Back to the Garden ~ Peppers Frozen for Winter

I spent a few hours cutting away the end rot on all of our squash, only to notice some type of white beetle crawling around on dead squash leaves (only on the crookneck squash).  I have yet to identify them.

It wasn't easy working in a stooped position, carrying a bag alongside me, to remove all the end/wet rot.  I had talked to my husband, who in turn talked to his co-workers, who gave us a few tips.  First, the bees will start to carry the fungus around, so it must be removed as soon as you see it.  Most of his co-workers have, or are experiencing this with their squash.  They also mentioned the calcium solution and to spray the leaves once a week.

 (Look in the center of the photo to see the fungus on a dead blossom)

I've heard 2:1 solution and I have read to mix it 1 cup with 9 cups of water.  I've also read you can make a solution with baking soda.  We are mixing our solution 1 cup milk to 9 cups water.  Despite all that work, I did manage to make 2 more quarts of refrigerator pickles and picked about 30 cayenne peppers, which were frozen for winter.

Now, if I could just learn to have ripe tomatoes and ripe green/poblano peppers, when I have cilantro in the herb garden.  It seems that once the tomatoes are ripe, my cilantro has already gone to seed.