HELP! My squash are taking over....

Greetings again:

as you can see, my squash are all over the place. Yes, I know I should have put up a trellis right when I planted them, but didn't.

Anyone have any ideas how to go about trellising some of these monster vines? I have four buttercup squash plants that are taking over the entire bed as well as the yard. I've had to pull them out of my bamboo and now they're going towards my back fence.

Do I put up the three-pole setup like people do with beans, do I go out and buy a piece of lattice and try and train them up, or should I just get some really big and sturdy poles and run some wire between them?

Different angle....

I'm so envious! I could never grow squash when I lived in South Florida. It would always get powdery mildew and die.

I would let them grow up the bamboo.

I'm trying my best to get rid of the running-bamboo in the corner of my garden. I spend 60 to 90 minutes every day digging up shoots from my, and my neighbors' yards! I think the bamboo is winning!

What a good neighbor you are Honey!!! Come to Hillsborough.

SoFla
Can't help you - deer eat everything and so I have not learned to grow and deal with issues. I have sort of same problem with Clematis that I should have provided scaffolding for but did not. When I try to lift..... the vines break -----so easy to break.
If you think won't hurt the bamboo - can you use it?

Don't know if you can find them, but I'm very fond of cattle panels. I put them on the metal fenceposts (two or three), and they will support just about anything.
Alternatively, concrete re-inforcing mesh and field fencing will work fine (field fenceing is what I'm currently using, stretched between metal fence posts, for my climbing stuff and maters) if it's available.

I think the poles and wires would work, but be kind of labor intesive to get it right. Lattice might be fine, but I'd wonder about shading the rest of the garden, and the vines. Teepee sounds like a fun idea, too. You could make a "squash house".

Guees you need to see what you have available, and create*G*.

Please keep us updated, I'm very curious. I never had any luck with winter squash in FL, either :)

well, like i've said in other posts, I really didn't research what was a winter versus summer vegetable.

I originally planted four buttercup squash, but one of them grew all over, and after spending 90 minutes in the heat and the sun trying to extricate all those vines from each other, I ended up having to pull the plant that had the most growth on it.

I then spent the rest of the day digging holes for posts.

I'll post a picture later, but basically what I did was dug two holes at either end of the 'row' where I have my squash. I then placed 12" long x 2 " wide posts and back filled, angling them about 20 degrees outside of plumb so as to handle any weight any potential squash vines can bear.

I then took 8' long x 2" furrier strips, drilling holes every foot (in hindsight, should have been every six inches or so), placing (don"t know what they"re called - eyelet hooks?) hooks in them for the wire. (size #10)

I then took (what I was told was) mason wire, doubled it over, and strung wire in back-to-forth motion like a ladder. I doubled it for added strength, as the single wire didn't look adequate. I think if I criss-cross it as well, it may be stronger; dunno.

Here's a picture of my daughter trying to run the string up the lattice. The thing sags, though.....


comments advise welcome, as I only did one trellis yesterday. I have two more to do today. also - the picture's on the side; couldn't rotate it....sorry.

thanks.

I grow a lot of winter squash to store over winter once they are cured; many varieties get too heavy to hang on a support so I just let them roam across the grass. Less grass to cut, and the grass cushions the squash under the umbrella leaves.

I'd love to have had them sprawl to one side of the garden, but hubby was griping.

as it is, it may all have been for nothing - something's attacking my zucchini and cucumbers, and have a feeling the squash are next....

Many winter squash have solid stems, not hollow like cukes and zuchs, so squash borers don't get them.

Try a plant "table" or "shelf" system. You could put adjustable shelves between those posts and guide the vines upward. The veggies could rest on the shelves as the vines grow upward. I believe the shelving needs to be wire mesh or screen in nature, to allow for the plants to grow through, and for light to hit the vines.

There's a picture of a "tomato table" somewhere here in the tags. One lady uses them quite successfully.

Linda

Hope this helps next years plans! With squash, the like to take over the garden. What I did was after each runner on the vine reached 2 feet, I just cut the tip off. The squash then produced side shoots. after these reach the length you desire, cut the tips off. More and more side shoots are produced until you think the plant is big enough and start overlapping the fruitless vines. Now the plant will have more energy to put towards the fruit and not rambling around.

Good tip, Bloomfly...

It worked with my pumpkins, but its not limited to squash. It also works with watermelon,cantaloupe and honeydew and when you want the sweetest fruit.

excellent; thanks.

I use this technique because my watermelon vines earlier this summer were taking over the garden!