I am an excellent enabler, um, I mean encourager:)
I always direct seed squashie things. I tried indoor starting once, and the ones direct seeded after I put the early ones out did much better. The ones started indoors never did catch up.
Squash borers
Oh I am at my wits end too they just demolished my spaghetti and Zuc's last year, at least they left my butternut alone so this year I am going with an all out war!! I have been doing nothing but research.. people telling me I can plant after July 4th but the moth is around till almost the end of July.. I hear plant a second crop.. well some of the crop would work fine like zuc's but I would never get any spaghetti in my growing season so that wouldnt work. Spaying with Sevin does work but mind you spray only at night when the flowers are closed to prevent harm to the bees.. then Sevin does not work on the eggs you have to catch the borer as it hatches so you must be diligent with your spraying.. I hear the female comes up and starts laying eggs asap... one egg at a time mind you not in groups but one at a time all over the plant.. not just the base of the stem but even on the leaf stems and she can lay 250-500 in her 6-8 weeks of life. So I am at war... My weapon.. industrial light cover 20in opening on one side and 10 inches on the other side, screening and prayer!! I first laid down screen larger then my lamp shade... then cut a small hole in the screen and pulled the plant thru it.. then putting a layer of sand around the plant opening for weight, the peat pot should make the borer go around and exit elsewhere(in my world anyways)... then on goes the dome and then the top is covered with the screen to prevent entry that way...The plant still gets light, air, rain etc.. I will also be using Sevin to help I'm not silly and the ground was also tilled to a depth this year of 18 plus inches...(it needed it) They say to till before the season to pull up the coons... They also recommend to disk? or till in the fall to bring up the coons to kill them with the winter weather. Also after the season has ended to totally remove the plants and burn them, or place the plants into a plastic garbage bag for any remaining borers. If you plant is infected remove immediatly you can not usually save the plant, I know by the time I saw all the stuff I would be cutting half the stem away to get to the borer and place it into a plastic garbage bag and let it sit in the sun.. this prevents the borer from leaving the plant and going into the ground.. woodchips etc also attract the borer when going down under... Oh and when you plant and you let you vine trail on the ground put dirt over sections of the stem to cause rooting in those areas and if your plant has a good root and you see the plant has been infected by the base you can remove that section wile the root continues to feed the plant at the other location... Ok sorry.. I am at war... this takes planning...lol here is the photo of my weapon.. I actually have more in my diary or journal since you can only load one here..I'm new to the site so bear with me...So far we have had 90 degree days and so far the plants have not been stresses out as far as I can tell.. This could be a problem with my weapon the other being the plant gets to big to contain... I do use these domes also for plant protection from those cute little fuzzy baby rabbits, wind, pounding rain and tree debris, cold nights and flower pots( I do have some without the metal on the smaller end) and so far everything inside of the domes loves it.
Bazuhi, hey, greetings to someone living where I used to live (I graduated from DG south).
Anyway, thanks very much for the tip about putting dirt over sections of the vine. I may need it.
Despite my foil, I'm now seeing a couple problems with SVB. A couple times the foil got dislodged, but I'm also seeing a couple "sawdust" spots further up the vine, so I guess that if the SVB can't find any baseline spots, she'll find a spot further up the vine. Urghh. For the most part, I think the foil still helped, but I think other stuff needs to also be used. I'm going to try that neem oil solution.
I didn't know that summer squash (bush) would layer (grow roots on the vines). I have bypassed SVB damage on pumpkin and winter squash vines because they grew more roots but I didn't realize bush varieties would do that too. Very interesting. I also didn't realize that they were a pests that far north.
Bush squash doesn't vine; there are other types of summer squash that do, though. Some people just mound up the stalk of bush squash when there has been borer damage, once the critter has been removed, but that's never worked for me.
This year I've got my squash row under row covers and I'll leave the cloth there until the plants blossom and see if that gets me much further ahead. I'm doing this mostly for squash bugs, though, because I haven't had any serious problems with svbs since I started using silver mulch on my squash row.
Gymgirl:
You should have plenty of time for a bumper crop of squash before frost!
Thanks, Dave!
I had totally forgotten about planting the seeds! Yesterday, I kept looking at those two empty tubs full of soil, trying to figure out what could go in them!
I had saved a 'compostable chip bag' with shiny silver inside, and used it under my crookneck squash. The plant looks awesome right now. I've picked eight from three plants already.
I have had years with no borers and years when they've been a plague. I've started using row covers but since squash need pollinators, and the plants had female flowers about ten days ago, I pulled the covers. Within twenty four hours I saw vine borer moths flying onto the soil around the plants. It takes approximately ten days for the larva to hatch and bore. I waited ten days from pulling the covers and started injecting the plants with Bt. You need a large core syringe that holds at least 6cc's so the syringe doesn't get plugged and you don't have to reload every plant or two. I have injected my plants with Bt as well as sprayed the ground for over ten years. The only time borers got the squash was when I was out of town for several weeks and wasn't able to do the Bt maintenance.
Laurel, where did you get the syringe? I put row covers on mine and since I started late there are no flowers yet. I am also using silver mulch, so I'm hoping that that will do the trick; it's worked against borers in the past. Just not against squash bugs.
I know you can't buy syringes in the city like that but in the country they are available at the seed and feeds along with pharmaceuticals for vetting livestock. At least they used to be. Mine has been around for a long time. I'm thinking maybe an oral irrigation syringe would work too (?) Unless you have a medical friend you can't get the needles but might get syringes from your vet or doctor. The tapered point at the end of the barrel does not work to inject.
Thanks, Laurel. They do have pharmaceuticals at our Tractor Supply so they might have syringes. I'll see if I need 'em first.
In most states (I know NY is an exception) you can purchase syringes and needles without a prescription. You can always buy online, maybe more easily. If you order from any pet websites like KVVet supply, Revival, Jeffers or Foster and Smith, they carry syringes and needles. Here's one page (there are more) from KVVet
http://www.kvsupply.com/KVVet/product_family.asp?family%5Fid=1198&gift=False&0=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D9000%26Tree%3D%2CComplete%20Catalog&1=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D10000%26menu%5Fid%3D%26Tree%3D0%2CDog&2=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D11200%26menu%5Fid%3D%26Tree%3D1%2CFirst%20Aid%20%2F%20Medical%20Equipment&3=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D11209%26menu%5Fid%3D%26Tree%3D2%2CSyringes%20%26%20Needles&mscssid=08709B22B81494AB997F86B4FE95387F
Wow. That's a long one. This should be more manageable, if that doesn't work;
http://www.kvsupply.com/
Go to dogs, and then medical, and syringes and needles. I'd use a 10cc syringe, and 18 gauge needle.
Far simpler would be to ask your Vet for help, I can't see why they'd refuse, once you explain. Still, if you can find other pet/livestock stuff you need, the syringe and needle will only add $.28 to your order. I never have trouble getting up to the price for free shipping, either...
Sigh...
I though the vine borers came out of the soil so a crop cover wouldn't deter them. Am I wrong?
Helen
The eggs are laid in the soil and on the plants. By covering the soil with covers the moths can't get to the ground or plants to lay eggs. That's not to say there isn't the occasional genius bug that finds its way in. You can buy pins to batten down the covers but I use small branches or old stakes every five feet or so and lay them flat on the edges of the covers. I pull the covers every week to inspect the plants. They are not 100% but they are almost 100%. I bought the lightest weight Agribon from Johnny's because it is the only ten foot wide cover out there. I only need it for insect control and not heat retention thus the lightest weight. The ten foot width gives more leeway as the plants grow vertically. I've been moving mine around the garden as needed. They will last many seasons.
I found I had to pin them down, and also use clothespins where the cloth passes over the hoops I put up. Otherwise the wind picks up the edges and wreaks havoc with my arrangement.
I love that red roof!
Great garden spot Laurel!
I meant I thought the moths came out of the ground, where they spent the winter(?) to lay eggs => larva => vine destruction. Which I thought would mean there wasn't any point in covering the plant because the evil critters come up out of the ground. So I guess I am wrong. But that still leaves me with the question where does the original mother moth/bug come from in the spring?
Geez, am I making this more confusing than it needs to be!! ^_^
Thanks, Helen
LOL, Helenchild. I get what you mean. I think the moths are in the ground or in the leaf litter but not necessarily on the spot the squash is being planted.
Great then I could cover them easily! Thanks.
I pressed the "Send" button too fast. Thanks, GH, about our red roof. That's the back side of Maypop cottage, our space in the woods, and home of Maypop kitchen garden. Here's the squash (on the right) a week ago.
Grief! I mean the squash is on the left. I'm hosting the GA RU tomorrow and my brain is sputtering.