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| Second year running we cannot keep squash or zuk squash. We get about month's worth of growth then gone. Second year 100% organic.
Soap, no luck. Cleaning the stem once a week no help, running a needle into the stem after infection is no help. Slitting the stem is worthless vine stays stunted. Companion planting is ineffective. Infection is 100% both years. Compost tea is great for the plant but no help. BT doesn't sound like it will work against them. Which poison has the least side effects that will work. 5% sevin? Thought about wetting up a small batch and painting it along the bottom of stem. But if we want squash(which we do) we going to have to do something. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I also gave up because of squash vine borers. Now I grow climbing zucchini - it has solid vines so the borers can't bother it. It is a little slower to start producing, since it likes hot weather, and needs a very strong trellis to climb, but we like the taste of the squash better, and the squash grows even without fertilization, so no seeds form which is nice. Anyway, it's one option to consider. Butternut squash, also, has solid vines - grow that instead of acorn. |
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| Squash bugs and squash vine borers can be problems, especially in relatively new gardens or gardens where the soi is not yet in a balanced state, a good, healthy soil. Have you tried Floating Row Covers? Have the stems the borers have been found in been buried in soil? Slitting the stems or poking a needle into the stem is only done to kill the larva known to be there. The BTK is only effective for a short time after the larva hatches. What is your soil like? What is the soils pH? How much organic matter is in that soil? How well does that soil drain? How well does that soil retain moisture? What kind of life is in that soil? What did a soil test say about nutrient levels and balance? |
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| Squash bugs and squash vine borers can be problems, especially in relatively new gardens or gardens where the soi is not yet in a balanced state, a good, healthy soil. Have you tried Floating Row Covers? Have the stems the borers have been found in been buried in soil? Slitting the stems or poking a needle into the stem is only done to kill the larva known to be there. The BTK is only effective for a short time after the larva hatches. What is your soil like? What is the soils pH? How much organic matter is in that soil? How well does that soil drain? How well does that soil retain moisture? What kind of life is in that soil? What did a soil test say about nutrient levels and balance? |
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| Have you tried Floating Row Covers? No, would prefer not to have the added expense, upkeep and hassle of harvesting. Have the stems the borers have been found in been buried in soil? Yes. Saved a few but the stress I guess to the plant caused it to not bear much after that. The BTK is only effective for a short time after the larva hatches. So, no help there. What is your soil like? What is the soils pH? ~6.0 How much organic matter is in that soil? Tons. Chipped leaves from the fall before. Worm compost tea. Worm Compost. Compost. Straw. How well does that soil drain? Very well. How well does that soil retain moisture? Very well but it had been a brutally hot summer but kept it watered with drip irrigation. What kind of life is in that soil? You name it. More bugs than I can ever ID. Black crickets, wolf spiders, green lacewigs, lady bugs, (stink bugs).. Even had a yellow jackets make their home there. Had to get shed of them. What did a soil test say about nutrient levels and balance? Haven't done that. |
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| Spiders, lacewings, Lady Bugs, and Yellow Jackets are beneficial, they are not soil dwellers. What about earthworms, millipedes, Roly Polys and Sowbugs, etc. those that dwell in the soil and convert organic matter into the nutrients the plants need? What percentage of organic matter is in the soil. Tons may not be enough. Nutrient imbalances are known to make plants more attractive to insect pests. |
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- Posted by GreeneGarden 5 (My Page) on Fri, Aug 10, 12 at 21:21
| Tatume is also immune to SVB. Farmers with large fields of squash out in the middle of nowhere do not have problems with SVB. The theory is that something in the urban environment attracts them. Some say it is lights. Some insist it is not. No one knows for sure what it is. But if you want to grow squash organically, plant in a field in the middle of nowhere. |
Here is a link that might be useful: GardenForNutrition
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- Posted by msgreenjeans1 none (My Page) on Sat, Aug 25, 12 at 22:20
| Solution to squash vine borers. When you plant your squash take a nylon pantyhose,preferable knee hi's and start at the base of your plant and wrap it around the stem all the way up as far as you can get it. leave it hanging and as the plant grows continue to wrap it around. The nylon will allow your stem to expand. For reinforcement you can put aluminum foil around the nylon also. You should have healthy plants. It's been proven to work by me. I had given up on squash until I got this remedy. I took a bamboo skewer to prop up the remaining panty pose to keep it off the ground. |
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| msgreenjeans1, I've heard a lot of folks say this solution, but frankly I don't see how it can work that well, since I find so many eggs laid on leafs and leaf stems. I can see how you are protecting the main vine, but how do you keep the eggs off of the leaves and further up the vine? Wouldn't the SVB just attack further up the vine and cause their damage up there? If you do what you suggest, I would still think you would need to be vigilant and keep picking off the eggs that are laid further up. At least they are easier to see there, as opposed to the ones laid right at the base of the plant. |
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| You want to beat the boogers? Here is what you do. 1. Seed or transplant under floating row covers. 2. Remove Row Cover when plant begins to flower. 3. Apply a dusting of Sevin to the base of the plant. 4. Inject the stem of the plant with Spinosad solution once a week. I guarantee , no borers. BTW, it's worthwhile to purchase a Squash Vine Borer lure kit. It traps the males only BUT is valuable for telling you when they begin to fly and when they have stopped so you can time your pesticide applications accordingly. Also, the quality of your soil has absolutely NOTHING to doing with Squash Vine Borer attacks. |
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| I've been injecting affected portions of my vines with BT, when I see any signs of frass or yellowing vines. Also, since I have read that BT doesn't work against bigger larva , I have been worried about the BT not killing them, but have been reluctant to split open the vines with a knife. So I have used electrical wire, and pushed it down the hole. The wire has the insulation removed, exposing some of the copper wire, and that has been effective in harpooning and extracting them for me, without having to cut open the vine. But again I worry I have missed some. So I usually inject the area heavily with BT, after I do the wire extraction. So I was wondering if instead of injecting BT, if injecting with a soapy water would be as effective. With my syringe, I could flush out the area with the soapy water, and hopefully kill any other remaining larva inside the vine? Has anyone tried this? Its cheap, and in theory seems like it should work, only concern would be if it harmed the plant. |
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