Make Your Own Soy Milk!

By Jaci Collins
Though making your own soy milk takes time, it's an incredibly inexpensive and easy project.

To get started, you simply need one pound of white dried soybeans (the organic variety is $2 per pound at the local natural food store, however we got ours for free from a local farmer friend), fine-mesh cheesecloth, two large pots, and a food processor or blender.
Directions:

• Wash the soybeans, picking out any discolored ones, and place them in a large pot or bowl.
• Cover the soybeans entirely with cold water and allow them to soak from 8 to 24 hours.
• After soaking, the soybeans should be a bit soft and easy to bite into. 
• Drain and rinse the soybeans and split them in half. 
• Place the 2 pots on the stove and heat up (not boil) 8 cups of water in each. Meanwhile, put half of the soybeans in a food processor or blender, barely covering them with cold water. Blend or process for two minutes or until the mixture is creamy and foamy. Place this into a bowl and set aside. 
• Repeat the same step with the other half of the soybeans. Keep these mixtures separate and place them into the pots. 
• Stir the mixture for 20 minutes preventing it from foaming out of the pot.  
• Place the cheesecloth over a large bowl and ladle the heated mixture slowly over the cloth, allowing it to drain completely. To speed up the process, you can use the back of the ladle to spread the mixture thin over the cheesecloth. 
• Repeat until you have strained all of the mixture. The solid, known as okara, will need to be emptied off the cheesecloth throughout this process as it weighs it down. 
• Once you've completed this, simply place the soymilk into a pitcher and into the refrigerator. FYI: The soymilk will only last for roughly 3-4 days since there are no preservatives.

Don't through out the okara, as it can be used in various vegetarian/vegan recipes. We used it to make okara burgers:

 
Enjoy!

Farm Stand Opens Tomorrow!

Better Farm soaps!

Our farm stand will open at 9 a.m. tomorrow, featuring an assortment of Better Farm goods.

Available for sale tomorrow will be turnips, radishes, handmade soaps (pressed with herbs from our gardens), T-shirts, coffee, and fresh herbs including sage, chives, and oregano.

We'll also have sign-ups available for our full summer workshop series. Please stop in and say hello!

Our farm stand is located on-site at 31060 Cottage Hill Road, Redwood NY, 13679.

Interns and Alpacas!

By Noah Bogdonoff

Yesterday the Better Farm interns headed over to Home Again Farm—Gail and Daryl Marsh's little utopia of alpacas, guinea hens, and grape vines—to assist in "herd health day". The Marshes currently tend to 20 alpacas and must keep close tabs on their antibiotic regimens, weight, and hygiene. If something is wrong, Gail explained, they have to know right away. Ailments such as copper poisoning can harm or even kill an alpaca, and the Marshes have learned from experience that the best resistance to infections and diseases is vigilant observation of the herd.

All that said, what is an alpaca? Until today I had never actually laid eyes on one. Happily, the Marshes' alpacas are quite social and pretty docile, so I managed to get up-close and personal with some of the creatures:

They're pretty silly.

In addition to their incredibly humorous appearance, alpacas provide the world with some of the softest, most usable fur in the world. The Marshes use their alpaca fur to make yarn, and run a little store out of their home that sells clothing, hats, gloves, scarves, and more. I walked away with a hat for the winter. (This year, I'll finally have something warm enough to protect my ears from winter in the northeast!). They are also, as we saw, herd animals. Gail and Daryl taught us how to round the alpacas up and catch them so so that we could harness them and lead them to the scale.

Gail and Daryl weighing an alpaca.

From the scale, we led the alpaca's into a device called a "shoe" that keeps the animal (and human) safe and secure while shots are given, toenails and clipped, and tails are trimmed. Because these alpacas don't get much time on rocks, it's essential to manually clip their nails.

Alpaca in a shoe.

The alpacas proved to be a pretty rowdy bunch. At one point, we led four males into the barn to find the entire female herd lingering on the other side of a fairly thin fence. Chaos ensued. As Daryl said, "We know what's on these boys' minds." Later on in the day, one of the males snuck around us and made a made dash for another area of the farm. Daryl rounded him up and led him back to the herd with a chuckle.

As Better Farm begins to accrue animals, this type of experience and exposure will likely come in handy. Maybe we'll take the plunge and buy an alpaca or two one day. Who knows? In any case, I'm excited to keep up with the Marshes and their business.

To learn more about Better Farm's internship program, click here.

Rainwater Catchment Workshop this Friday

Illustration from Self-Sufficient Blog.

Better Farm on Friday will host a "Rainwater Catchment Systems", a two-hour workshop about harvesting rainwater for irrigation or non-potable water, from 1-3 p.m.

In this workshop, participants will learn about various methods for catching rainwater including commercial set-ups and simple systems anyone can use. Attendees will then put their know-how to use by installing a simple catchment system that will be hooked up to sink in Better Farm's Art Barn.

There is a suggested $10 donation for any workshops scheduled at Better Farm to cover basic material costs. Pre-registration is required! Please contact us at info@betterfarm.org or (315) 482-2536 with any questions or to pre-register. For Better Farm's full summer workshop schedule, click here. For a listing of arts-related events and workshops, click here.

Here's a quick list of the other workshops we have slated here in the next week:

Fundamentals of Violin
All Ages
10 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday, June 16
In this workshops, students will learn proper technique on violin, finger positions, and basic scales. Instructor will be available at the conclusion of the series to sign people up for private instruction if desired.
Instructor: Brian Purwin is a professional violinist and pianist living in Redwood, N.Y.Cost: Free
Note: Pre-register by e-mailing info@betterarts.org or calling (315) 482-2536. When you pre-register, let us know if you need to borrow a violin! Free, day-long rentals are being made available through a partnership with Trillium Performing Arts Center.

Intro to Guitar
All Ages
1-3 p.m. Saturday, June 16
In this course students will learn basic chord progressions, finger positionings, and a song with music to take home. Each participant must come to workshop with his or her own guitar and strings.
Instructor: Chad Darou has been playing music since he was 8. He has played dobro on stage and in studio with such greats as Bill Keith, Bill Harrell, Frank Wakefield, The Gibson Brothers, Dan Tyminski, Lonesome River Band, Dell Reeves, Bill Anderson, Ray Legere and the Abrams Brothers.
Cost: Free
Note: Pre-register by e-mailing info@betterarts.org or calling (315) 482-2536.

Knitting and Crocheting Circle
All ages
6 p.m. Monday, June 18
People are invited to bring their ongoing knitting and crochet projects to work on. Instructor will be available to answer questions and provide support. Those interested in learning how to knit and/or crochet are invited to sit in with their questions. Yarn and needles will be avaiable for those who do not have their own.
Instructor: Theresa McDonald
Cost: Free
Note: Pre-register by e-mailing info@betterarts.org or calling (315) 482-2536. When you pre-register, please let us know if you'll be bringing your own yarns and needles or if you need us to provide them.

Mulch Gardening in Full Swing at Better Farm

Jaci Collins, intern director, works on a row of cauliflower.

Manicured, conventional gardens are completely antithetical to how plants actually grow. Bare ground with nothing growing between plants may be deemed more aesthetically pleasing; but results of this "conventional" gardening method have created a booming business for chemical companies and garden supply businesses because zapped soil has high levels of sensitivity to temperature and moisture, and weak resistance to topical bacterial infections. Think of topsoil as a garden's skin; and imagine stripping away the top three layers to leave plants with higher sensitivities to temperature, moisture, and weak immunities to topical bacterial infections. You would also be forced to apply excessive moisture and take antibiotics to combat illnesses.


Enter mulch gardening: a layering method that mimics a forest floor and combines soil improvement, weed removal, and long-term mulching in one fell swoop. Also called lasagna gardening or sheet mulching, this process can turn hard-to-love soil rich and healthy by improving nutrient and water retention in the dirt, encouraging favorable soil microbial activity and worms, suppressing weed growth, and improving the well-being of plants (all while reducing maintenance!).

We're in our third year of mulch gardening at Better Farm, which means we're really in our first year of having extremely developed, thick rows of biologically strong dirt and compost for our plants. Here's some information on how you can get started mulch gardening.

How is Mulch Gardening Achieved?

First, a weed barrier like cardboard is laid down to smother weeds. The cardboard decomposes after the weeds have all died and turned into compost. On top of the cardboard you can pile dead leaves, grass clippings, compost, several-years-old composted manure, and other biodegradables such as old hay (our personal favorite). Mulch gardening can range from just a few inches thick to 2 feet or more, depending on how bad your soil is and how much raw material you have available (it will cook down and settle quite a bit). We made two-foot piles last fall, and by spring those had settled and cooked down to about one foot. We sometimes add a fresh layer of cardboard over the top of the rows as everything breaks down and we see evidence of emerging weeds. The cyclical process goes on year-round and works so well we don't have to put a single additive or chemical into the soil.
To say our experience at Better Farm has been a crash-course in everything organic is an understatement. We've been working uphill since Day One, when we "broke ground" (and several shovels) in the clay-rich, hard earth that had homed hay only for at least half a century.

Since that time, we've experimented with several planting, growing, weeding, fertilizing, and pest-control tactics. And what began as a small vermicompost bin in the kitchen has turned into a huge garden full of layered mulch rotting beautifully into dark, rich soil that feeds hundreds of plants every spring, summer, and fall.

Want to learn more? Here's a snippet from an old interview with the Queen of Mulch herself, talking about how you too can have a green thumb without an aching back.

My no-work gardening method is simply to keep a thick mulch of any vegetable matter that rots on both my vegetable and flower garden all year round. As it decays and enriches the soil, I add more. The labor-saving part of my system is that I never plow, spade, sow a cover crop, harrow, hoe, cultivate, weed, water or spray. I use just one fertilizer (cottonseed or soybean meal), and I don't go through that tortuous business of building a compost pile.

I beg everyone to start with a mulch 8 inches deep; otherwise, weeds may come through, and it would be a pity to be discouraged at the very start. But when I am asked how many bales (or tons) of hay are necessary to cover any given area, I can't answer from my own experience, for I gardened in this way for years before I had any idea of writing about it, and therefore didn't keep track of such details.
However, I now have some information on this from Dick Clemence, my A-Number-One adviser. He says, "I should think of 25 50-pound bales as about the minimum for 50 feet by 50 feet, or about a half-ton of loose hay. That should give a fair starting cover, but an equal quantity in reserve would be desirable." That is a better answer than the one I have been giving, which is: You need at least twice as much as you would think.

What Should I Use for Mulch?
Spoiled or regular hay, straw, leaves, pine needles, sawdust, weeds, garbage — any vegetable matter that rots.

Don't Some Leaves Decay Too Slowly?
No, they just remain mulch longer, which cuts down on labor. Don't they mat down? If so, it doesn't matter because they are between the rows of growing things and not on top of them. Can one use leaves without hay? Yes, but a combination of the two is better, I think.
What is spoiled hay? It's hay that for some reason isn't good enough to feed livestock. It may have, for instance, become moldy — if it was moist when put in the haymow — but it is just as effective for mulching as good hay, and a great deal cheaper.

Shouldn't the hay be chopped?
Well, I don't have mine chopped and I don't have a terrible time — and I'm 76 and no stronger than the average person.

Can you use grass clippings?
Yes, but unless you have a huge lawn or neighbors who will collect them for you, they don't go very far.

How Do You Sow Seeds into the Mulch?
You plant exactly as you always have, in the Earth. You pull back the mulch and put the seeds in the ground and cover them just as you would if you had never heard of mulching.

How Do You Sow Seeds into the Mulch?
You plant exactly as you always have, in the Earth. You pull back the mulch and put the seeds in the ground and cover them just as you would if you had never heard of mulching.

 How Often Do You Put on Mulch?

Whenever you see a spot that needs it. If weeds begin to peep through anywhere, just toss an armful of hay on them. What time of year do you start to mulch? The answer is now, whatever the date may be, or at least begin to gather your material. At the very least give the matter constructive thought at one; make plans. If you are intending to use leaves, you will unfortunately have to wait until they fall, but you can be prepared to make use of them the moment they drop. Should you spread manure and plow it under before you mulch? Yes, if your soil isn't very rich; otherwise, mulch alone will answer the purpose.

How Far Apart Are the Rows?
Exactly the same distance as if you weren't mulching — that is, when you begin to use my method. However, after you have mulched for a few years, your soil will become so rich from rotting vegetable matter that you can plant much more closely than one dares to in the old-fashioned way of gardening.

How Long Does the Mulch Last?
That depends on the kind you use. Try always to have some in reserve, so that it can replenished as needed.

Now for the Million Dollar Question: Where Do You Get Mulch?
That's difficult to answer but I can say this: If enough people in any community demand it, I believe that someone will be eager to supply it. At least that's what happened within a distance of 100 miles or so of us in Connecticut, and within a year after my book came out, anyone in that radius could get all the spoiled hay they wanted at 65 cents a bale.

If you belong to a garden club, why can't you all get together and create a demand for spoiled hay? If you don't belong to a group, you probably at least know quite a few people who garden and who would be pleased to join the project.
Use all the leaves you can find. Clip your cornstalks into footlength pieces and use them. Utilize your garbage, tops of perennials, any and all vegetable matter that rots. In many localities, the utility companies grind up the branches they cut off when they clear the wires; and often they are glad to dump them near your garden, with no charge. But hurry up before they find out that there is a big demand for them and they decide to make a fast buck. These wood chips make a splendid mulch; I suggest you just ignore anyone who tells you they are too acidic.

Recently, a man reproached me for making spoiled hay so popular that he can no longer get it for nothing. The important fact, however, is that it has become available and is relatively cheap. The other day a neighbor said to me, "Doesn't it make you feel good to see the piles of hay in so many yards when you drive around?" It does make me feel fine.

Now and then I am asked (usually by an irritated expert) why I think I invented mulching. Well, naturally, I don't think so; God invented it simply by deciding to have the leaves fall off the trees once a year. I don't even think that I'm the first, or only person, who thought up my particular variety of year-round mulching, but apparently I'm the first to make a big noise about it — writing, talking, demonstrating.

And since in the process of spreading this great news, I have run across many thousands who never heard of the method, and a few hundred who think it is insane and can't possibly work, and only two people who had already tried it, is it surprising that I have carelessly fallen into the bad habit of sounding as though I thought I originated it?

But why should we care who invented it? Dick Clemence works hard trying to get people to call it the "Stout System," which is good because it should have some sort of a short name for people to use when they refer to it, instead of having to tell the whole story each time. I suppose it does more or less give me a feeling of importance when I come across an article mentioning the Stout System, yet I am cheated out of the full value of that sensation because I've never been able really to identify the whole thing with that little girl who was certainly going to be great and famous some day. What a disgusted look she would have given anyone who would have offered her the title of Renowned Mulcher!

And it borders on the unenthralling to have the conversation at social gatherings turn to slugs and cabbageworms the minute I show up. And if some professor of psychology, giving an association-of-ideas test to a bunch of gardeners, should say "moldy hay" or "garbage," I'm afraid that some of them would come out with "Ruth Stout." Would anyone like that?

If you want to learn more about the Stout System, you can locate copies of Ruth Stout's books through a used bookseller. You also can order the VHS or DVD video Ruth Stout's Garden from Gardenworks.

Free Music Workshops Set June 16

Photo from pxleyes.com.

betterArts is this summer offering a variety of arts- and music-related workshops to the public for free or low-cost, including a guitar and violin workshop slated for Saturday, June 16, at Better Farm in Redwood.

Through fundraising efforts and membership, we are able to pay instructors a fair wage while allowing all members of the community to participate regardless of income level. New workshops are still being added—check back for specific dates! All materials are provided unless otherwise noted. Pre-registration is required. To register, e-mail info@betterarts.org or call (315) 482-2536. 


Intro to Guitar
All Ages
In this course students will learn basic chord progressions, finger positionings, and a song with music to take home. Each participant must come to workshop with his or her own guitar and strings.
10 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday, June 16
Instructor: Chad Darou has been playing music since he was 8. He has played dobro on stage and in studio with such greats as Bill Keith, Bill Harrell, Frank Wakefield, The Gibson Brothers, Dan Tyminski, Lonesome River Band, Dell Reeves, Bill Anderson, Ray Legere and the Abrams Brothers.
Cost: Free

Fundamentals of Violin
All Ages
In this workshops, students will learn proper technique on violin, finger positions, and basic scales. Instructor will be available at the conclusion of the series to sign people up for private instruction if desired.
1-3 p.m. Saturday, June 16
Instructor: Brian Purwin is a professional violinist and pianist living in Redwood, N.Y.
Cost: Free
Note: When you pre-register, let us know if you need to borrow a violin! Free, day-long rentals are being made available through a partnership with Trillium Performing Arts Center.

'Farmer Boy Days' Teach Homesteading to Local Youth

Better Farm will be volunteering tomorrow at the Stone Mills Agricultural Museum's annual "Farmer Boy Days" event for students, slated from 9 a.m.-2:15 p.m. June 6, 7, and 8 in LaFargeville.

Farmer Boy Days is geared for fourth graders and follows the New York State curriculum. Activities are all based on the book Farmer Boy by Laura Ingles Wilder and include oxen-drawn wagon rides, grinding corn, shelling corn, quilting, milking goats, rug hooking, butter making, bread making, old-fashioned games, washboard laundry, windmill operation, and animal observation

Stone Mills Agricultural Museum is located at 30950 Rt. 180, Lafargeville, NY 13656. E-mail agstonemills@yahoo.com or call (315) 658-2353 for more information.

Chemistry of Gardening

Image from Moon Co's blog.

By Penelope Leggett, Better Farm Intern
Many gardeners know that fertilizer can assist in plant growth and produce production; but what is the fertilizer actually doing for your plants and landscape?

Fertilizers contain the three essential micro-nutrients for most plants: nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. The need for these minerals makes the use of fertilizer popular—but the production and use of inorganic fertilizer can harm the environment. To have healthier plants and maintain an eco-friendly garden, there are simple solutions to getting these essential nutrients to your plants.

Nitrogen

Illustration from Landscape for Life.

Nitrogen makes up part of the chlorophyll molecules in plants, making it extremely important to the process of photosynthesis (the means by which a plant transforms potential energy into energy). When encouraging leafy growth over flower production it is best to add nitrogen to the soil.

You can spot a nitrogen deficiency by the exhibition of stunted growth of plants and yellowed leaves.

To add nitrogen organically:

1. Use old water from a fish tank to water plants to add nitrogen

2. Use manure

3. Compost old coffee grounds and use on plants (Use with discretion as coffee grounds can be acidic)

4. Many plants, such as alfalfa and soy beans, are nitrogen-fixing. So by planting these nitrogen-fixing plants in low-nitrogen soils, levels of nitrogen can be replenished.

Potassium

Potassium deficiency graphic from Pigeonpea.

Potassium assists in many basic plant cell functions, making it necessary for any healthy plant. If the edges of leaves are brown and/or wilted, chances are good you've got a potassium deficiency.

To add potassium organically:

1. Coffee ground fertilizer

2. Using old banana peels in fertilizer

Phosphorus

Phosphorous deficiency on leaves. Photo from the University of Montana.

Phosphorus helps support a healthy root system in plants and encourages flower/fruit development. Phosphorus is also relatively difficult for plants to absorb, so it is hard to add too much to soil. If flowers or fruit production is desired, adding phosphorus to the your garden can help.

Phosphorus deficiency appears through a lack of buds, purple leaves or veins, and premature falling of flowers and fruit.

To add phosphorus organically:

1. Use decomposing wood or ash from fireplace.

2. Limestone also has a high-amount of phosphorus that could be added to soil.

Got a great gardening tip or question? Send it our way at info@betterfarm.org. For more information about our sustainability internships, click here.

This Weekend: Bluegrass festival in LaFargeville

Image from Clatskanie Bluegrass Festival site.

The Thousand Islands Bluegrass Preservation Society is holding its 22nd Annual Bluegrass Music Festival tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday at the Stone Mills Agricultural Museum in LaFargeville, N.Y.

Bill Knowlton will be the Master of Ceremonies. Kickin Grass are featured on Saturday and Sunday. Other great bands are Louie Setzer Appalachian Boys, Atkinsons. Bristol Bros., Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Spare Change, Lake Effect and the Foggy River Band. betterArts teacher Brian Purwin will also be performing!


There will be a guitar raffle, workshops in mandolin, bass, fiddle, guitar, banjo, and vocals, and lots of open jams (bring your instrument!). Guests can also enjoy arts and crafts, vendors, food, covered viewing, and lots of field picking! Better Farm will have a table set up tonight and all day Sunday for the public to learn about our summer programming, internships, and betterArts residencies. We'll also have fresh herbs, T-shirts, and soaps for sale.

Tickets at the gate cost $10 Friday, $20 Saturday, and $15 Sunday. Children are admitted free. Hope to see you there!


The Stone Mills Agricultural Museum is located on Route 180 in LaFargeville.

T-Shirt Sale to Benefit Redwood Neighborhood Association

"Where in the heck is Redwood, New York?"

The Redwood Neighborhood Association is raising funds for its community outreach efforts through the sale of custom-made T-shirts emblazoned with "whereintheheckisredwoodnewyork?"

This is a cause very close to us at Better Farm—we love to partner with the neighborhood association on all of its outreach efforts in and around Redwood. The shirts are priced at $10 and available for pick-up at Better Farm. For an additional $5, the shirts can be shipped anywhere in the continental United States. Every dollar raised will go directly to the association's volunteer work. Adult sizes only on this run (sorry!), small through extra-large.

The Redwood Neighborhood Association has in the past provided the hamlet of Redwood with a community greenhouse, farmer's market, give the post office a fresh coat of paint, line the basketball courts and T-ball field, oversee Earth Day clean-ups, and more. A Father's Day pancake breakfast is also scheduled for June 17.

To order a T-shirt, e-mail info@betterfarm.org or call (315) 482-2536.

Common Garden Pests

Bugs eating your seedlings' leaves? Worried about cucumber beetles? Here's a quick reference guide on some of the most common garden pests. Be sure to send us gardening tips and questions to info@betterfarm.org:

PESTS

Cabbage White Butterflies

• 
  Off-white in colour, with one or two grayish-black spots per wing
• Wing span of two inches across
• Lay their eggs on plants, usually on the underside of the leaves. The eggs are yellow and oval shaped. Clustered.
• The larvae, cabbage worms, eat through the plants, such as cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower.
• Velvety green, inch worm type caterpillars
• Only attack plants in the “brasica” family: Mustard family: Cabbage, Kale, Cauliflower, Broccoli, etc.
• Leaves need to be checked regularly for the eggs because a serious infestation can kill the plant
• Check your plants frequently for worms as well
• Hand pick and destroy them
• Take big chunks out of the leaves
• Not always problematic if the plants have matured. BUT if the plants are young, these critters can kill them.

Recommendations

• To prevent plants from infestation, protect them with floating row covers.
• Insert into a nylon stocking

Cucumber Beetles

• Small, quarter inch in length, yellow and black
•  Carry Mosaic virus that can spread to plants
• Attack gourds (pumpkins, squash)
• Lacy effect on the leaves. The virus eats away at the leaf

Cucumber beetles lay their eggs on the undersides of leaves, and when the larvae hatch, they eat the roots of cucumber, melon, and other plants. The larvae grow to be adults around early July, when they begin to feed on foliage and flowers. There can be up to three generations of these beetles each summer. The beetles winter in piles of leaves and other debris.

Recommendations:

• Plant radishes or nasturtiums near plants
• Straw, hay, grass clipping mulch at the base of the plant so that when cucumber beetles fall they can no longer burrow into the ground...
• Pick them off
• Clean your garden
• Cover up your cucumbers
• Use insecticides (organic: EcoSMART Garden Insect Killer)
• Cover cucumbers with cheesecloths, cones, or a commercial row cover.

Flea Beetles

Many flea beetles are attractively coloured; dark, shiny and often metallic colors predominate. Adult flea beetles feed externally on plants, eating the surface of the leaves, stems and petals. Under heavy feeding the small round holes caused by an individual flea beetle's feeding may coalesce into larger areas of damage.

• They leave tiny holes in leaves
• They don’t have a uniform appearance (black, brown, green, stripes, spots)
• Main characteristics: They are small and jump
• They leave clusters of holes
• Attack the root systems and make the plants susceptible to other pests
• Young plants are more susceptible to flea beetles.
• Difficult to get rid of flea beetles

Preventative measures (pre and post):

• Thick layer of mulch, inhibit the ability of larvae
• Weed often (removes food sources for the larvae)

Squash Bug

Squash bugs infest squash and pumpkin plants. Adults like to hide down at the base of the plant or underneath the leaves. These bugs go from eggs to nymphs in seven to 10 days, so you should look for eggs about every seven days to catch them from turning into nymphs. The squash bug PRODUCES ONE NEW GENERATION EACH YEAR but of course if each squash bug lays 15 eggs on each leaf they chose to deposit their eggs on, then all those newly hatched nymphs will lay more-but not this year. The nymphs will grow into adults this year but will not lay eggs. They will overwinter and lay their eggs next year.

How to combat:

• Look regularly for adults, nymphs, and eggs.
• Take the hose and spray the whole plant and at particularly at the base which is covered in straw. The adults come running up the stems of the leaves to escape the water. Then pick them off with my hand. You can squish them on the ground or put them in a bucket of soapy water where the adults drown, or relocate to some spot far away.
• Look at EACH LEAF of the plant to see if there are any EGGS ON THE UNDERNEATH SIDE OF THE LEAVES, usually in the “v” where the veins form. If you find them, either tear off the whole leaf (if you have a lot of leaves) or tear out just the section that has the eggs and put them in a bucket of soapy water where they will smother. THE EGGS WILL BE DARK LIKE ROOTBEER WHEN THEY ARE READY TO HATCH, so get them EARLY.
• Look for GRAY NYMPHS WHICH ARE USUALLY UNDERNEATH THE LEAVES OR ON THE STEMS. If you find a few, squish them or relocate. If you find a lot, take the whole leaf off because they are fast.
• The key is to be REALLY DILIGENT ABOUT FINDING THEM BEFORE THE EGGS HATCH. After they hatch you can easily be overcome by the nymphs. Most people don’t keep up on the inspections and then the problem magnifies tenfold-so keep up on them. The hunt is on!
• Cover your plants with row cover to keep them off. This works beautifully but you may have to piece some row covers together to cover some of the larger plants. I use clothes pins to clip them together.
• Use Neem. It is an organic pesticide (and an added benefit is a fungicide). It must be sprayed very early before the bees come out or at dusk when they aren’t around as it won’t hurt them if it is not a direct hit as they only visit the flowers and it is a contact spray.
• Plant a crop late in the season if possible. Many areas of the country only have one generation of squash bugs and if you plant later you may miss them.
• Onion Spray: You can deter squash bugs on pumpkins, winter squash, summer squash and marrows with diluted/strained onion juice. Evidently just grind one or two up, put it in gallon of water and strain the onions out so your sprayer doesn’t clog.
• Companion Planting: Plant onions bulbs with your squash every year.

Thank You

Saturday marked betterArts' first annual Open House and Fundraiser, which welcomed members of the community and visitors from all over to stop in and check out our Art Barn, peruse work by local and visiting artists, listen to music by more than half a dozen acts, and get acquainted with free summer programming funded entirely through donations.

The event, put on in conjunction with the First Annual Artists' Studio Tour in the Thousand Islands region, was a roaring success. More than 200 people visited Better Farm throughout the day and learned about the initiatives being taken on by betterArts.

You can see the full album of the day's festivities by clicking here.

We'd like to offer our most heartfelt thanks to all those who came out to support this worthy cause. Without your support, our endeavors to make music and the arts accessible to all would be impossible. Special thanks also go out to the following:

Our Sponsors

Winnie and Belle

Wrecordsbymonkey

The John Hoover Inn

MyABC50

Dragonfly Pottery 
Coyote Moon Vineyards

Our Musical Acts, Especially:

Jounce

Ben Plante and Friends

Airhead Jordan

The Pistol Whippers

Brian Purwin and Friends

Aaron Horeth

Our Hoopers and Fire Dancers:

Jozette & Seth

Our Volunteers:

Carl Frizzell

Bob Laisdell

AmberLee Clement

Tess Flynn

Ben Paul Plante

Holly Boname

Erin Fulton

Brian Purwin

Jim Mercer

Nick Bellman

Mike Brown

Jon-Michael Passerino

Sue Kerbel
Phil Randazzo

Our Board of Directors:

Nicole Caldwell

Holly Boname

Erin Fulton

Scott Smith

Mike Brown

Sarah Herold

Anet Hammette

Winners of our raffles from the event will be contacted this week about claiming their prizes. For betterArts' summer workshop schedule, click here. For more information about the betterArts residency program, click here.

Great news coverage from the day can be found here:
Watertown Daily Times (front page!)
WWNY TV 7