2015 Grow-Along Challenge: Squash Wars - Roll Call!

Just relax, once you get the squash bug and svb figured out, those of us in the southeast have to deal with the pickle worm.

:) Not to mention flea beetles can do a number on seedlings. I have little problem with worms until the birds nesting on the edges of the garden fledge their babies. Species that have two or three broods are a bonus. I set up watering stations to keep them around.

If there is a way to stop the SVB I'd luv to know. There have been entire threads about it on DG over the years but nobody has the fix. Many just stop trying to grow squash all together. We have flea beetles also and the pickle worm is on my list of local pests. The birds are very helpful and I really don't have many problems with bugs but the SVB had me stumped. I cover my plants with tulle but Id luv to have a more permanent solution.

Just keep those bugs down south.
Any that do get here die a nice death at -10º. & there are people that claim MN isn't good for anything.

SVB. Keep an eye on your squash. If you see little sawdust piles by the stem, take a razor knife & split the stem lengthwise. You will find the borer. Get him out, then pile soil up to & above the cut. All will be well soon.
You must do it before the vine wilts.

Thanks for all the great info! Especially how to find the borers and try to save the plants. need to check my plants tomorrow. The 'Tatume' is probably ready to harvest! :)

In mid day, I stopped and check on the bug trap. No evidence of trapped bug. :(( On the positive note; my 'Horn of Plenty' squash, and the Zuc are making both male and females flowers. Yeah.

I planted all of my squash seedlings this morning. I am trying a little test of my own. Since this is the first year for me to try a few straw bales in my garden, I decided to plant 5 squash in the bales and 5 in the beds. I had 2 of each squash I signed up for. Oh...forgot to tell you. My second Speedy Silver Zuc finally germinated. It is smaller but growing fast. We are leaving for a few days tomorrow morning. I hope the young man that will be watering for me won't forget any of my plants. It always makes me nervous to leave my babies. LOL Photos when I get back.

OH---forgot to say, LilyLove. Your Horn of Plenty is looking great. Envy you that you get to harvest one already! It will be awhile for me.

I'm enjoying seeing the progress of these veggies vines. They're growing very rapidly. beebonnet, good lucks to you. Your seedlings maybe flowering before you know it. This is but the small area where I grouped all my squash vines, and pumpkin 'Casper' together. In hind sight, I should have spaced them out a little more? Awww, it's a steep learning curve for me.

Looking good! Here are pics of my 'Tatume' and 'Strawberry Crown' fruits!

Julie if they give a prize for first fruit I guess you will win, hands down. lol The rest of us still have small plants up this way! lol It is just now getting warm enough to plant in the ground. So I am going to direct sow some and see how they do. I have 'Knucklehead' and 'Ghost' seedlings started. I still have to get my zucchinni and Summer squash planted. And my mini pumpkins for the GBs, of course. This weekend is garden planting, so I will be busy playing catch up.

I would vote for Julie too, for 1st prize winning on early fruiting, harvesting. :) Those look so ....ummm yum!

Oh, btw, yesterday I found one of my 'Spineless Beauty' Zuc. leave wilting. I cut off the leaf stalk and inspected for borer, which I didn't find any. Oooooh, here goes the battle!!!

Here is the damaged leave I found yesterday.

Thanks, girls, about mentioning me winning first prize for early fruiting, but remember in my zone, I can get started early! No big deal, but thank you for thinking of me! ♥

So far there is no evidence of bugs on the squash. Some of my 'Horn of Plenty' squash and 'Spineless Beauty' Zuc. will be ready for harvest soon.

Only new summer squash I am growing this year is the scallop Daize which appears as the centerpiece. The other are Sun Day ( round yellow zuke) Lucky 8 (round green zuke) and Grey griller. The crooknecks, Gold Star, Medallion are producing as is the Zuke Adora.

You are so UBER Farmerdill! They are all beautiful.

I agree with MaypopLaurel. Beautiful!

Oh, my! What a beautiful crop! :)

Today is the day, that I declare WAR on squash bugs! I found two cucumber beetles on the squash, and I hand picked only one of the two. The other escaped. Grrrrrr!!! That was this early morning when I went and survey the garden progress....

More update in a little bit. Please stay tuned. Will have pics. to share.

1. Here is the SVB trap that I put out; I put a yellow tray within the bucket of water to attract the moths. A few flying insects drown in the water, but not the SVB moths. Grrrrrr.
2. Male squash flower, I think it's 'Horn of Plenty'.
3. A ready to be picked 'Spineless Beauty' Zuc.
4. 'Horn of Plenty' young fruits and flowers.
5. I think it's the affected branch that was drilled through by the SVB larva, I'll confirm this when I get the photo enlarged.

Oooops, the sequence of the photos got mixed up. #1 is actually #5, and it's not the intended affected plant that was drilled through by the SVB larvae.

This message was edited May 27, 2015 3:00 PM

Here is the culprit! The 'dust-like' residual of the mushy plant that has been chewed through by the SVB Larvae.

Lily, they did a number on my plants! Had to cut most of them back, but saved parts of all of them. Already have more seeds sown!

Grrrr. I found the borers (SVB larvae) yesterday when I split the leaf stem open. They appear to be young yet, very small, about the size of a pencil tip. So small that splitting the stem didn't kill them. So if I were to split the vine in hope to 'get' the bugs within will not work. I'm certain my affected vine is beyond salvagible?

Dig the borer out & hill the stem up with dirt. It will grow back together & even make some roots there.

Ive never killed the larva by opening the stem I've always had to dig them out. Sometimes there were a lot more then I realized and they stink! Personally I like to squish them....my kids think I'm weird too. Lol

Thanks all for the tips. The last couple of days we were rained out! Not as bad as some part of Texas, but we had our share of rain and storm. I couldn't tend to my squash under the rain. Today I've a first chance to head out to the garden. I picked another 'Spineless Beauty' Zuc.

The first crop that I harvest couple days ago. Half of my 'Horns of Plenty' squash was tunneled through by the SVB caterpillar. When I dissected the squash, I found the live culprit! Grrrrrr.

My Early White Bush Scallop Squash if up and growing. It was planted outside in the elements
a month ago.

I would think your squash problem is probably pickle worms rather than vine borers.

My Tromboncino Squash is up and growing. Seed was planted mid April in the ground at the base of my Verticle (cattle panel-for support).

Here are my vertical planting of squash vines. The squash and pumpkin vines are doing fairly well. My Luffa vines look rather stunted. I've had a time trying to deter chipmonds from digging up my seedlings.

Pickle worm attacks the fruit. SVB attacks the vine. Pickle worm attack looks like someone drilled 1/8 inch holes in the fruit. The pickle worm larva is a shade of green. SVB larva is white.

Maypop Laurel....could you please tell us more about the pickle worm? I don't think we have them here, but yesterday I found a squash stem that was chewed about three-quarters through. I picked it off and threw it away. I have never seen that before in my garden, but we do have our share of critters.

Thanks Farmer Dill. I guess we cross posted. Well, my problem is definitely not the pickle worm because I don't have fruit yet. We don't have the SVB here, I don't think. I HOPE not, anyway.Must have been a bird or mouse.

Yes, as Farmerdill stated. It's not impossible that it's a borer but on the rare occasion they enter the fruit it's usually because the plant has succumbed. The best way to get them out with minimal fruit damage is to submerge the fruit in water for a few minutes. The worm and frass will emerge. You know what to do now. Then, instead of cutting up the squash, you can store it and cut away the worm trail before cooking.

BTW, Brenda...I am growing Tromboncino for the first time. Looking forward to comparing.

My squash are bouncing back from the attack of SVB's. I've planted more seeds just in case!

Maypop - This is my first time to grow the Tromboncino, too. Seems like it took mine a good while to get going. I had heard about the Tromboncino last year, from a lady in the UK, and she made it sound like something I needed to try, then Squash Wars through Dave's Garden came along, so it has to be a good thing. Plus - it took me a while to locate the seed.

I always like trying new seeds/plants every year. A few of my newbies this year are the Tromboncino Squash, Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate (it's been planted via seed for a very long time and I have seen nothing), Gloriosa Lily (again the bulbs were hard for me to find and they have been in the ground for a very long while and I see nothing yet), Bellboy Pepper (it was an accident - I picked up the wrong flat by mistake), millet, Whirligig Zinnia (that should be fun), Fairytale Pumpkin (I've yet to plant) and Cinderella Pumpkin (I've yet to plant).

Nothing like new challenges.