pumpkin musings
 

I rounduped a stretch of our lawn along the edge this past spring
when my wife said I could use it for a garden. I ended up planting
short sections of purple morning glory, purple okra, bush cucumbers, and
3 hills of pumpkins.

This is the first time in 22 or 23 years that I've grown pumpkins. I
was able, for the most part, to train the vines to grow lengthwise along
the fence. The push mower takes care of the smaller side vines when
they stray. The entire area filled up nice by August 1, and we had
about a dozen pumpkins on the way.

Then disaster struck - powdery mildew! I've been treating it with
fungicide, and I believe I mostly have that under control now.
Unfortunately, it took a lot of healthy leaves with it before my
sprayings got it under control, and it appears to have weakened the plants.

Horror of horrors, another disaster soon followed - squash vine
borers! I noticed small piles of frass coming out of tiny holes in the
main stems of most of the pumpkin vines. The increased stress of this
attack, added to the weakening from the powdery mildew attack caused the
pumpkin to abort a number of healthy looking pumpkins, some of which
were already 8" across. Now I'm down to 5 of the larger pumpkins,
though there are a few new young ones that seem to be growing.

I got out there with a wire and some seven insecticide concentrate,
shoved the wires in there where I thought the vine borer larvae were,
and then poured tiny bits of sevin into the holes. I'm not sure how
that will turn out, but at least I've tried. In the past, when I had
squash vine borer problems, I typically lost the plants completely. I
think I may be helped this time around, because I have a soaker hose
that I ran along the plants before they vined out. I can slowly let the
drops ooze out, which of course gets the soil under all of the vines
soaked. Since I just grew these on top of the sod, there isn't as much
between the vines and the soil as there typically would if I had used
straw. I believe that these plants may have roots coming down from many
of the places where the leaves are.

The main question I'm left with is this: where are the BT (bacillus
thuringensis) vine crops that we were promised about 6 years ago? I
recall hearing news reports that they were very close to incorporating
the BT into squash and pumpkins, and when they did the squash vine borer
would no longer be a threat. I've looked for any vine crops advertising
this every year since I first read it, but haven't come across any
advertised as vine borer resistant.

http://www.bt.ucsd.edu/bt_crop.html

pumpkin musings
 

In article ,
Ohioguy wrote:

I rounduped a stretch of our lawn along the edge this past spring
when my wife said I could use it for a garden. I ended up planting
short sections of purple morning glory, purple okra, bush cucumbers, and
3 hills of pumpkins.

This is the first time in 22 or 23 years that I've grown pumpkins. I
was able, for the most part, to train the vines to grow lengthwise along
the fence. The push mower takes care of the smaller side vines when
they stray. The entire area filled up nice by August 1, and we had
about a dozen pumpkins on the way.

Then disaster struck - powdery mildew! I've been treating it with
fungicide, and I believe I mostly have that under control now.
Unfortunately, it took a lot of healthy leaves with it before my
sprayings got it under control, and it appears to have weakened the plants.

Horror of horrors, another disaster soon followed - squash vine
borers! I noticed small piles of frass coming out of tiny holes in the
main stems of most of the pumpkin vines. The increased stress of this
attack, added to the weakening from the powdery mildew attack caused the
pumpkin to abort a number of healthy looking pumpkins, some of which
were already 8" across. Now I'm down to 5 of the larger pumpkins,
though there are a few new young ones that seem to be growing.

I got out there with a wire and some seven insecticide concentrate,
shoved the wires in there where I thought the vine borer larvae were,
and then poured tiny bits of sevin into the holes. I'm not sure how
that will turn out, but at least I've tried. In the past, when I had
squash vine borer problems, I typically lost the plants completely. I
think I may be helped this time around, because I have a soaker hose
that I ran along the plants before they vined out. I can slowly let the
drops ooze out, which of course gets the soil under all of the vines
soaked. Since I just grew these on top of the sod, there isn't as much
between the vines and the soil as there typically would if I had used
straw. I believe that these plants may have roots coming down from many
of the places where the leaves are.

The main question I'm left with is this: where are the BT (bacillus
thuringensis) vine crops that we were promised about 6 years ago? I
recall hearing news reports that they were very close to incorporating
the BT into squash and pumpkins, and when they did the squash vine borer
would no longer be a threat. I've looked for any vine crops advertising
this every year since I first read it, but haven't come across any
advertised as vine borer resistant.

http://www.bt.ucsd.edu/bt_crop.html

As your cite reports:

Potential risks to using Bt:

Invasiveness * Genetic modifications, through traditional breeding
or by genetic engineering can potentially change the organism to
become invasive. Few introduced organisms become invasive, yet it¹s a
concern for the users.

Resistance to Bt - The biggest potential risk to using Bt-crops is
resistance. Farmers have taken many steps to help prevent resistance.
(I'd like to know how.)

Cross-contamination of genes - Although unproven, genes from GM
crops can potentially introduce the new genes to native species.
------

You may want to try some "integrated pest management" (IPM).

* Encourage birds and bats by setting out houses built to appropriate
specifications. (They eat insects.)


* Allow some dead trees to remain standing (a distance from buildings),
as they make good homes for animals. A brush pile constructed from
prunings gives cover for small animals.


* Consider including a pond and birdbaths in your landscaping to
provide water for small animals. Once balanced, a pond requires
virtually no maintenance.


* *Create a "puddle" for butterflies by filling a bucket with damp sand
and sinking it into the ground. Rocks and twigs will allow butterflies
to perch as they drink.


* Plant herbs and wildflowers that attract "beneficial insects." Some
examples are fennel, dill, angelica, parsley, lovage, thyme, Queen
Anne's lace, sunflower, black-eyed Susan, daisies, goldenrod, yarrow,
milkweed, butterfly weed, tansy, clover, and cosmos.
-----

As for the mildew, try to keep the squash leaves dry, but in my
experience, mildew always arrives at the end of the season.
Unfortunately, some seasons are long, and some seasons are short.

--
Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg
or
E Pluribus Unum
Green Party Nominee Jill Stein & Running Mate, Cheri Honkala
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/7/13/green_party_nominee_jill_stein_running

pumpkin musings
 

In article ,
Rick wrote:

On Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:14:19 -0400, Ohioguy wrote:

I rounduped
Ya lost Billy here -LOL

Pretty funny. You used Round-up, and now you want to know what's wrong
with your crop? ;O))

Glad I won't be eating it.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/glyphosatePoisonsCrops.php
Scientists Reveal Glyphosate Poisons Crops and Soil

GMOs would nicely compliment your choice of food. Bon appetite.


The main question I'm left with is this: where are the BT (bacillus
thuringensis) vine crops that we were promised about 6 years ago? I
recall hearing news reports that they were very close to incorporating
the BT into squash and pumpkins, and when they did the squash vine borer
would no longer be a threat. I've looked for any vine crops advertising
this every year since I first read it, but haven't come across any
advertised as vine borer resistant.

http://www.bt.ucsd.edu/bt_crop.html

This page has some suggestion for barrier control etc. I've cut the
grubs and killed them myself and that worked OK if I was quick enough.
Never tried injecting BT as suggested

http://gardening.yardener.com/Soluti...VineBorer.html

--
Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg
or
E Pluribus Unum
Green Party Nominee Jill Stein & Running Mate, Cheri Honkala
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/7/13/green_party_nominee_jill_stein_running

pumpkin musings
 

Pretty funny. You used Round-up, and now you want to know what's wrong
with your crop? ;O))
Glad I won't be eating it.

Where did I ask what was wrong with my crop? (It certainly had
nothing to do with the roundup, because the plants were very vigorous
and doing better than I've ever seen until the powdery mildew and squash
vine borers set in.) I think I was pretty clear about stating exactly
what the problems were, along with my specific attempts to solve each
issue. If anything, I probably encouraged the powdery mildew issue by
watering the plants too often, due to the drought.

Besides, pumpkins are ornamentals as far as I'm concerned. We use
them for Jack O' Lanterns in the fall, nothing more. We won't be eating
them, either. Good point though - I suppose I should just treat them
like ornamentals that typically get killed by pests, and use a systemic
insecticide on them to assure that my kids get pumpkins to carve in the
fall.

Hmm, although Billy didn't suggest it directly, I guess he convinced
me to use more pesticides in the future and be proactive instead of
reactive - thanks!

Powdery mildew causes due to high humidity, crowded plantings or poor air circulation. To prevent from mildew improve air circulation by thining and pruning, don't fertilize and don't water plants from above.

Rotate your crops so you don't grow squash in the same area year after year. That way, any borer moths that do emerge won't have a place to lay eggs. You also can cover squash vines with soil at intervals to encourage secondary roots so plants can survive borer attacks. Plant varieties such as butternut or acorn squash that borer moths don't like.