I noticed yesterday afternoon, that my front lawn zucchini plant was looking pretty wilty.
So I went out this AM before work and checked it. My first thought was oh ...darn... the SVB got it again. Dug out the stem from where I had it buried and checked carefully. No sign of lesion, frass, etc. So I buried it back and thought maybe it's just from heat. Got the hose out and started pouring water on and what do you know, at least three squash bugs came running out. (Not sure exactly, because they were moving around, not sure if I was seeing the same ones over or more of them.) Since I had to leave for work and the only weapon in my hand was a hose, I put the hose on jet stream and worked on blasting them away.
When I get home tonight, I will try to do something more effective...
But I may have to give up on zukes again. I seem to have managed to protect it from the SVB's only to have it torn up by the squash bugs. They do say squash bugs are worse in hot weather and we've had plenty of that.
It also makes me think of one disadvantage of the front lawn bed. I haven't (to my knowledge) had squash bugs before, but I haven't been growing out front before, either. In the backyard are all the bird feeders and bird baths and the little woods for cover, etc, and lots of birds. The front yard faces onto a big busy street and has little cover (more sun, that's why I planted there), so not much birds....
But the zukes may just be too vulnerable for the average home organic gardener... Very frustrating, I read all the time about how productive zukes are and people drowning in them, sneaking them onto the neighbor's porch to get rid of them etc. I've never been able to get them to survive long enough to get more than a couple...
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rainbowgardener
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rainbowgardener
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@^&%@#**%
By the time I got home from work last night, that squash plant was a total loss, collapsed into a little puddle...
It looks just like how they look when the SVB's get them and it died just as fast. But I looked it over very carefully when I pulled it. There's no hole. There is an area a little farther up the stem than the SVB's usually strike (but I had all the bottom of the stem buried), right where all the branches come out, that is white and looks scraped or chewed on. But it is solid, not mushy, no hole, no access to the interior.
I would not have thought that squash bugs could have killed a plant that fast, sucking juices from the outside. And they were not on the plant any more, maybe having moved on to something else now that that one was dead?
It's somewhat a mystery to me at this point, what could have killed it so fast without ever getting inside. ... But frustrating. Next year, I take Applestar's path of only growing the moschata's.
I did read that mulching helps provide hiding places for the squash bugs. I had mulched that bed heavily with grass and weeds, because there's two tomato plants in the bed also and because of the heat and drought. ...
By the time I got home from work last night, that squash plant was a total loss, collapsed into a little puddle...
It looks just like how they look when the SVB's get them and it died just as fast. But I looked it over very carefully when I pulled it. There's no hole. There is an area a little farther up the stem than the SVB's usually strike (but I had all the bottom of the stem buried), right where all the branches come out, that is white and looks scraped or chewed on. But it is solid, not mushy, no hole, no access to the interior.
I would not have thought that squash bugs could have killed a plant that fast, sucking juices from the outside. And they were not on the plant any more, maybe having moved on to something else now that that one was dead?
It's somewhat a mystery to me at this point, what could have killed it so fast without ever getting inside. ... But frustrating. Next year, I take Applestar's path of only growing the moschata's.
I did read that mulching helps provide hiding places for the squash bugs. I had mulched that bed heavily with grass and weeds, because there's two tomato plants in the bed also and because of the heat and drought. ...
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rainbowgardener
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rainbowgardener
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It had the squash bugs I reported on earlier, quite a few of them.
[img]https://everythingishomemade.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/squash20bug.jpg[/img]
It just surprised me that something that just sucks the sap could kill a big healthy plant so fast. From when I first noticed it looking wilty to totally collapsed was only about a day and a half.
If it was the squash bugs that did it, I'm sure they were there well before I noticed anything. Shows I should have been inspecting the plant more, looking for the eggs and such. When it was over 100 degrees, I wasn't spending much time outdoors.
The mulch thing is kind of a catch 22.
[img]https://everythingishomemade.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/squash20bug.jpg[/img]
It just surprised me that something that just sucks the sap could kill a big healthy plant so fast. From when I first noticed it looking wilty to totally collapsed was only about a day and a half.
If it was the squash bugs that did it, I'm sure they were there well before I noticed anything. Shows I should have been inspecting the plant more, looking for the eggs and such. When it was over 100 degrees, I wasn't spending much time outdoors.
The mulch thing is kind of a catch 22.
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Brandywinegirl
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The different stages of squash bug growth creep me out the most! One year I grew watermelon & guess who showed up to the party - squash bugs!! I had no idea that watermelon was in the squash family. EW!!-
rainbowgardener
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yeah, it and the SVB's are probably why I will give up on zucchini again for a few more years. I have to say burying all the stems in dirt seems to have worked pretty well against the vine borers. But doesn't help much if it just means the squash bugs kill them. I had no idea the squash bugs were so deadly.
I think of sap suckers as being sort of like aphids, that the plants can tolerate some of that....
I think of sap suckers as being sort of like aphids, that the plants can tolerate some of that....
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applestar
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Rainbowgardener, it's possible the squash bugs infected your zuke with some kind of wilt.
Next year, try the Tromboncino. I've harvested two fruits so far and they are delicious. The long neck portion is solid and firmer than the spongy bulbous end which is more like what I'm used to in summer squash. Skin is tender and no bitterness, etc. The skin is light colored so you won't get the dark green phytonutrients though.
I've had to water at night but so far no PM although slight yellowing is evident in the older leaves. No bugs so far.
BUT, you might not want to grow this in the front lawn, the young fruit shape is positively RUDE.
Next year, try the Tromboncino. I've harvested two fruits so far and they are delicious. The long neck portion is solid and firmer than the spongy bulbous end which is more like what I'm used to in summer squash. Skin is tender and no bitterness, etc. The skin is light colored so you won't get the dark green phytonutrients though.
I've had to water at night but so far no PM although slight yellowing is evident in the older leaves. No bugs so far.
BUT, you might not want to grow this in the front lawn, the young fruit shape is positively RUDE.
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rainbowgardener
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Thanks applestar. That makes sense about my mystery. I wasn't understanding how the squash bugs could have destroyed it so fast, but I guess a wilt disease could.
I will definitely try the Tromboncino next year, and thanks for the laugh! I had to go look up a picture to see what you meant about not growing them in the front lawn!
I will definitely try the Tromboncino next year, and thanks for the laugh! I had to go look up a picture to see what you meant about not growing them in the front lawn!