Blue Shackamaxon and

Blue Shackamaxon and ^ Amish Nuttle will work, too.)

To attract pollinating and beneficial insects, I planted buckwheat as a cover crop, though didn’t follow the com)mon

practice of waiting until the main vegetables had

grown three weeks or so: I I sowed it directly along with

the squash and corn seeds. I With my method, the buckwheat

grew quickly, forming an open, overhanging row cover like canopy, protecting the young squash plants and com shoots from insects and intense heat. As the squash grew, I pulled up or snapped off some of the buckwheat plant tops and left them on the soil. Both the growing and pulled buckwheat suppress weeds and can later be turned under.

Additionally, buckwheat provides potassium, needed in high amounts by corn and moderate amounts bv squash. Since overuse of buckwheat can concentrate potassium in the soil, I wouldn't use it every year. Some years I might mix it with a mustard cover crop and/or follow with a fall sowing of green manure plants to balance nitrogen and phosphorus and add calcium and carbon.

A few more plants I’ve included in this guild are basil, calendula, species zinnias and a couple of cosmos, intended to attract the beneficial insects needed to dispatch with squash bugs. This garden is working very well and is beautiful, too! For the future I’ve thought of including cilantro, one of the best plants to include for deterring bean beetles.

Finally, with a fall application of compost and manure and a regular monitoring for pH balance, it is possible to grow squash (plus corn and beans) in this area without rotating anything more than cover crops. What a great system!

Donna LaPre welcomes questions and comments and may be reached at dopray@ earthlink.net or in care of the Rappahannock News, P.O. Box 59, Washington, Va. 22747.