growing squash in the south

[rainbowgardener]

I think I may have to get used to a new way of growing squash here in zone 7b.

I always think squash seed doesn't go in the ground until the ground is well warmed up.

But I had four squash plants pop up as volunteers about a month before I would have thought to plant squash. And they have thrived. One has now bit the dust from the vine borer, after getting one squash nearly mature. (Not sure what kind it is, maybe some kind of cross).

The one that is doing best, has seven well developed acorn squashes on it. I have been keeping on dumping more and more dirt on the base of the stem and the new stems appearing. So far that seems to have worked to save it. If it gets through another week or two, the squash should be ready.

We talk about planting late to avoid the SVB's, but here in the south, we have two generations of them in a season, so you would have to plant very very late, to the point that the days are getting shorter and cooler. But it may work to plant very early. I think these plants got a good head start before any vine borers and squash bugs showed up, which helped them be able to set fruit.

[imafan26]

How about planting Moschata varieties of squash instead? Apparently since the stems are not hollow the vine borers don't like them as much. I love butternut squash and I actually like it better than zucchini.

I saw a youtube video today where someone wrapped the base of the zucchini stems with panty hose and then covered that with foil. The video said that the vine borer likes to get to the base of the stems and the panty hose and foil should be as close to the roots as possible. I saw another one that said planting the vine seedlings in paper cup with the cups pressed into the soil also helped deter vine borers much the same way as collars deter cutworms. The other recommendation was to use row cover to keep the moth from laying eggs. If nothing else, it might be worth a try.

[lala01]

I posted in March about my squash-growing woes in Zone 8b and received lots of replies that may be helpful to you.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=74020

Sadly, though, for the sake of my sanity I will probably give up on growing my favorite vegetable after this year. It’s just too hard. Borers have not been a problem for me, oddly enough, or I haven’t noticed it because I’ve been too busy dealing with a litany of other pest plagues, many of them with little information available online and few other gardeners with experience dealing with them. Last year my plants looked great, and the first couple of squash on each plant were perfect, then by early July, every squash they produced was riddled with holes and full of pickleworms and melonworms. It was disgusting. They were in everything. Nothing worked to stop it.

I tried planting early this year and then we had a late frost, as we always do, which took out all my seedlings even though I covered them. I had to replant and basically ended up with the same start time as last year. By May, it was over 90 degrees every day with 100% humidity, and will be until September, just in time for hurricane season to wipe out everything I plant in my third attempt.

I tried row covers this year, but of course that means having to pollinate everything by hand every day, which is too burdensome for someone who works full time.

I love gardening but I’m quickly approaching the point of accepting that I may need to give up on trying to grow anything but peppers and sunflowers. It’s really that bad. I’ve had lots of success with peppers, though. My bells were still producing at Christmas.

Good luck to you...I personally don’t like the winter squash varieties but that’s probably your best bet.

[jal_ut]

Have not grown squash in zone 7, however here in zone 5 we plant it about 3 weeks before the last expected frost. Get it going as early as possible. Ya just gotta try some things. See what works for you.

[rainbowgardener]

"however here in zone 5 we plant squash about 3 weeks before the last expected frost." Wow! Really? I've always been told squash needs the soil well warmed up before you plant the seeds.

[jal_ut]

http://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/Plan ... anting.htm

http://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/Hungry.pdf

[imafan26]

I don't know why, squash borer is not really a problem for me. I used to get more zucchini than I could use, but the last few years, I am lucky to get one or two. The fruit flies are a bigger problem for me than vine borers. I have problem with the regular ones having the male and female flowers out at the same time. It does not help that I usually only have one plant. But, even with the parthenocarpic varieties, the fruit forms but the fruit flies sting them. I did find out my ti plants were the hosts, but the fruit flies were even killing off the cucumbers which usually are not that bad. The fruit flies preferred the zucchini and it was only after getting rid of the zucchini plant that the cucumbers started having fruit survive again. I still had the ti. I did cut them back and since it is not possible to get GF 120 any more, I will have to use something else to control them on the host. I can get the cue lures, but it only traps the males.

I like butternut and kabocha squashes more than zucchini and while something does like to bore into kabocha, it usually does not go deep and the squash can still be eaten. If I try zucchini again, I probably have to use more than one plant and thin the ti so it will be easier to spray it.

Winter is not the problem for me, fruit flies are and while they peak in summer, they are around year round. I just ordered more fruit bags from Amazon. Bagging does help if I don't knock off the fruit in the process.

[applestar]

@imafan, You’ve mentioned fruit flies causing problems with cucurbits before.... what do they do exactly?

I see a lot of fruit flies — the regular red eyed littles ones — in cucurbit blossoms, but have not particularly noticed problems attributable to them.

I’m starting to see different larger fruit flies with black marking on wings which I have heard are more problematical recently imported species I think from Europe.... not specifically on cucurbits though. Not sure what they are doing in my garden yet.

[erins327]

So when exactly did you seed them Rainbowgardener?

I did zucchini this year for the first time in my new location (moved last year) and compared to before I had success. Out of 3 plants I got probably 10-13 zucchini before they succumbed the vine borer. I was thinking because no one else probably planted them around here hence they were not established in this area. However I did plant them in early April when it was still cool here until mid May (Im in Zone 8b). Maybe the weather helped me then more than I know!

[rainbowgardener]

Well I didn't plant them. They were all volunteers from the squash seeds in the compost. But looking back at my garden photos, it looks like they must have popped up around the first of May. Left to my own devices, I probably wouldn't have planted them for another week. Allowing for germination time, that makes the volunteers two weeks ahead of my schedule. So it looks like I should adjust my schedule. Earlier is probably better.

I think the fruit flies imafan talks about in Hawaii are something different from what we call fruit flies. Imafan talks about them "stinging" the fruit and destroying it. Our fruit flies are a lot more harmless than that. I think at least some of the Hawaiian fruit flies are Oriental fruit flies (Bactrocera dorsalis), which are larger than a house fly, have a body length of about 8 mm, and have obvious "stingers" (actually ovipositors). Our common fruit flies (aka vinegar flies) are drosophila melanogaster and are about 2.5 mm long.

[jal_ut]

Here at this location, Northern Utah, May 5 is the day to plant corn, beans and squash. Of course, soil, and weather conditions are not always right, but plant the first day conditions are good after that date of May 5. Cucumbers plant June 1.

Plant three rows of corn. When this is up and four inches tall plant three more rows. When this up and four inches tall plant three more rows. This will spread out your harvest.

[jal_ut]

"Well I didn't plant them. They were all volunteers from the squash seeds in the compost"

It is my experience that the squash family all easily cross pollinate. Seeds saved or volunteer plants are not likely to produce fruit like their parents. They are likely to be hybrids and the fruit is likely to be different than their parents. Some of the hybrid fruits I have eaten have been very good though. Some not so good.

Growing squash? It is best to get good seed from a reputable dealer in the variety you want. Then you will get what you want, not some wildcard.