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Post by daylilydude on Mar 14, 2018 5:45:39 GMT -5
I'm wondering how different people protect their squash, melon, etc. vines...from bugs laying eggs in them?
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 14, 2018 7:17:04 GMT -5
I don't grow melons but the Squash Vine Borer is my worst pest. The eggs are too small to see and I have tried every preventative like mounding soil at the base of the plants, using foil or other barriers, planting radishes at the base and nothing works. I only grow a few squash to provide enough for our use. I don't sell vegetables and I grow organically so no sprays.
The only thing that works for me is to figure that, yes, my squash will be infected by the SVB and the plants will only live to produce a short crop so about 3-4 weeks after I plant the first crop, I plant a second crop and it start producing when the first crop dies. Some years I even plant a 3rd crop and this keeps me supplied with summer squash all summer.
This is called succession planting and it works for me but only for summer squash. Winter squash has too long of a growing season for this. The only winter squash that I grow is butternut and the SVB does not usually bother it.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 14, 2018 7:41:35 GMT -5
SVB is my main concern for squash, and nothing has worked for me, including covering with Agribon, and totally sealing around the edges with soil. I did this 10 years after I had the last non-moschata squash, and they came out of the soil.
For other plants - cukes and butternut squash - I spray with Surround, which keeps most bugs off.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Mar 14, 2018 9:43:14 GMT -5
SVBs are bad here. They usually start up just about the time my summer squash starts producing. I get maybe a week or two of production. pepperhead212's experience notwithstanding, I am going to try some parthenocarpic zukes under Agribon this year. This will be in a raised bed in which I have never grown any squash, in the hope that the SVB moths have never laid eggs there. Also, I will be topping that bed's soil up by several inches; I don't know whether the extra depth would affect any larvae that might be there. If that experiment fails, I am officially done with summer squash! I'm pretty sure I have tried everything else. As to winter squash, I only grow C. moschata types, because the SVBs make short work of any others. Sometimes I still lose part or all of a plant to the SVBs, but usually at least some of the plants survive to give me fruit. Cukes are usually not a problem for me until later in the year when pickle worms arrive. I typically can get a big summer crop and make all of my pickles for the year before they become a problem. Fall cukes are iffy, though. Melons have some pests, but so far nothing that has done too much damage to the vines. However, I do have to get the developing melons (other than watermelons) off the ground as soon as they set, because there are a number of pests that get into them if I leave them on the ground or mulch. Including the occasional turtle that comes up from the water-filled drainage ditch behind my property.
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Post by september on Mar 14, 2018 9:54:13 GMT -5
Finally there is an upside to growing up here in the middle of my northern woods! I have never had problems with bugs or worms in any of the squash, melon or cuke crops.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 14, 2018 10:31:35 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL I tried this twice with squash, covered in earthboxes with agribon. The first, using Caveli, a parthenocarpic variety, only produced a few, very small - 4" - hard squash, not really usable. Next, I used Golden Glory, which also didn't produce much.
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 14, 2018 10:36:25 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, I tried parthenocarpic zucchini one year under a row cover and at first I thought that they were doing well but the plants got really BIG and must have lifted the cover just enough for the SVB to get under and lay her eggs so if you try this make sure that your cover has lots of slack and leaves room for expansion. A little moth can get through even a small gap.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Mar 14, 2018 12:59:25 GMT -5
Finally there is an upside to growing up here in the middle of my northern woods! I have never had problems with bugs or worms in any of the squash, melon or cuke crops. Agree! Though, the last few years squash bugs have shown up at some point. They're rather disgusting to see, but by the time they arrive, I'm sick of the zucchini anyway.
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Post by octave1 on Mar 14, 2018 13:50:26 GMT -5
The best protection for squash and zucchini is an extremely rainy summer. Both Squash bug and SVB are vulnerable to water, as a matter of fact they are most destructive when it's dry and the temps are above 85º F. If one were able to grow zucchini plants "submerged", kind of like rice, that would take care of the majority of their pests. Also, watering profusely every single day helps. It will not save the plant, but it would prolong its lifespan considerably.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Mar 15, 2018 9:25:12 GMT -5
That's interesting, octave1. I have not heard that before. I have always planted squash in the spring, which is our dry season. I have always assumed that summer (rainy season) would be worse due to diseases and even more pest pressure. Perhaps I will try a summer plant or two just to see.
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 15, 2018 9:32:04 GMT -5
The SVB is a moth. Maybe is doesn't like to fly in the rain!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Mar 15, 2018 10:15:29 GMT -5
And a weird-looking moth at that! They are usually nocturnal, but I have seen them flying in the day after disturbing their sleeping spot.
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Post by octave1 on Mar 15, 2018 20:23:52 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, I don't know what kind of microclimate you have, but I think it's worth trying. You may end up with plants heavily affected by fungal diseases, but that is much more treatable than the total devastation carried out by SBs e SVBs.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 15, 2018 21:20:03 GMT -5
I sprayed Actinovate on the squash plants the two times I tried them covered, and had no problems at all with mildew. The Agribon is ultra light, but still traps some moisture, and the main problem I have had in the past were the black aphids on the pepper plants under cover. Just have to check often.
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Post by Gianna on Mar 16, 2018 21:38:22 GMT -5
We don't have SVBs here. yet. But often cucumber beetles are a pest on the squash. Usually the native lizards take care of them.. but if they are slow on the job, I've taken a cordless vacuum outside and sucked up as many of them as I can find. Very satisfying.
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