Thanks for the replies. I piled up some extra soil for now, we'll see how
the plants go from here on out. It's our first year with enough space to
grow anything besides herbs, so I'm pretty content either way. I'll try the
manual pollination techniques for now - there aren't many insects back there
besides mosquitos to get the job done.

"Justin Henry" wrote in message
.net...
I noticed that large chunks of my summer crookneck squash plants were
dying
because their stems seemed to have been shredded by some pest. Reading
says
that it's stem borers laying their eggs in there. Anyone have experience
with this? Suggested cure is to pile more soil around lowest part of the
stems to about 6".

Also, does anyone know how I can increase the fertilization percentage?
I've
had about 100 flowers that have amounted to nothing and only a few actual
veggies come from these plants. Quite disappointing, considering their
amazing growth rate.

-Justin