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Old 17-07-2003, 06:09 AM
Justin Henry
 
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Default Summer Squash: Stem borers and fertilization.

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


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Old 17-07-2003, 03:02 PM
Tomatolord
 
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Default Summer Squash: Stem borers and fertilization.


"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



You were supposed to pile the soil on well before this time, so that the
plant would set down another set of roots...you are pretty much toast at
this time, next time either dust with sevin or spray with bt to kill the
larvae before it bores into the plant...

as far as the other problem is concerned is pollination...now you have to
check wether you have male or female flowers....the male flowers have what
looks like a mini squash on the end of the flower, if it does NOT have the
mini squash then it is a female flower and those DO NOT produce squash, so
if you have a whole bunch of female flowers, which the first blush of blooms
generally are female, then pick those and eat them (fried are my favorite
way) or just in a salad. If the males are also dropping off then they are
not being pollinated, pick a female flower and brush it around the male.

Good luck

Tomatolord



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Old 17-07-2003, 04:04 PM
MT Byers
 
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Default Summer Squash: Stem borers and fertilization.

as far as the other problem is concerned is pollination...now you have to
check wether you have male or female flowers....the male flowers have what
looks like a mini squash on the end of the flower, if it does NOT have the
mini squash then it is a female flower and those DO NOT produce squash, so
if you have a whole bunch of female flowers, which the first blush of blooms
generally are female, then pick those and eat them (fried are my favorite
way) or just in a salad. If the males are also dropping off then they are
not being pollinated, pick a female flower and brush it around the male.


With respect to the Tomatolord, one would need to transpose all of the
"female" references with the "male" references to have an accurate
statement of the facts here; otherwise, it's bang on!
Thus, one just takes a squashless male flower and dusts it around the
females. Sometimes we need to do the bees' job for them!

MT

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Old 17-07-2003, 04:34 PM
Raleighgirl
 
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Default Summer Squash: Stem borers and fertilization.


"MT Byers" wrote in message
. com...
| as far as the other problem is concerned is pollination...now
you have to
| check wether you have male or female flowers....the male
flowers have what
| looks like a mini squash on the end of the flower, if it does
NOT have the
| mini squash then it is a female flower and those DO NOT
produce squash, so
| if you have a whole bunch of female flowers, which the first
blush of blooms
| generally are female, then pick those and eat them (fried are
my favorite
| way) or just in a salad. If the males are also dropping off
then they are
| not being pollinated, pick a female flower and brush it
around the male.
|
| With respect to the Tomatolord, one would need to transpose all
of the
| "female" references with the "male" references to have an
accurate
| statement of the facts here; otherwise, it's bang on!
| Thus, one just takes a squashless male flower and dusts it
around the
| females. Sometimes we need to do the bees' job for them!
|
| MT

Justin,
It won't help this year but in the future plant flowers in
amongst your veggies. This will help to attract bees and other
pollinators to your veggie plants. Do not use sevin or other
types of insecticides on your veggies because the chemicals kill
the good guys with the bad ones.

The squash vine borers are a real problem here. We are usually
sick of squash by the time the plant croaks. We pull that one up
and plant seeds for more. Usually we can get in a second bumper
crop before cooler weather.

HTH,
Jeny


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Old 17-07-2003, 11:32 PM
Anne Lurie
 
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Default Summer Squash: Stem borers and fertilization.

Justin,

It may be too late for this year to save these particular squash plants, but
posters have offered good tips for next year. Also, you might think about
buying some "floating row cover" (Reemay is one brand) to put over the
squash plants (next year) so that the borers can't lay eggs in the first
place; if I'd been thinking this spring, I would have used some Reemay to
cover the plants. (OTOH, you need to let the bees get in to pollinate.)I'm
sure the tip about piling dirt over the stems works, but my garden is
basically sand, so I think the "cover dirt" would wash away with the first
good rain.
Speaking of pollinating & fertile flowers, I thought it was the female
flowers that had mini-squash stems, but it's true that squash bear many more
flowers than will turn into fruit.

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh

"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






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Old 18-07-2003, 06:32 AM
Justin Henry
 
Posts: n/a
Default Summer Squash: Stem borers and fertilization.

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




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