Don't give up on squash! My neighbor swore that he's never been able to grow squash in the 40+ years here, but it can be done. Squash bugs, which struck hard last summer, will eat and mottle the leaves, but the squash vine borer will dessicate any soft vine squash too. Last summer Ann Quarles and my kids dissected our plants to find little grubs burrowed in our vines and at the base of the plant near the soil line. Their entry points are marked by their waste product known as frass and if you split the stalk open you maybe be able to catch the white grub. The adults will hover around squash and look like a wasp… Squash bugs are easy to kill and they will lay their brown eggs on the underside of the leaves or flowers. Tape can easily peel the eggs off and wacking the bugs into a bucket of soapy water is an easy organic remedy. If you watchout for their nymphs you can kill dozens at a time. The adults retreat to the soil at the end of the day and hide below leaves or decaying matter, so keeping this area clean can reduce their habitat as well. My old-time Cherokee father-in-law mixes firewood ash into his squash beds and has never had a problem with his summer squashes, so I am going to try that method this year. Just don't grow any beans in the same bed or they'll be stunted. Beneficial nematodes will also eat SVB grubs and Ann tried the injection method last year. Tilling last year's squash bed also helps to kill over-wintering SVB larvae. One alternative to fighting the squash vine borer all summer is the moschata species of squash which have a tougher, hardier vine than the other cucurbits. I managed to successfully grow Musquee de Provence pumpkins last year despite the squash bug invasion too. I also noticed that vines that climbed had very little, if no squash bug damage on their leaves. Sorry if this is TL;DR, but I learned the hard way last summer! Best, Vanessa I've copied and pasted moschata info from an email exchange last summer below: Hmm… wrap stems with foil? From http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0615371013837.html One way to combat the borer without resorting to the chemical arsenal is to plant forms of squash that are resistant to it because of their hard stems. The varieties that belong to the species cucurbita moschata are like this; other cucurbita species, including the common cucurbita pepo (which is what most zucchini is), will succumb to the borer. This applies also to winter squash and pumpkins. For summer squash try the Italian tromboncino squash. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/heirloom/msg0722284526386.html Not sure why, but it seems to me that the blossoms from c. moschata are more perfumed. I am basing that on having used butternut, musquee de provence and TR blossoms, which are all c. moschata. Other moschatas: Patterned leaves http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/93034/ Zuke-like: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56773/ Pretty French heirloom: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/91873/ Tatume - completely unprotected, no infestation, vining variety, great taste Tromba d'Albenga/Tromboncino/Trombachino - completely unprotected, no infestation, vining variety, great taste Gialla Nostrale - completely unprotected, one infestation but still survive and produce well after BT injection, one no infestation (hunch that they would do OK without the BT), vining variety, great taste Mayeras - completely unprotected, one infestation but still survive and produce well after BT injection, one no infestation, vining variety, excellent taste, very productive Serpente di Sicilia - completely unprotected, no infestation, gourd, vining, unknown taste Lemon - completely unprotected, no infestation, unknown taste, vining Kamo Kamo - completely unprotected, no infestation, vining OK taste Coosa - semi-protected, no infestation, bush/semi-vining, Lebanese zucchini, excellent taste Romanesco - semi-protected, no infestation, bush/semi-vining, excellent taste Odessa - semi-protected, no infestation, bush/semi-vining, unknown taste On May 13, 2011, at 10:56 AM, Sue Sturgis wrote: If it is a rose, it will come into bloom sooner or later. ~Goethe _______________________________________________ Gardening mailing list Gardening(a)eastraleigh.org http://www.eastraleigh.org/mailman/listinfo/gardening