How do you stop them from killing the vines? I tried to cover the vines with soil but that didn't work. I tried Sevin dust. That didn't work either. What are you doing that works? We are growing squash, water mellons and cantalopes.
I personally gave up on trying. :-( I'm considering trying them as a fall crop. Some people report good success by spraying the bases with BT on a regular basis. Others have tried sevin spray instead of sevin dust.
There's a squash variety called "tatuma" that is resistant to squash borers. Just be warned that the vines are aggressive and can run about
50 feet. They taste pretty good, though.Bob
Of course, crop rotation is another option.
Are you talking about them being already in the vines and boring?
If they're already in the vines, slit the vine near the point of entry, remove the borers and then immediately cover the slit with earth. The vine should put down roots at that point.
We've done it for squash. It worked. We moved to butternut squash because it keeps (just ate the last of the harvest) and it's resistant to borer.
We don't do melons.
*Be aware that Sevin is particularly toxic to bees.*
If we can't find something to work we too will give up on these crops. With prices so high in the stores and loving these veggies I thought I'd try one more time growing them.
I have not seen these seeds in the stores. Is this a winter or summer squash?
We have two vegetable gardens several hundred feet apart. Everything is rotated but the greens. The borers found the squash. A neighbor suggested we cover them with screening but the cost is too much. The soil is rich with compost and the plants get huge.
"Katey Didd" wrote in news:g00kfp$38c$ snipped-for-privacy@news.datemas.de:
the borers are generally only an issue with seedlings though. sometimes tinfoil collars work, or if the borers are already in the vine slit it & remove them. do not compost vines killed by borers. sanitation helps a lot too.
lee
You aren't going to like this:
I inspect thouroughly inspect the plants every 24-36 hours and remove any eggs I find. This is quick and easy when they are small but gets harder once they sprawl. I also kill any moths I can. The moth is a red and black moth that is a darn good wasp imitator. (Too bad for the moth that there are no similarly colored wasps for the educated gardener to confuse it with, at least in my part of the country.) The moth flies and lays eggs during the day. I've notice that they often rest on bean plants (if there are any nearby).
Sometimes I miss an egg, but usually find the borer quickly enough to scrap it out or kill it with a fine wire. The moths initially stick to the very base of the vine, but as they spread they also begin to attack anywhere the plant touches the ground, including leaf petioles as well as the running stems.
Also, the extension service publications always say something like "eggs laid singly" but I invariably find more than one and sometimes large numbers on one plant early in the season when the vines are small. When you fine one egg, look around some more nearby.
Another tip: sometimes the eggs are laid slightly *below* ground level. (This is one reason why, if you use a pesticide, it should be in a liquid form rather than dust: you need to have it run down the stem to reach below the soil surface.)
Eventually the first generation of moths will taper off, and the vines will have run around a lot and will have rooted at enough points to get by even if they have a few borers.
Bush squash are a tougher problem, being hard to inspect. I've toyed with the idea of growing them up a short, heavy stake but haven't ever actually done that. Usually by the time they fall to borers, I've had my fill of zuchinnis (the only bush-types I grow).
I always rip out an discard the squash vines when they die. And during any cultivation, I always pick out and destroy any moth pupae I find.
It really helps to plant resistant varieties: butternuts, cushaws, and any cross-species hybrids with a butternut, like the Japanese-bred "Tetsukabuto" which is an excellent squash with the texture of a buttercup and the the borer tolerence of a butternut.
Buttercup and Hubbard squashes -- Cucurbita maxima varieties -- are the most susceptible/attractive to borers, with C. pepo types (Jack o'lantern and field pumpkins, acorn, delicata and summer squashes) not far behind.
PDF with some good pics of the moths:
When you plant your squash, plant three white icicle radish seeds near the stem. This prevents the squash borers from doing their damage. If you already have damage, remove the borer, and plant the cut part as deeply as you can and water in well so it has a chance to re-root.
Regards, June
"Katey Didd" wrote in news:g009aa$nf7$ snipped-for-privacy@news.datemas.de:
My neighbor dusts with BT and also injects the vines with a BT solution, and the vines take over his backyard and produce like crazy.
Another option is rubbing Vicks VapoRub on the stems, which supposedly will deter vine borers. Maybe the VapoRub plus wrapping the stems with foil would increase the effectiveness. I have not tried this tip but it seems like it might be worth a shot.
Dee
Tatuma is delicious. :-) Now I just need to look for seeds! No, I'm not the OP, but I've had the same trouble so had just given up on even trying to grow squashes or melons.
If the list gives us alternatives, we'll both be happy. :-)
I just read one post that said butternut is resistant. We love that stuff but it's a winter squash. I'd like to be able to grow both.
Tatuma really is good. They sell it in the stores here so I may give that a try. Baby pumpkin also eats well as a green squash and I don't recall whether we had problems with borers or not with those. It's been too long since I've grown one.
Summer, but I, too, would have to look for (or mail order) the seeds. They sell the squash in the stores locally.
It can go either way (but usually used as a summer squash.) BTW, the
*squash* taste pretty good, the vines taste terrible.Bob
The only ones that were destroyed by borers were our crooknecks and zucchinis. Two of our favorites. Butternuts were not affected. Our squash are all coming up now. Unless watered profusely, pumpkins don't do to well where I live.
Have you tried the radishes yourself or is that something you read someplace?
"Katey Didd" wrote in news:g033ht$kp7$ snipped-for-privacy@news.datemas.de:
the adult is a clearwing moth. i've never had borers kill mature vines, but i bury vines as they grow so that they root along the length. i do put tinfoil collars on young plants of the squash & cucumber family. if borers are a real problem, you could try floating row covers & hand pollenate the flowers... are you slitting the vines where the borers are, or are you slitting the entire vine looking for them? there's usually a hole with frass near the borers location, & the moth lays the eggs at the base of the vine, so the first place to look is at the base, & then look for the frass. lee
"Katey Didd" wrote in news:g0359n$mk6$ snipped-for-privacy@news.datemas.de:
oh! you're planting bush squash... that's different, then. yes, it's *much* harder to find & control borers & they're much more likely to destroy the entire plant. that's why i don't grow bush type squash. both zuchinni & yellow crookneck should be available as vining type, but you may need to look for heirloom seeds. lee
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