I never even knew what an SVB was until I moved to Tx.
My second wish for 2013
Me either, squash and cukes were always the easiest veggies to grow til I came here.
I've never had a problem with them on my cukes, I wonder why.
In searching the internet it seemed as if every state university extension service website I saw had an article about control of squash bugs and squash vine borers, so wherever you live it must be hard not to have to deal with them..
When I had a small garden in SoCal we had squash coming out our ears. We couldn't give it away. It was the plant everybody could grow. Then I moved to Tx....
I can't see the point in growing veggies and using pesticides as bad as the ones sold in the market. Okra and egg plant do well and I will just stick with those. I do love me some zuchinni though...alas.
Love the pvc trellis with the 5 gal pots for the vines. However, mine would dry out and burn up.
I use beneficial nematodes in the spring on all the garden areas. Fire ants and apparently everything else harmful goes. The borers I have trouble with are wasp larva, and if I sprinkle DE on top of the soil it seems to help. Also starting from seed and letting the top of the soil get crusty, you know a nice moist soil is better for egg laying.
I get a pretty decent squash crop every year, ordinary crookneck yellow and ordinary zucchini, usually get pumpkins. definitely get watermelon and cantaloupe. Full sun nothing fancy water when I have time, infrequently. I want the roots to go deep. I water enough to get seeds germinated then start stretching the water period, makes my plants more drought hardy, makes it tougher for the egg laying wasp to nail my crop.
squash bugs are handled at watering time, they come up to avoid the water, I have needlenosed pliers, no more squash bug. don't really get that many, probably due to the fact that I feed the wild birds and have a significant mockingbird population (I will be covering my grapes this year, to the bird's dismay)
Hope this helps
Gypsi
This message was edited Mar 10, 2013 10:34 AM
That pvc tree for squash would provide perfect light shade to get strawberries through the summer. Sun until the vines grow up, shade in the heat... as long as the vines lasted til august, but still just throwing some kind of shade cloth over it. I have burned up my strawberries 2 years running....
The vines are likely too small on the cukes or so I have been told a simple answer to the SVB is to plant the Trombone zuchinni I have never seen a borer in one of those They are maybe not as good eating as some other squash but for most recipes I can't tell any diference It is however quite a large plant but not any need to let it get big unless like me you just had to see how big it would get I think that there is a sign in the bottum of the pic that says 27 feet as that was the lenght of the vine ,it did however get longer 33ft
I did nothing but plant them in my above ground squares from Gardener's Supply - maybe fed the m once or twice and they were prolific. Just saying - probably won't happen again for another 10 years.
The first year I planted squash they did well but each year afterwards they were swarmed with pests.
did you wet compost your vines? or toss them out of the garden area in 100 degree full sun and cook them?
Gypsi,
are you asking about composting "infected SVB" squash vines?
I am asking about composting any garden material. Even if there isn't an obvious infestation, composting a plant near where you will grow it the next year might not be the best idea. I put the compost some distance off and move it around, since I don't use a barrel. I also compost a ton of pond stuff a year. (actually wet weight is probably a ton), so I intermix the garden stuff. If I have badly infected pumpkin or squash vine they go in a brown bag at the curb for the city non-trash removal and THEIR compost pile.
I NEVER compost any of my veggie plants. I've always been told that wasn't a good idea. I yank the whole plant and burn it or throw it in the trash. I don't want to pass on any diseases or pests.
Good practice Lisa. I used to compost mine, 20 years ago, and i don't remember what pest got out of hand, but I do remember I stopped.
My plants always get infested with Spider Mites. Now I have the Neem out before I see damage bc I know it's coming.
Mine get spidermites, I get the garden hose out morning and night and wash the leaves twice a day. In about 10 days usually no spider mites. I have never tried Neem.
I did finally give up on part of my tomato plants last year and toss them, but their root systems were inadequate, they were in too sunny a spot and the soil wasn't terribly good where they were.
I have had disease issues so spraying the plants with water isn't an option. I use soaker hoses, anything to keep the foliage dry,
This message was edited Mar 12, 2013 9:55 PM
hmmm. ok
Water is great for spider mites. Summer before last I was infested and sprayed twice a day, morning and evening and no more spider mites.
Yes, I know it works great unless you have fungal issues. Now I spot it right away and a little Neem and they are gone. I tried the water one yr and only managed to make the fungal issue worse. I knew better too.
mix vinegar with your water, use an attachment that lets you put a 2 liter on the garden hose, and you will get the mites and not spread fungus, may instead kill the fungus.