delicata squash questions - Page 2

tjg911 · December 17, 2009

yeah it is strange how svb can be such a problem and in another area they are not.

every year that i would grow a hollow vine winter squash they never made it past 4th of july. butternuts were never bothered.

yellow squash and zucchini always were a problem by mid august but for some reason they seemed to tolerate being attacked. it would be common to have zucchini plants healthy and producing that had 90% of the vine eaten away and the whole vine just attached to the plant by a thread. they sometimes died but typically survived. come mid to later september i could break the vine off the plant with a gentle tug, like i said it was amazing how little of the plant was attached to the base yet it lived.

i have given away several different winter squash seed packets over the years. when i read, probably in johnny's catalog, the svb was the problem and why butternut was safe i just stopped trying to grow any other winter squash. i tried a couple of other solid vined winter squash but none produced as well or tasted as good as butternut, kinda like box car willie in the world of tomatoes which carolyn calls a workhorse!

i'll buy a packet try a couple of plants of the delicata just to see what happens. i can place them at the perimeter of the butternut area to see how they do. being a pepo i'll have to eat them 1st as they won't store past mid december. i like sweet potatoes but don't grow them so i'm curious how delicatas are.

Tormato · December 17, 2009

You like sweet potatoes?

How about the Upper Ground Sweet Potato Squash? It's a moschata.

Gary

Wi-sunflower · December 18, 2009

As long as you have a DRY spot they will keep fine well beyond mid Dec for me.

Warm and dry or cool and dry as long as it's dry.

Carol

TZ-OH6 · December 18, 2009

I wonder if bug zappers would help. My brother used to have a bug zapper at the edge of his yard and there was a huge pile of dead moths under it. He lived out in the country and it was the only place I have ever seen the big green Luna moths (zapped, unfortunately), so the zapper seemed to draw in all kinds of moths. Maybe they would draw SVB, tomato hornworm etc moths away from the garden and kill them.

icelord · December 18, 2009

I saw somewhere, I dont remember where they had a device, homemade that works like a small windmill blade of death,and has a bug attracting light in back of the blades you stick it in your garden and plug it in. It cannot clog.

Icelord

tjg911 · December 18, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tormato

You like sweet potatoes?

How about the Upper Ground Sweet Potato Squash? It's a moschata.

Gary

gary i never heard of this. being a moschata it has solid vines so that's a big plus. what seed companies sell seed? i'd like to read about this. oh, how big do the squash get? i don't want something that produces 15 pound squashes! i can't imagine growing a hubbard that produces squashes that are 40 pounds!

i do have a dry basement that is 50 right now. i could store delicata upsides too where it is 60, north end of the house.

bcday · December 18, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by TZ-OH6

I wonder if bug zappers would help.

The moths that lay squash vine borer eggs are active during the day, not at night, so I don't know that a bug zapper would be effective for them. I don't think they are attracted by light the way nocturnal moths are.

You can get small wire-cone traps baited with a squash vine borer pheromone lure that are supposed to work pretty well.

Tormato · December 18, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjg911

gary i never heard of this. being a moschata it has solid vines so that's a big plus. what seed companies sell seed? i'd like to read about this. oh, how big do the squash get? i don't want something that produces 15 pound squashes! i can't imagine growing a hubbard that produces squashes that are 40 pounds!

i do have a dry basement that is 50 right now. i could store delicata upsides too where it is 60, north end of the house.

Sandhill Preservation has UGSPS in their 2009 catalog. I'm waiting for the 2010 edition. They say it's 4 - 6 lbs, some larger.

Some of the moschatas from Japan are very highly rated for taste. Off hand, I can't remember their names, and I'd be even worse with their spellings. Also, there's Seminole, which is the wild one from Florida. Someday, I might get around to trying some of these.

Gary

RiverRat · January 18, 2010

I practically gave up on zucchini and other squash types because of svbs. However, I have found that laying down silver mulch makes a huge difference, and this past year I was able to get a lot of fresh summer squash and also freeze some. I ran out of the silver mulch for the winter squash section, but I did get some Musquée de Provence and some Delicata before they bit the dust. What I still don't have a good handle on are the shield-shaped squash bugs. Before I used the silver mulch (which I order from Territorial Seeds, btw), when I tried planting zucchini-types after July 4th, the squash bugs ate them alive.

A good solid-stemmed summer squash is zucchetta rampicante if svbs are your only problem and you don't want to try the silver mulch. Aluminum foil didn't work as well for me.

b54red · January 22, 2010

I've been fighting squash vine borers for over 30 years and down here they attack all summer and right into the fall. Late planting is no protection here.
The most effective method for retarding their onslaught it to mix up a spray with Sevin, molasses (to help it stick), a few drops of a strong smelling essential oil, and a couple of drops of dishwashing soap to help it wet evenly. I keep it in a hand sprayer and every few days shake it up good and spray along the main stem from the base up.
No matter how vigilant I try to be there are always a few slip-ups from either forgetting or too many rainy days (need to spray after every rain or overhead watering). If I do get a few, I cut the leaves off at the main stem for about a foot and bury the stem. The plants usually keep producing til I am sick of squash and tired of giving them away. I used to plant a large amount of squash in an attempt to have a longer season and there are a few plants that seem to escape the svb longer than others but the problem is the same as if you plant a bunch of determinate tomatoes, you have too much for a short time and then nearly nothing for the rest of the summer.

RiverRat · January 22, 2010

Sevin's not an option if you garden organically, though. That's a good tip about burying the stem; I'll try that if my silver mulch lets me down! Last year I actually had a surplus and I'm hoping it wasn't just a fluke!

December 17, 2009	#16
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	yeah it is strange how svb can be such a problem and in another area they are not. every year that i would grow a hollow vine winter squash they never made it past 4th of july. butternuts were never bothered. yellow squash and zucchini always were a problem by mid august but for some reason they seemed to tolerate being attacked. it would be common to have zucchini plants healthy and producing that had 90% of the vine eaten away and the whole vine just attached to the plant by a thread. they sometimes died but typically survived. come mid to later september i could break the vine off the plant with a gentle tug, like i said it was amazing how little of the plant was attached to the base yet it lived. i have given away several different winter squash seed packets over the years. when i read, probably in johnny's catalog, the svb was the problem and why butternut was safe i just stopped trying to grow any other winter squash. i tried a couple of other solid vined winter squash but none produced as well or tasted as good as butternut, kinda like box car willie in the world of tomatoes which carolyn calls a workhorse! i'll buy a packet try a couple of plants of the delicata just to see what happens. i can place them at the perimeter of the butternut area to see how they do. being a pepo i'll have to eat them 1st as they won't store past mid december. i like sweet potatoes but don't grow them so i'm curious how delicatas are.

December 17, 2009	#17
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,971	You like sweet potatoes? How about the Upper Ground Sweet Potato Squash? It's a moschata. Gary

December 18, 2009	#18
Wi-sunflower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,591	As long as you have a DRY spot they will keep fine well beyond mid Dec for me. Warm and dry or cool and dry as long as it's dry. Carol

December 18, 2009	#19
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 850	I wonder if bug zappers would help. My brother used to have a bug zapper at the edge of his yard and there was a huge pile of dead moths under it. He lived out in the country and it was the only place I have ever seen the big green Luna moths (zapped, unfortunately), so the zapper seemed to draw in all kinds of moths. Maybe they would draw SVB, tomato hornworm etc moths away from the garden and kill them.

December 18, 2009	#20
icelord Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: 23463 copemish Mi 49625 Posts: 180	I saw somewhere, I dont remember where they had a device, homemade that works like a small windmill blade of death,and has a bug attracting light in back of the blades you stick it in your garden and plug it in. It cannot clog. Icelord

January 18, 2010	#24
RiverRat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: New Jersey Posts: 78	I practically gave up on zucchini and other squash types because of svbs. However, I have found that laying down silver mulch makes a huge difference, and this past year I was able to get a lot of fresh summer squash and also freeze some. I ran out of the silver mulch for the winter squash section, but I did get some Musquée de Provence and some Delicata before they bit the dust. What I still don't have a good handle on are the shield-shaped squash bugs. Before I used the silver mulch (which I order from Territorial Seeds, btw), when I tried planting zucchini-types after July 4th, the squash bugs ate them alive. A good solid-stemmed summer squash is zucchetta rampicante if svbs are your only problem and you don't want to try the silver mulch. Aluminum foil didn't work as well for me.

January 22, 2010	#25
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I've been fighting squash vine borers for over 30 years and down here they attack all summer and right into the fall. Late planting is no protection here. The most effective method for retarding their onslaught it to mix up a spray with Sevin, molasses (to help it stick), a few drops of a strong smelling essential oil, and a couple of drops of dishwashing soap to help it wet evenly. I keep it in a hand sprayer and every few days shake it up good and spray along the main stem from the base up. No matter how vigilant I try to be there are always a few slip-ups from either forgetting or too many rainy days (need to spray after every rain or overhead watering). If I do get a few, I cut the leaves off at the main stem for about a foot and bury the stem. The plants usually keep producing til I am sick of squash and tired of giving them away. I used to plant a large amount of squash in an attempt to have a longer season and there are a few plants that seem to escape the svb longer than others but the problem is the same as if you plant a bunch of determinate tomatoes, you have too much for a short time and then nearly nothing for the rest of the summer.