Squash vine borers

[Omelet]

Yeah. Crooknecks, Zuch's and pattypans were what they did in for me. :-(

[Katey Didd]

Apparently not to the borers.

[Katey Didd]

We're retired now and can't afford to by row covers. This gardening is starting to get expensive. Insecticide, weed cloth, fertilizers, limestone, Ironite.........

The *&^%$# borer is usually not near the hole. I have to slit the stem and look for it, and the plant (crooknecks and zucchini) never recovers. I'm going to put collars on them and use Sevin under and around the collars. If that doesn't work I'll have to give up on these squash.

[Katey Didd]

Thanks. We may look into it for next year.

[zxcvbob]

[Katey Didd]

Thanks. I have one of those huge needles. Like I said. I'll try the suggestion of a tinfoil collar, egg hunting, Sevin dust etc on the stem. If the problem still occurs I'll give up on squash. I hunt the seed racks here and they just have the common varieties. We spend so much money on the gardens already I fear my husband will object to buying seeds from catalogs or online. The prices are always so much higher. Retired, we're on a limited income now.

[zxcvbob]

You might try Spaghetti Squash then. They run like pumpkins, so they should send down roots at each node (if they do get a borer, they still have enough roots that it doesn't matter)

Bob

[Charlie]

Uh oh...ironite. Of course, if you are using Sevin, Ironite is likely of no concern to you.

Care Charlie

[Mac'sGrandma]

Squash bugs do more damage to my zucchini than do the vine borers. Here is a link:

lay reddish eggs on the underside of leaves, in a pyramid shape. We try to keep up with inspecting the leaves for eggs but they often get out of hand quickly so we plant a couple of plants weeks apart and that helps.

Jane and Steve

[Charlie]

You've opened up a big can of panic, dragging McLuhan into the discussion. I'd mostly forgotten about him, lots of thought comes from him, I had to review some. Which reminded me that I have trouble deeply understanding what he wrote, but I do grasp the basic tenets and sorta get it.

Working from the premise that we are descending into some, uh, potentially dire straits, how are we to rebuild community when so much of what we used to be has been.....changed. Gone. How the hell we gonna deal with *that* when things get really tough? Rugged individualism....feh. It is going to take things that has been, in a large part, replaced.

Morality is gone, talking, contemplating, working together, knowing what is truly important....mostly gone. Awareness helps, but is it enough?

Ah well, we've our work cut for us, my friend. Maybe our boys are payin' attention. I see encouraging signs more and more often.

Thanks fer startin' the lesson, I'll work on it as I wrestle with sleep, perfessor ;-) Charlie

[Katey Didd]

Should it be? Our soil is so alkaline it's recommended Ironite be used.

[Katey Didd]

They are not a big problem here. The borers are ones that do the bush squash in.

[Katey Didd]

We grew them one year and no one liked them. No one ate them.

[Charlie]

I see you found Billy's excellant followup. I would recommend returning it for a refund if unopened. Don't just toss it in the trash or creek or wherever.

Charlie

[Billy]

Dispose of the Ironite in an ecological manner (the jerk next door is always a good choice). Excuse me, I seem to be having a schizophrenic moment. As I was saying, in an ecologically responsible manner, and use sulfur powder or sphagnum moss to lower your soil's pH. The world will thank you. Your community will thank you, and your metabolism will thank you.

[enigma]

"Katey Didd" wrote in news:g0b35o$n5h$ [e-mail]:

use powdered lime to counteract alkalinity. Ironite is nasty stuff. chemicals like Sevin should be used sparingly, if at all, as well. stick around & ask questions. we can help you move to a more organic (& possibly less expensive) form of gardening. lee

[enigma]

enigma wrote in news:Xns9A9D4FCCDEFCenigmaempirenet@199.125.85.9:

ack, no, lime is for acid soil. sulpher is for alkaline. sorry! lee