Squash vine borer solution

[jerryse]

I ran across some utube videos on grafting squash and other cucurbits. I have a idea to use a moschata
group pumpkin ( no borer problems) for the rootstock and graft zucchini to it. hopefully I can keep the vines growing. I know about the other solutions but I get busy and neglect to do them in time. I do save one on occasion. I always get enough for myself and surplus go to the chickens. I even stagger plantings but it would be nice to have them produce all season. Also some pumpkins in the pepo group do poorly in my soil. This may be helpful for them also.

 

[lazy gardener]

Interesting. Luckily, I have yet to have issues with squash vine borer. My worst enemy is squash bugs, followed closely by striped cucumber beetles. The first, turns the leaves to dry lace, and infects the plant, burning it as it goes. The latter, also turns the leaves to lace, eats all the new growth, and will totally destroy a young plant before it can get started. I've heard that piling soil around the leaf nodes of squash works well for the vine borer b/c each node will then send out more roots which will keep the plant going, even if a proximally located borer takes up residence. so, grafting Zucchini onto a resistant root stock would be an awesome fix. Don't the borers lay their eggs at the base of the plant at soil level? I wonder what would happen if you piled a loose mulch up around the base of a susceptible plant? If they weren't so noisy, I'd be tempted to get a few guineas just for the squash patch!

Please keep us posted if you do this, along with a photographic tutorial.

 

[jerryse]

I hope to graft after the vine runs a little. This I hope will get rid of the borers favorite spot. I have split the stems and removed borers then covered with dirt. The plants struggle and sometimes produce again. I have even injected BT into the hollow stem. This works but you have to check them often to catch them before they do much damage. Liquid BT is pricey just to save some zucchini. Cucumber beetles used to be a huge problem but has actually got better since the BT gene was added to corn. Corn root worm/cucumber beetle same pest. Lots of field corn in Illinois. I will post more when I start doing this.