Problems that we have had at the garden has been minimal.  Not all insects have been bad.  Lady bug hatches have been welcomed and so have praying mantis.  Bats and bees are also good in the mix.  We have had both kinds of problems, insects and  pocket gofer rodents:  We are mixing a liquid consisting of liquid dish soap, liquid coffee, vegetable oil and water mixture for spraying.   Squash bugs are controlled when we spray about every three days.  Vibration seems to keep the pocket gofers away.  Our community garden is approximately one half acre and full of plants.

Aphids.....we spray with water and use fingers to remove them in the spring and fall.  They are attracted to broccoli, cabbage and brusel sprouts.  (not an issue this year)

White Fly ....we spray for them especially under the leaves of the chard, spinach and beets. (we are using liquid dish soap and spraying on leaves, the same spray we use on squash bugs).

Squash bug....we spray for them and also remove them by hand.  These can be very harmful to the squash plants once they get into the leaves and travel down the stem, so close attention is given to them.  We are using liquid dish soap and spraying it on the leaves and around the base of the plant using a 2 gallon sprayer because we have over a hundred plants to deal with.  Our recipe consists of :  2-3 good squirts of liquid Ivory dish soap, 2-3 tbs of vegetable oil, a pot (10-12 cup) of strong regular coffee. This makes about a half gallon.  Squash bugs die within a minute upon contact.  The hard eggs should be removed by hand or keep spraying them.  It is also important to treat the soil around the base of the plant.  Some people suggest using a decoy plant or a board laying on the ground.  In the early morning there should be bugs which you can catch then drown them in soapy water.

Corn Cob Beetle.....we tried spraying but it was not successful.  We tried vegetable oil on the corn silk.  It seemed to keep them out of the corn cob.

Quail ......we are trying a preventive measure, hanging cd discs around  newly planted lettucere.  (it works).  If we plant large area's of lettuce, the quail do not seem to bother us much.


Cabbage Worm........Malathion mixed with water per directions in a watering can is only used on  beets, parsnips and rutabaga plants.  It is poured on rows of the young plants.  Our carrots are not bothered by them since we do not use organic fertilizer or any other soil enhancer.  The carrots grow nicely in the the very sandy soil.  16-16-16 plus sulfur is used to fertilize the plants.