Survival Gardening with David The Good
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Pumpkins in Paradise
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Pumpkins in Paradise
Well after watching David the Good’s pumpkin video, I discovered what might be the problem with my Harvest Jack pumpkin(s). My question, what can prevent these borers? I was using Neem Oil & Insect Soap sprays since germination. This really sucks as the vine is trying to bloom. I have started to ‘hill up’ along the vines with hopes of rooting as it grows. Then maybe cut the ‘chord’ to stop the parasite’s advancing. I am new to this. A big difference from citrus groves. 😂 So far the Blue Bayou is not under attack.
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9 Replies
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I bought the syringe to give this a go, it sure makes sense to me that this would work.
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Other options is to switch to varieties that are nematode resistant, Tan Cheese pumpkins have worked very well for me without this method.
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Not a lot sounds less appealing than a Tan Cheese pumpkin. 😶
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C. moschata species squash (Butternuts, Seminole, Cheese and others) are more borer resistant than other Cucurbita species because their vines are not hollow, so I’d go with those varieties. If you really, really want to grow maximas or pepos, you can cover the plants with cloth meant to keep insects out (or at least until they’re bigger), look for eggs (they look like squash bug eggs but they’re usually near the lowest part of the plant), and try surgery on the vines to remove the borers before they completely kill the plant (cut the vine open parallel with the stem, pull out and squish the offending maggot, and bury the surgical area when you’re finished. You can also try shorter season varieties that may be able to stay ahead of the major damage and get some harvest. Injecting bT may work, but I haven’t tried it.
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+1 for moshatas. We got fed up with the pepo varieties having to inject them with BT, applying neem oil at least once a day only to lose the plants. This year we grew 2 unique Italian moschatas….Trombocino and Ramplicante and they are still producing. They aren’t as watery as zucchini and can be picked young as a zucchini OR left on the vine and they mature to become a butternut. They look weird, skinny and/or snakey but they fry up just fine in bacon grease.
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This is what you end up with the Trombocino (should have been trellised) and the snake Ramplicante. My husband picked the borer eggs off the plants in the first round (we have multiple seasons of vine borers) and just let it go since. We pruned it back *severely*, haven’t fertilized and maybe watered once a week since the temps have cooled off to under a 100F with no rain. Yeah, that’s the front yard. Normally we don’t sun shade the front beds but radiation intensity deemed it necessary. Aesthetics be damned! This late in the season we’re still picking the young uns as zucchini. The yellow ones in the pic have matured and supposedly taste like butternut. This is the only moschata we’ll be growing next year as the Dr. Earth that Danny had success with regarding the borers didn’t work for our c. pepo zucchini.
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