Squash Vine Borer in the Garden

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Gardener vs. Squash vine borer...Gardener Wins!

This has been an epic seven year battle for me. I always heard of gardeners with zucchini coming out of their ears. So in the name of self sufficiency and growing as much of my own produce as possible, I thought I should grow zucchini. I had beautiful plants, then in one day they turned yellow and died! I figured it was some sort of disease so the next year I tried zucchini and my husband's favorite winter squash, buttercup, and I once again had beautiful plants that died within days.

Closest plant showing signs of deteriorating

That lead me to my research, and I found a pest that I had never heard of before. The squash vine borer. Suspect this insect if you have sudden failure of susceptible Cucurbita varieties as well as yellow frass, or gunk, along the stem of the plant. Little did I know this was going to become the evilest of little bugs in my gardening saga. I read many techniques to try to prevent them, and it included many years of failure. After four years, I decided for a while I would only grow resistant varieties. Since then butternut and others of the curcubita moschata class have become my favorite, since their vines are solid and the borer cannot commandeer their life source! I learned to accept defeat gracefully, and although the moschata class has many wonderful members, my favorites being butternut, zucchino, and long island cheese, and I limited my growing prowess to these little garden workhorses. This is where I would suggest starting on a sabbatical from the borer, and as you grow more confident in your skills revisit susceptible varieties. I started growing winter squash again, and I loaded my winter pantry with quality storge vegetables that fed our family through the winter.

resistant butternut squash thriving

If you are satisfied with growing resistant varieties, but you find yourself wanting summer squash, I would strongly encourage you to grow zucchino. It is technically a winter squash, but harvested early, it makes a wonderful summer treat. A word of caution, these plants are extremely large, trellising helps with the shape of the fruit as well as managing the size.

Zucchino ready to harvest as summer squash

This year, I decided to try zucchini again. I netted my plants until the middle of July with a similar product here. With this you will have to hand pollinate. I can write a post on that later. I did not hand pollinate, because I was content waiting for a later harvest. Since uncovering the plants two weeks ago, I have more zucchini than we can eat. I am preparing to dehydrate some for winter soups.  I am zone 5b, and there are sometimes two generations of the borer where I cam located. Anything south of Ohio and Indiana will have two generations, anything north will typically have one. This means that covering at the beginning of the season might be all you need to do. Another technique that I haven't tried is injecting the stems with BT. I have tried all other approaches to preventing this pest; tinfoil, burying the stem, hand picking eggs, companion planting. Next year, I will attempt to use BT. This is an organic spray that I use on my brassicas for the cabbage moths.

Zucchini plants thriving after insect netting

Needless to say, the squash vine borer is a worthy adversary for even the most experienced gardener. You have multiple options, but a barrier method with insect netting has been my most promising intervention!

Here are some of my favorite books that have helped me on this journey!

Skills for Growing (Charles Dowding) - https://amzn.to/3Scow1X

The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener (Niki Jabbour) - https://amzn.to/4d5oD7g

The Big Book of Backyard Medicine (Julie Bruton-Seal) - https://amzn.to/3WqHDI7

Root Cellaring (Mike & Nancy Bubel) - https://amzn.to/4cJlLNR

The Natural Soapmaking Book for Beginners (Kelly Cable) - https://amzn.to/4cFEBoU

Pastured Poultry Profits (Joel Salatin) - https://amzn.to/4f9vNcv

Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century (Dick & James Strawbridge) - https://amzn.to/4cHZIqN

Fermented Vegetables (Kirsten & Christopher Shockey) - https://amzn.to/4d4arvj

Keeping Bees with a Smile (Fedor Lazutin) - https://amzn.to/4cGxbBL

Sprouts, Shoots, & Microgreens (Lina Wallentinson) - https://amzn.to/3ScLEND

The Big Book of Kombucha (Hannah Crum) - https://amzn.to/3SbyyA6

The Organic Backyard Vineyard (Tom Powers) - https://amzn.to/4d3i6Kn

Hot Sauce! (Jennifer Trainer Thompson) - https://amzn.to/3y8ENOn

The Apple Grower (Michael Phillips) - https://amzn.to/46c0MAS