Growing squash is both a rewarding and frustrating feat in the garden. Most squash are very prolific and will reward the gardener with a bountiful harvest; however, squash are prone to squash vine borers. You can tell your squash is infected when all of sudden the whole plant is wilted and it is not due to lack of water. This is your signal to take action and to conduct a borer-ectomy. (Thanks to Catherine for coming up with the name:~)Here are instructions to help save the plant's life, or at the very least extend its life so you can harvest more squash. These instructions will work with all types of squash plants. Locate the base of the stem and look for a moist sawdust like pile. This is your clue there are borers present. I then get a sharp paring knife and cut the stem cleanly in both directions from where I found the hole. I gently split the stem and find the borers. If you are lucky they are still small and there are not too many of them. Pierce them with the knife and dispose of them. Be sure you have them all or you are wasting your time. I next squeeze the wound together and tape it up with any kind of tape. I used clear wrapping tape in the above procedure. It did not remain on the plant for long, but that is okay so long as the plant is stable. I then apply Sevin dust to the area and hope for the best. It is a wait and see approach at this point. Out of the two borer-ectomies I performed on my two yellow crookneck squash plants, only one made it. Is a 50% rate good for doctors in the garden? I hope so. At any rate this plant lived for another month and bore (no pun intended) many more squash. As of this posting it has finally met its demise and I am sad to see it go. I am not sure what caused the death as there were no new signs of borer activity. Maybe it was just all the stress of the borer-ectomy. Sigh.
in the garden....
This is a good technique to know about! I've used tape to hold damaged rosemary stems together ...it worked! gail
ReplyDeleteGood morning all!
ReplyDeleteGail, glad to hear the tape thing works on other plants too! I've never had luck with rosemary you must share your secrets. Are you going to PPS next week? The state forester is speaking. I am most excited and will be there.
Ew, I would be the one to kill the plant and hope for the best with the other squash.
ReplyDeleteOvercast today but we finally had a warm night.
Tina, that's interesting. I'm not growing squash this year but I'll file the information away in my memory for later use. I know borers are difficult to deal with.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
Borer-ectomy--love that title, very clever! I don't grow any squash (um, are zucchini squash? If they are, they're in a huge container and so far, so good). This seems like a great idea and better than using some kind of spray. Cool idea!
ReplyDeleteTina,
ReplyDeleteSo far, it has been too cold for borers here, so no need for such a drastic surgery! But if I do come upon a nasty little bug like that, I will give this a try.
Rosey
p.s. thanks for info on dill you left in a comment on my blog.)
I have no borers, but I have no veggies, either. Good info for veggie gardeners.
ReplyDeleteCameron
I hate battling the borers but I will since I like squash. Usually when the vines start to go I get what I can from them and say farewell but I have considered surgery before.
ReplyDeleteHi Tina --hope you have a good day.
ReplyDeleteDawn --it has been downright hot the past few days --it's a bummer since the kiddos are back in school.
Hi Skeeter --hope to see you one of these days:)
Hi Nina --I'm sure you will have fun this week. And, I know those flowers will be looking there best:)
Hi Lola --I think you sent us a dose of your Florida heat the past few days -
Off to check on my pie -can't wait to eat it -shoefly pie -yummy!
Have a great day everyone!
Hi Jean --Lil Bundle said to send a hug your way:0)
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll be dipped in peanut butter! We also have problems with the powdery mildew! Our squash did zip this year...
ReplyDeleteSo far my squash is doing great with no borers and I hope it stays that way but if I see the telltale signs I will try this trick.
ReplyDeleteGood morning to you Anonymous and I have been very lax on my commenting of late but that sure does not mean that I was not happy when I got a special piece of mail the other day, because it really did give me many smiles. He is such a beauty!!!! Thanks so much for thinking of me. Wish I was down there this week for all the excitement and to be able to hold that little darling. Oh what an infant can do for the heart!!! Just thinking of him warms the heart.
Tina, Yes I am going to attend. I have a free schedule before...we could have dinner here if you want to come early! Can't promise a gourmet meal! gail
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice, Tina. We had such beautiful plants, but the harvest was pitiful. I'm not sure that the borers were totally to blame. Some other factors were probably involved, and SAM actually stumbled on some possible evidence yesterday morning. I'm still trying to decide whether to post about it. If I do, it won't be at meal-time.
ReplyDeleteA gardener becomes a reluctant surgeon. This is all the stuff I forget when it's the hopeful season of spring. Bon Courage!
ReplyDelete"ectomy" as an option? Will keep that in mind! Thanks for all that info.
ReplyDeleteLol, Tina! My veg garden is PITIFUL this year! But in past years when my squash get to this problem, I just rip them out since by that time I've had enough zuchs and can't give them away fast enough..haha! Good instructions though!
ReplyDeleteA great piece of info to have, well described. I'll tuck this one away in my bag o' tricks. And also good to know that the tape-cast method could work on other plants, such as your rosemary, Gail.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a tricky task to get rid of the borers.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I thought my DH is the only one who ever taped a plant together. Early in the season he always get a tomato plant that breaks and uses a bandaid or masking tape to mend it.
It works !
I'm pretty squeamish, so I hope there's no blood involved:) One question, though: I frequently have what I call squash beetles which have the same effect on any squash plant. Are these the same as squash borers? Usually, I just sprinkle with Sevin--provided I catch them in time--and that does the trick. I have just one zucchini plant this year, and while I hope it doesn't get infected, it won't be a great loss.
ReplyDeleteHi Tina. What a wonderful thing to learn. Sadly my squash didn't do anything this yr. I planted 5 different kinds at that. Also some were planted at different times. I had the borers on the first planting. Too much rain on the second planting.
ReplyDeleteHi all. I do hope all are having a great time.
Anonymous I agree with Jean. Litl' Bundle sure is handsome. They are so precious.I have put him near my puter so I can see him every day.
They are a new pest to me - probably not in the UK I think - ooops they are. As it happens I have a wilting Squash. Too dark to take a look now so I'll be out tomorrow, all clued up for signs of boring!
ReplyDeleteI don't think we get borers here, at least I've never noticed them.
ReplyDeleteIf you were performing surgery on people you might want good malpractice insurance, but I think 50 percent for plants sounds good :)
I thought I had commented to everyone earlier and now I see I have not so forgive me for only responding to questions.
ReplyDeleteRose, The borers are not the same as the beetles. See this link from OSU: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2153.html regarding the borers. The borer adults are actually a flying insect similar to a wasp. I found this info on the squash beetle. I usually don't have too many problems from these. Their larve is a small worm like buggy thing. Only way to describe them. Ugly. If the beetles are present they don't seem to cause problems anyhow.
Now I know what has killed my squash the past two years! Darn critters....
ReplyDeleteTina, did the adult wasp looking bug that laid the eggs have a red tail? It looks smaller than a regular wasp.
ReplyDeleteLola, I haven't seen the bugs that lay the eggs for squash vine borers but the source says the adult moth that looks like a wasp flies during the day and has orangey red hairs on its hind legs and the body is also marked with orange red hairs on it.
ReplyDeleteNow that is just plain ingenuity talking, Tina. I say it's worth a shot - what have you got to lose??
ReplyDeleteI'm battleing the slugs here, too. I don't know which is worse.
Tina, you are amazing! To think of performing surgery on your squash is ingenious. I'm glad you could save it at least for a while longer. I'll have to remember this trick too. I planted crooked neck yellow squash this year but have yet to harvest one! (but not due to borers) Maybe next year??
ReplyDeleteGood advice, but too late for me. My zucchini is gone for the year, but gave me a lot of squash already. I'll try this next year except for one thing. I refuse to use Sevin around my vegetables! Anything organic I could do?
ReplyDelete