Just kidding. The white powder we dusted the squash plants with yesterday is diatomaceous earth. It's a powdery substance made of crushed seashells and other fossilized material that works very effectively at killing bugs by scratching their exoskeletons. The dust particles are small enough that they don't bother human or animal skin. The dust would bother our lungs if we inhaled it so we heeded the warning from the helpful saleswoman at Amherst Farm Supply and wore masks while applying the diatomaceous earth. It was pretty strange to buy the stuff since a 4 lb bag of brand name white dust is about $25 while a 50 lb bag of generic white dust is $34. Naturally we bought the 50 lb bag! We will store it in a sealed container in the shed and future garden managers can use it for years to come!
Squash plants sprinkled with diatomaceous earth
In case you were concerned about eating our produce, the diatomaceous earth we used is food grade.
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