23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

I heard someone on TV the other day state that squash vine borers stop laying eggs after the 4th of July. So if you can hang on for another two days . . .

Of course, this assumes the TV woman knows what she's talking about. Sometimes that's a stretch. ;-)

I hear ya. The weather person has as much chance of being wrong as right in our neck of the woods too. lol

Ok, well I do hope that is the case with the SVBM. We've had an unusually large number of birds in the yard. Robins seem to have nested nearby and I counted about 7 adolescents yesterday. Then a flock of starlings, and a pair of catbirds. They all seem to be very interested in the vegetable beds. Flying in and out of the beds with squash in them, so I am hoping they are finding bugs to eat.

I don't even have a feeder up, because I didn't want to attract squirrels. I do have a number of shrubs that fruit is developing on and I think they are here in anticipation of a feast. And I seem to remember reading that birds that are fruit eaters, also eat insects. So this has been an interesting development this year.

"We have no way of knowing where the OP resides as for some reason they never include that info in any of their posts despite requests to do so."

They never seem to reply to follow-up questions either.

Right you are Dave, as I said, every situation is different and it's up to the individual to determine what is right. In my case, I find it helpful, in others, it can be harmful. I don't prescribe to a one size fits all approach and never will.

Course, based on yours and Lori 's comments, the author of the question seems to not care one way or the other so, either way, oh well.

Should I thin them out? Maybe they are planted to thick and the flowers are not seen or sought out because they are hidden under so much foliage......?

And hand pollination....I guess swirling a qtip around in each flower would get the job done, no?

yes, so long as you do it in the male first. I use a small paint brush.

The yellowish plant was planted in Miracle Grow garden

There is your cause. MG Garden Soil says on the bag Not for Use in Containers. It compacts, drains poorly, and retains too much water leading to root suffocation and root rot and yellowing of the leaves. It is intended only for use mixed well into existing garden beds.

Scott's Potting soil isn't much better but it doesn't compact as quickly. Still you will likely have problems with that plant further down the line.

Container plants do best by far in soil-less potting mixes. Check all the discussions on the Container Gardening forum about the various recommended container mixes to use and the ones to avoid.

Both plants are small enough that they could still be transplanted to containers containing beneficial mixes if you wish.

Dave

I had hopped mixing the MG with peat moss and manure would have made the soil okay to use in a container. I am planning to transplant into a bed this weekend so hopefully the plant will improve after that point. I sprinkled with a nitrogen fertilizer earlier today.

Thanks for all the help.

Dave

Thanks for all of the replies!

I went out and checked and several looked like they had holes in the stems. So, I cut them open and found the yucky SVB worms. I made sure to kill the worm and then covered the stem where I opened it with dirt. Will the plant live through this?

I also checked my yellow squash and zucchini and found a few worms in those also. I hope everything does not get ruined. They have really been doing well!

Also, in the process of getting the worm out of one of the acorn squash plants, one of the smaller acorn squash fell off. It's about the size of a baseball and is not dark green yet. Will it ripen up now that it is off the vine, or should I toss it?

Thanks!

You can eat it.

"Dr. Mittleider's garden has been tested after 20 years of growing and still showed no signs of salt contamination, toxicities of the subsoil or salinity problems"

Tested by whom? A completely independent third party lab, not contracted by Dr. Mittleider?

I just came accross this method, and it seemed promising until I looked into it. Please correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this method just a run to waste with standard soil deep backup system? seems the method has yields similar to hydroponics systems, but uses more space.

They look a little burned from the soap but nothing too serious. If you have caterpillars, use BT.

The only bugs I ever see on my Kale are aphids. And while soap will kill them, it simply isn't necessary. Like flora suggested, sprays of water every few days is sufficient to keep populations at bay.

My guess, also, is that you sprayed with soap and left it on there during the heat and sun. Insecticidal soap is best used in the evening and rinsed off in the morning.

Kevin

If you miss the female flower by a couple hours can't you just pry it open?

I wonder why they open so briefly doesn't seem efficient.

its not the age of the flower.. its how long the pollen stays active ...

usually.. it is spent.. by the time the flower closes .. so prying it open wont help ..

that is generally speaking..a s compared to some specific gourd knowledge ... you can research it

ken

I would say your FIL is doing something you dont know. Sometimes people are like that, accept it. There is a new product out called Dunkels, google it and give it a try, Im using it and its wonderful. Price is fair.

Here is the link for Dunkels products http://www.dunkelsfertilizer.com/dunkels-tomato-turbo.html

Yes they do, if there is a good contact and the soil under it is moist.

Yes, they will root along the vine..DO NOT cover the vine with soil, you will promote disease. Cut a hole in the plastic or whatever fabric you have down and pin them down with whatever and they should root. Good LUck

Hands clapping for Dave!

If we used the phrase open-pollinated it would mean so much more. I only use the word heirloom with varieties that have a documented history of having been saved by families or communities.

Agree with both Dave and planatus. "Open pollinated" is my phrase of choice. It seems the question is always between "heirloom" or "hybrid" (or GMO; not that it's relevant to home growers). Open pollinated varieties always gets left out of the discussion for some reason (and it frustrates the heck out of me! lol).

Rodney

Hi guys, so I finally saw my very first baby crookneck squash, and so I was able to compare the two. The plants have some very visible differences. Here's a picture that will explain the immediate differences better than I could. The main difference for me was the way the plants grew. The Crooknecks "crawl" a bit, shooting out leaves from the crawling central stem. The zukes sort of blossom out from the ground in one spot. Also, the leaves are a different shape and texture. There are a few ppl online in different forums who had this question for a variety of reasons, and yeah I guess I do think it's silly that so many people came across such a random question but anyways I hope the pic helps someone! Thanks everyone

Be aware that different varieties of zucchini may have different looking leaves. As they grow larger they also change in shape and texture. Farmerdill's photo shows one zucchini variation with the silvery coloration.....and no, that is NOT mildew or any other fungal disease. Your photos will help in telling your zucchini and yellow squash varieties apart but may not be applicable to different cultivars.

It looks like yours are growing nicely.

:( Well, that's depressing. We love turnips too.

What's the rate of soil drench for Neem? I have heard it has systemic effects, but is that only if used as a soil drench? I was thinking I may want to drench my collards and kale.

I lost most of my cauliflowers this year to root maggots. My Brussels Sprouts were also affected but considerably less so. My Collards and Kale seem untouched and are growing like gangbusters with no wilting issues. So maybe your Kale and Collards will be OK. If they are wilting on mild days, you might have a problem.

Summer Squash, Beans,

Also Tomato, Pepper and Eggplant transplants

I don't grow eggplant so don't know if there are short (60 DTM) varieties - maybe some of the mini (Asian) kinds? Getting late for peppers too unless you want to try them in pots and overwinter them. Again, for tomatoes look for short-season determinates.

When is your first fall frost date? Mid-late Sept? Could get some tomatoes from transplants but not many if you end up with late-season variety like Brandywine.

See the thread Rodney linked to for fall veggies to start this month. I linked a fall planting calculator from Johnny's there.