Butternut (winter) squash ...

I've got these winter squash - they are getting nice sized and then the vine starts to die, or the boy (Black Lab) twists them off. They are not the nice dark tan I'd like, but light yellow-green

Advice?

W J

most likely squash vine borers you are lucky to have gotten any squash at all. they ate up all of my fall squash and melons .

Funny you mention that.

Had a weird brown powder coming from one of the specimens just last week - cut it in half with a chef's knife. (It refers to the squash AND the worm that was in it).

Sigh ......

was it a white grub looking worm? borers usually attack the vines close to where the original plant began to grow (where the seeds sprouted from) but I have had them so bad I have seen them try to bore into corn stalks and other plants as well or attack other parts of the vine. not sure i have ever heard of them attacking the fruit but im sure its possible.

yeah - it dug up into the fruit ... we sliced one last month and found it wriggling there. Destroyed my entire crop (okay, only six plants ... but enough for some nice soup).

Drats!

I hate em,I usually get one early spring crop of yellow or zuccini because they mature fairly quickly but that is it no winter squash or fall at all totally usless to try pumpkins I ahve heard that malathion applied so frequently it makes the whole vine poison will work but as I am totally organic this is out of the question.

organic here as well! Maybe flocks of garden spiders to spin webs and kill those moth buggers ....

Hey Guys; First of all, let me preface this with the fact that we don't have squash bugs or vine borers in S.CA. Also Carla Emory's book says sprinkling cedar wood shavings at the base of the plants, discourages the nymphs from burrowing out of the soil (at the base) and the adult from laying eggs that hatch and burrow into the squash stem.
Also if you look at the squash that is indigenous to Texas, you'll find that they are either C.moschata or C.mixta both of which have solid stems.Try growing these for a few seasons to cut down on the cycle of life of the borers.
Grow the other varieties in pots filled with purchased soil and organic compost.

This message was edited Oct 9, 2007 12:53 AM

butternut is one of these variaties I have been trying this technique for a few years now even saving the seeds of the ones that resisted the borers longer some years it works some years it doesnt. I have tried cedar,garlic,wraping the stalk with foil injecting the stalk with bt all of these methods have limited success but borers are relentless.

I grew mine in big pots this year, and still got the borers. :( No cushaw for me.

Are these borers a southern thing? I've never heard of them being a problem...

I'm growing supermarket-purchased butternut in a pot. I bought a squash, pulled out the seeds, and put them in, and they sprouted quickly. Should I be worried?

sevidra

NJ? I don't know - but I doubt it.

I'd have to do a search on information about the moth itself ....

W J

I found this information about controls on google:
Although a wilting plant is severely stressed, it's not beyond saving. Sorensen recommends injecting Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt (a naturally occurring bacterium used to control many caterpillar and larval pests) right into the stems of infested plants, using a syringe or small spray bottle.

Removing the larvae by hand by slitting the stem and digging out the grubs with a knife is labor-intensive but effective. Each stem may harbor several larvae, below as well as above the wound that marks the point of entry, so be sure to look carefully. After surgery, pile moist soil up around the cut stem. It will shortly send out new roots.

Some control methods, such as reducing egg laying by active adult females, are preventive rather thancurative. Sorensen says that row covers can help if you are in new ground, that is, if you didn't gr squashes in or near that location the year before. (In old ground, "overwintering pupae emerge as adults under the row covers. Routine crop rotation is the solution.) But row covers also prevent pollination by other day-flying insects; to ensure fruit set on covered plants, hand pollinate. (Remember that daytime temperatures under row covers can soar to destructive levels in southern gardens.)

Regularly sprinkling rotenone at the base of the plant seems to provide some control over newly hatched larvae.

Preventive Bt injections given near the base of the stem, starting shortly after the plants begin to flower, may also offer some protection from young grubs.

Destroying all crops at the end of the season will keep still-active larvae from pupating, reducing the number of egg-laying adults the next year; so will two or more shallow passes with the rototiller. Tilling brings overwintering pupae and larvae to the surface where birds and drying winds destroy them.


Crop rotation and good sanitation of the area seems to be the best control for those of us who use organic methods. The "nuclear" stuff was super toxic. Thank you, but no thank you

Heh. I thought butternut was supposed to be impervious to these things.

I don't think squash vine borers are a southern thing, because live in NY and I have had them. I used the stem slitting method to deal with them. It was actually quite satisfying to stab the little sons of guns, and the stems seemed to recover just fine. For next year, I have got some bt to try.

The BT is more effective on the caterpillar stage, but it's good stuff and now there are more choices, since this stuff is specific for certain critters. I finally found some locally, but when I googled it, I was amazed at the choices available. Locally, I was lucky to get what I got. Sheesh..............not all of us grow cole crops in the spring......

A good place to get Bt any time is from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply or Planet Natural. Both also have various information on organic pest control. I have not had a problem with squash vine borers in butternut squash but have seen them in zucchini and yellow squashes were the stems a hollow. In that case I just use a long pin like what comes with a corsage or hat pin and stab them in the stem and leave them there. Seems to work and the plants just keep growing around the dead grub. Also you might checkout a company called gardens alive to see what they have. Here are the links to the sites above.

www.groworganic.com
www.planetnatural.com
www.gardensalive.com

Good luck.