Fighting back -- my plan to have a successful zucchini crop this year

Every season in the garden is a bit different, and I enjoy the challenge of adapting to  the many variables and still producing a good harvest.  Despite my best efforts, every year there is  at least one  easy crop that doesn't produce well.

In 2013 that crop was zucchini.  Not just for me, either, but for everyone I talked to who gardens in the Northeast US.  OK, I know all the jokes about leaving bags of baseball bat sized squash on doorsteps, but most summers I enjoy the exuberant output of my half dozen or so zucchini plants. 

Last year there was no exuberance, and all my zucchini died young,  victims of  fungus and the crowd of nasty little cucumber beetles that transmitted it. 

This year I am fighting back!  I bought two disease resistant varieties, Tigress (I grew this for years, but not last year) and Emerald Delight.  I am also (for the first time) starting all my squash in pots inside. They won't go into the garden until they have at least one set of true leaves. This means that beetles will not consume them before they have a chance to get to a fighting weight.

 I am also going to cover the young plants with a super light spun row cover until they flower, to further protect them from beetles. I'll have to uncover so they can be pollinated, but I hope by then the plants will be big and strong, and able to survive some chewing.  

And finally, I have some Neem spray that may help control the cucumber beetles. I use spray as a last resort- it's expensive, and even organic formulations can kill good insects too, throwing off the predator-prey balance in my garden.

I've also decided to start my winter squashes inside this year. I'm interested to see if this will make a difference in the final total of pounds of squash I store next fall.

Here's a pic of the zucchini seedlings just getting their first true leaves,  and the winter squash (and Brussels sprouts) planted but not yet showing: