"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
...
Katey Didd said:



"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
...

Are the eggs right above the ground on the main stalk?

Anywhere along the main stem where it makes contact with the ground.
You need to lift the plant up and move it around a bit to do a thorough
inspection. And you need to start looking for eggs long before you
would expect to see the plants drooping or lots of frass oozing out
of the stems.

I've noticed that the moths quite often lay their eggs on the leaf stems
of zucchinis as well as on the main stem.


Another tip: sometimes the eggs are laid slightly *below* ground level.
(This is one reason why, if you use a pesticide, it should be in a
liquid
form rather than dust: you need to have it run down the stem to
reach below the soil surface.)

That's good to know. G


Eventually the first generation of moths will taper off, and the vines
will
have run around a lot and will have rooted at enough points to get by
even if they have a few borers.

What kind of squash vines are you talking about?

These would be winter squashes. Many of these could be harvested small
and green as summer squashes, though. Mini-pumpkins and delicata
squashes are C. pepo squashes, just like zucchini and crooknecks.
Zucchetta rampicante tromboncino is a running squash that is usually
grown as a summer squash. I've grown these before. Very productive,
huge fruit--way too much summer squash for me!

There are also edible gourds that are runners that can be used like
summer squash. Snake gourds (Trichosanthes anguina) and luffas
(Luffa cylindrica) can be eaten when small. Johnny's Selected Seeds
(http://www.johnnyseeds.com) carries some edible gourd varieties.
I'm trying out a luffa ('Rama') this summer myself. I'm trellising it
in space that might otherwise have gone to another hill of zucchini.


Bush squash are a tougher problem, being hard to inspect. I've toyed
with the idea of growing them up a short, heavy stake but haven't
ever actually done that. Usually by the time they fall to borers, I've
had my fill of zuchinnis (the only bush-types I grow).

Lucky you! By the time we harvest only a few, the borers get them.
Slitting the stalk never helps.

No, it wouldn't with bush squash. You could try using a fine wire
with a hook on the end to fish them out. Or you could use a syringe
to inject BT or beneficial nematodes into the vine. I used to do that
(and it did help) before I learned to identify the eggs and and pick
those off. You need a big bore needle, which you should be able
to get at an equine supply place.

Thanks. I have one of those huge needles. Like I said. I'll try the
suggestion of a tinfoil collar, egg hunting, Sevin dust etc on the stem. If
the problem still occurs I'll give up on squash. I hunt the seed racks here
and they just have the common varieties. We spend so much money on the
gardens already I fear my husband will object to buying seeds from catalogs
or online. The prices are always so much higher. Retired, we're on a limited
income now.




--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

After enlightenment, the laundry.