdery spots. When it spreads, it eventually looks like someone put powdered sugar on your plants:

The start of powdery mildew on my cucumber leaves.
Left untreated, it will spread. I'm trying to prevent that.

I trimmed as many of the leaves affected off the plant as possible, and then threw them out and washed my hands. I probably should have been more careful about where the pruned leaves fell, as I'm afraid I may have helped the airborne spores spread. Anyway, I then sprayed with neem oil the affected plans and nearby plants. But after doing some research, I've decided that while neem oil is effective against powdery mildew, it may not be the most effective treatment.