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#1
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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 |
#2
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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 |
#3
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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 |
#4
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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 |
#5
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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 |
#6
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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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