The sad demise of the squash and zucchini

Borers. Yuck. They made holes in the stems of the leaves and tunneled down to the stem. Also ate into some of the ripening squash. I had to get rid of the plants. I mentioned this to my husband and he said (under his breath) "saved by the bell". I think that he was traumatized by overabundant zucchini as a child growing up in Northern California. I think that we may not have to worry about that problem in Florida unless one of you has an idea.

I cover mine with superlight insect barier until they're in full bloom - stem will be too hard and hardy by the time the borers can get to it. Here's the journal from last year: http://davesgarden.com/journal/d/t/jozeeben/4502/

Jozeeben - so the blossoms don't have problems pollinating? I think my six plants are about to bite the dust. I looked up the product on google and found a couple of sites that sell it. Looks interesting for my next attempt.

I pull the covers off after they start blooming so the insects can pollinate the flowers. Either it's too late for the borers or the plant is big and tough enough to fight them off.
I lost all my zuchini last year so I replanted 4th of July and pulled off the covers August 8th or so. Worked pretty well!

That sounds like a great solution - thanks for letting me know. I just checked on mine after being out of town for 2 days, and in the dark it looks like they are hanging in there. I'm glad you got another harvest on the second round!

Seems like row covers are the best solution. Although now I worry that I have the pupae in my garden bed soil! I also found a suggestion to spray the stem with insecticidal soap to kill the egg stage of the critter. Thanks for your inputs!

joezeeben:

The row cover sounds like a great idea. Where did you get it? Would I ask for lightweight insect barrier at the local HD or Lowe's?

Karen

I googled it and found a couple of places that carry it. (gardensalive.com - I think was one of them) I forgot to ask at HD when I went this weekend.

Is it just light weight row cover I'm looking for or it is something special for insects? Sorry, I sound so dumb. I'm a brand-new veggie gardener.

Karen

Karen - It's just light weight row cover but make sure it breaths so it doesn't hold too much heat . . . especially in our climate. I plant the seeds, lay down a soaker hose and then cover. AGRIBON-15 would be perfect for summer crops but I haven't found anyone that sells it in smaller quantities: http://www.groworganic.com/item_SER976_AgribonAG1510X2000.html . Maybe we should do a co-op? I bought some from Garden's Alive and they've gone to a different brand that doesn't seem as good: http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=2001 and it only 8' wide instead of 10'.

You can get Agribon 19 in shorter lengths through Peaceful Valley, but that might be a tad heavier than you want. It works well for me.

Thank you both for the info. I'll check into it.

Karen

Karen, Here's another source to check out! Pinetree Garden Seeds sells the row covers by the foot or pre-cut. I have always found them to have reasonable prices for their cloths. Here is the website for the row covers: http://www.superseeds.com/products.php?cat=298
Jessica

Jessica,

Thanks. I've saved that in my browser. Just what I was looking for. You would think I could buy it in a town this size, but when I asked about buying a sweet pea trellis, no one had any idea what I was talking about -- so I have no reason to suppose that can be bought here either.

Karen

Barksy, I'll certainly try the insecticidal soap as well. Those stems are just so huge and the eggs nearly invisible. Last year I tried wrapping the stems with foil to discourage the borer. Ha ha ha ha. Didn't work. As for borers in the soil, it's not as likely if you pull out your dying/dead squash plant and discard it. I compost it, but only after throwing it into the chickens' pen. They love grubs and seem to know where in a hollow stem to find them.

I would give up on trying to control them and try to outwit them.

There are squash you can plant that aren't bothered by borers or squash bugs. Rampicante is my very favorite and it is completely ignored by bugs. It is a close relative to the zucchini and tastes pretty much the same with a bit of a firmer texture. I use it for everything you would a regular zucchini. A picture of one of mine last year http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=2508859
Plant Files, http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/56773/index.html

Lemon squash (much like a crook neck without the neck) also doesn't seem to be bothered by bugs here. Plant files http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/92244/index.html

Neither does the zucchini Clairmore Plant Files http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/93270/index.html very mild and creamy.

As for varieties that I want that are bothered by the bugs, I plant twice as much as I need, that way when the squash bugs do their damage and the ground squirrels steal their share, I still get some :)

Good luck,
Melissa

edited for spelling...

This message was edited May 23, 2007 8:31 AM

Melissa,
Thanks for the valuable information. I never knew there were some squashes that were less prone to the borers. I see that of all the seeds I ordered I have only one on your list: Clarimore from Renee's garden seeds, which I haven't tried, so I guess I will have at least that variety to enjoy if the others get infected. Do you know if there are any varieties of patty pan squash that are resistant? I will follow the above advice this year and use the row covers as well!
Jessica

Thanks Mellisa for the info. I like the part about the chickens! If I had a chicken, I could get a little revenge. The Florida window for squash has closed for summer squash this year but, lots of fun approaches to try next year. Good thing this site lets you access your old threads!