Wilted Squash Vine - Problems Growing Winter Squash 

I discovered the secret to repelling vine borers...and it is to plant petunias near the base of the squash plants. I planted three around my squash this year and it thrived for months before I pulled it to make way to plant something new.

I battled them this year successfully. I made a slice and cut them out as soon as I could see their orange frass on the stem. I then buried the stem over with a mound of potting soil, in no time at all the spots I had cut for the surgery had produced their own roots coming out of it and into the potting soil and the plant is still producing even now.

You aren’t alone. This was my first year growing squash. Lost 3 acorn squash plants and a pumpkin due to the borer. I tried picking them out but the plants always died or stunted. I planted some honeynut after that and a few more pumpkins. After that I vigilantly checked my seedlings as they grew, and EVERY DAY found new eggs for about a week straight. And like a previous poster said, they didn’t just lay at the base of my plants. They would lay at least one egg on each leaf, and sometimes on the underside. It was extremely frustrating trying to find and pick off each one. Only because of that did my plants get strong enough to give me some fruit. But since then I’ve battled other types of worms eating the leaves, and NOW I’m noticing that all the fruit seems to have stunted. They aren’t turning the correct color, and not growing larger anymore. Who knows. And my pumpkin plants that were thriving, are all of a sudden having drooping yellowing leaves. Not all of them, only some. I’ve only got one pumpkin on there that seems like it might make it to harvest. It’s really disheartening. We’re in this together! Better luck next year.

My tried and true method os putting fresh cracked black peppercorn around the base of the squash plants.

I grew butternut squash for the first time this year. Zone 4 upper midwest. Gardening in my yard is a challenge bc we have so much sand its hard to keep moisture levels decent even with mulching with woodchips. I did grow three BS plants from seed for the very first time and planted them in a sandy hill with compost. OMG the vines are massive. I finally had to cut the ends so they would stop vining! I have about 6 large now tan squash on the vines. I feel blessed. Next year could be A total squash disaster though. I seem to have luck every other year with certain crops. Tomatoes and peppers being two. Fingers crossed these squash are tasty!! Thanks for all you share!

I had an almost identical squash experience this year. I planted 3 varieties of summer and winter squash and two varieties of cucumbers and they were all destroyed by squash borers and fungal infections. I’ll definitely be revisiting this video next spring and summer and following along with your techniques to keep it from happening again. Thank you

The squash that survived looks adorable and I'm sure tastes excellent. Thank you for the informative episode :)

Wow! I never seen squash vine borer in the butternut species, they don’t have a hollow stem like patty pans and zucchini’s. I’d would never thought about them. Thankfully I have never have that problem, I always get issues with pollination at the beginning and after that I get logs of fruits.i hope you have better look next year!

Try striped cushaw and rampicante for 2023. Always grew up battling squash vine borer here in the south. Ask a local small farmer. They might have better advice. Good luck!

The dreaded squash vine borer, my nemesis! I don't think there is any other garden pest that I loathe more! I am usually doing surgery on my plants when I see that orange frass coming from the vine. Anyhow, will we see a recipe from the lonely butternut squash that survived?

I've had great luck with butternut squash, volunteering out of my compost. Last year one plant had 20-30 squash. I did lose one zuchini to squash vine bore closer to my house.

Thank you for your videos. They are a pleasure.

This year i have a big butternut squash vine that arose from some seeds i planted from a butternut squash I bought and cooked. That little one will ripen to a light brown. I had cut my vine and noticed a fruit after the deed was done. But it did ripen and was delicious 🌼

Wow it grew on the roof of that cage lol My summer squash i decided to put a cage over them to be ready for fall frosts lol Well they are growing through the cattle pannel top lol The leaves are huge pushing up the well low tunnel cattle pannels and covering the ceiling in leaves its pretty funny the top of the small vine part is growing through so i have to let it grow out So i wont be able to easily cover them up ...im getting bumper harvests still growing well I just have to go in there to check cuz its hard to see Bees still go in there no problem Thanks for your help again with my paty pan i haven't cut it open yet im giving it time to get extra nutrition into the seed, even off the vine i believe it sends more nutrition into the seed This video showings how incredible squash can and cannot grow Up here we don't get these pests ...cold and mildew hinders our growth Theres a couple that beed to come out they are that bad with mildew This is why i try plants in different garden all over the yard But with your animal pest problems its hard too I hope you enjoyed our chat as much as i enjoyed your videos Squash are my favorite things to grow and i have all sorts this year including a hubbort squash and our own gutamalian blue banana squash we saved seeds from last year They are growing well like the parent plant with fruit :) These are creamy yummy squash that dont have much time to grow in my environment Squash in an area that gets warmer temperatures these vines could easily take areas over So bugs and fungi help control it I don't get these cuz its to cold in Northern Ontario? Mildew and frost kill them off here but they grow fast here i have vines all over my town yard :) Watching for bugs ... spreading plants around so they don't get them all....does mulch help? Can you have garlic growing in this bed before and while the squash are young? You would harvest garlic before the plants smother it for light ( the timing works great with my wild garlic) That gets them past the vurnable time? Or can the bug get through tuffer vines too? Just remember in permaculture the problem becomes the solution in some way :) just have to think about it Studying everything about that bug i also grow sevral squash types So i don't put all my eggs in one basket And volunteer squash are allowed because they can trap the bugs sometimes!

I have the same thing going on. My squash was a volunteer. I didn't actually plant it on purpose. However, where it grew was underneath my butterfly bush and next to a lantana. So, plenty of moths frequent that area. Not a huge loss, but definitely a huge gain as far as knowledge, thanks for explaining it and showing your results.

Siloe, I have issues with the squash vine borer AND squash bugs every year. Usually they leave my butternut squash alone, but that's only because they have summer squash to attack. :( This year, they pretty much annihilated my zucchini and yellow squash plants. I tried extracting them, but the plants ultimately succumbed to them. The one thing I also tried this year, was potting zucchini, yellow and pattypan squash, which I've kept on my back deck. I haven't seen as (I don't think?) squash vine borer destruction in those plants, but they have gotten attacked by squash bugs. Ah, squash. I would have to say it is the most difficult vegetable to successfully grow! But don't give up; just keep trying. Some years seem better than others, so maybe next year we will all do better with our squash. :)

I wrote under your cucumber Video, that mine died this year and was realy sad about it. I sew a new one and i harvest quite a view and still producing! A happy end! Thank you for showing us sucsess and failure :)

My pie pumpkin vines were double attacked by squash bugs and vine borers, no home grown pumpkins for me. But thankfully I controlled the squash bugs on my cantaloupe and have had a productive season so far.

I lost all my zucchini last year to the squash bug so this year I have been very diligent about checking for them and if I see them I just squash the squash bugs haha!! I have never heard of the boar though. I wonder if they live in Idaho. I guess I better do my research. Thanks for sharing with us!! Good to know this stuff!

Gardening is always an adventure of those that give and others that don't, one year a bounty and the next year none but we carry on in hopes that the next year is one that provides fruit. My brother not only lost his entire garden harvest he also lost his home in the fire that is right now in the Santa Cruz California Mountains, so I feel grateful for any harvest at all while feeling sad for my brother.

Mine got obliterated by squash vine borers....they even were in some of the squash I harvested and they bore holes through them after I stored them :(

It's upsetting I know I lost all my summer squashes do to the same. Always is other veggies to grow.

Every growing season I think I’ll stay on top of the squash bugs but they win every time. I’ve had some success with Inter-planting my squash and zucchini among other plants rather that side by side.

I'm going to try growing Honeynut squash this summer, at the very least I can learn from other's experiences.

So sorry! I loath that squash vine borer! I read that it usually doesn't bother with butternut squash. It has played havoc with my zucchini. I've tried everything except the foil around the base and diatomaceous earth, albeit there are mixed reviews on these techniques. They are relentless and overwinter in the ground and come back up next year. You can find its pupae within the first couple of inches of soil in the spring. I would also love to hear if someone has had success with defeating this pest. Better luck next year!

Are you growing regular butternut squash, or honeynut? Honeynut is a hybrid of c. Moschata and c. Maxima, making it more susceptible to borers. Standard butternut is just c. Moschata, which is more resistant to borers. Long Island Cheese Pumpkin, also c. Moschata, does well for me here in zone 7a, southern NJ. Butternuts always do well for me too. Maybe because I also grow Delicata, and the moths prefer them? They’re always killed by borers, but I usually get a couple of fruits from them before they die because the squash are so small and quick to grow. Maybe try planting some of those as a trap crop?

I know how disappointing this is and I'm sorry that happened! We don't have those pests in Germany, but I planted 12 varieties of squash and pumpkin this year, had high hopes, and now my plants are dying too. Probably the extremely hot and humid weather encouraging mildew. I'm trying to fight it by spraying them with diluted milk, but...eh... I really should have caught it earlier and done something about it sooner. :(

I ❤️ this video

You shouldn't have problems with vine borers with butternut as the species moschata is resistant to them. Was the vine hollow in the middle? if it was you might have a hybrid butternut. In general vine borers go after Cucurbita maxia, and Curcurbita pepo as those species of squash have hollow stems that allow the maggot to easily borrow through. Cucurbita moschata doesn't have a hollow stem and is resistant to most vine borer infestations. Vine borers only lay eggs over a short period of time each year depending on where you live, try regularly spraying BT on the stem during that short period, if your thorough the larva should pick it up as they burrow into the vine.

Them vine bores destroyed my zucchini

Squash vine borer is relentless. As the post that Lisa made they just lay eggs all over the entire plant not just the stem. Though I've had people tell me they only put eggs on the stem It's definitely not true. I've pulled tons and tons of eggs off of plants and squish the little egg and it's tensy tiny. One thing you can do is whenever you see tiny little spot that looks injured while the worm is still tiny and harder to dig out you can inject BT in that spot. BT is organic. Just inject it with a syringe. Bacillus Thuringiensis.. I hope I spelled it right lol. Another thing.. I'm not sure exactly where you are.. Here in Texas I have a longer growing season.. I can grow things in early spring and then get another planting in before fall because vine boars are only active 2 months out of the summer. Or at least that's what I read and that's kind of what I've seen.

A squash vine like that needs to grow on the ground. The vines need to set roots to get nutrients for the fruit. I've never grown on a trellis but maybe will try this year

Next year plant multiple locations of the same plant! By doing this the pest may not get to all of them.

Does oil cake work as nutrient? Or tea waste is ok ?

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