In the past I’ve been able to grow pumpkins and other hard winter squashes using a practice of benign neglect. The pumpkin patch is dug over in the spring, compost added, plants set into the ground and then the whole thing is ignored until harvest. One can get rather smug about one’s systems until things go horribly wrong, as they finally have done this summer.

Over the summer, the plants flourished. There was a jungle of huge pumpkin leaves. Weeds sprang up, too. Bees hummed. Sure, there were a few squash borers, but the plants still thrived. Squash were spied in the lush undergrowth. In the last few weeks, the plants wilted, from, what I thought, was typical fall mildew.

But a closer look revealed a serious pest hidden right in plain sight. Isn’t evolution amazing? The mature squash bug is exactly the same color as dead squash leaves. Train your eyes to look and you might see one.

Look again and you’ll see a ravenous, rampaging army. I cut off some infested leaves and tossed them to the Gems. They are even too nasty for the chickens to eat.

This late in the season, the squash bugs continue to lay eggs and multiply.

My system of letting the hens turnover the pumpkin patch in fall and spring to control insects helps to keep the borers in check, but it turns out that squash bugs overwinter as adults. I couldn’t just pull out the diseased plants and compost them, as that’s exactly the environment that the insects thrive in. The only thing to do was to bag up all of the plant matter (and as many insects as I could grab with it). The extension service info says that gathering and throwing out all of the plants will help to control the borers, too. Any bugs left on the ground will lack shelter and hopefully will die in the cold.

Underneath the weeds and the plants was a sparse harvest.

I’ve learned that mulch, even plastic, creates a safe haven for these insects. That bit of advice (read today, sadly too late) was proven true, as the strip of black plastic mulch I’d put in the pumpkin patch (because I had some leftover and thought I’d try it) was swarming with squash bugs, and the few vegetables there were ruined by the suckers.

At least the chickens were willing to help clean that up.

I’ve more work to do before I’ve got the squash bug infestation under control. I’ve learned my lesson that you can only ignore a garden for so long until the neglect catches up with you. But, with gardening, a failure in one corner doesn’t mean a failure everywhere. Last night friends came for Rosh Hashanah dinner. Side-dishes included honeyed carrots, tomato, cucumber and basil salad, chard with a dressing of lemon juice and toasted mustard and coriander seeds, and rice with minced herbs. All from the garden.

Now that backyard chickens are so trendy, lots of companies are selling coops on-line and at feed stores, garden centers and even box stores. Most of these coops are too small for the number of chickens that they claim that they house. They are dark, poorly ventilated, and inappropriate for most climates.

With coops, size matters, and the more space the better. My preference is for walk-in coops. But, if you’re in an urban environment, on a tight lot, and need to maximize the footprint, then a raised coop that utilizes the space below can be used, if it is designed and built right. This one is done right.

Kara O’Brien, the builder is a home remodeler, and made use of discarded materials, from stair treads to windows and a door. Here is a photo of the coop from the other side, when it was halfway built. There’s light, ventilation and air space.

The run is not large enough as is, but Kara has expanded it. A coop like this is charming and a good home for hens.

For more ideas, go to my Small Coop Ideas Pinterest board. For specific dimensions and details that I recommend for small coops, read this post.