Veg Blue Hubbard Squash is wilted!

[abby normal]

Trying to grow blue hubbard squash for the first time. Of 6 seeds only one germinated, but it's a big healthy beautiful plant.

Or it was, until this morning- looking wilted and very sad! None of my other plants are wilted so it must be a fungus or bugs.

Can I save my squash? I was so excited about this guy, he just started flowering and it looked like I was going to get a good yield. Now it looks like it's at death's door

 

[packyderms_wife]

Trying to grow blue hubbard squash for the first time. Of 6 seeds only one germinated, but it's a big healthy beautiful plant.

Or it was, until this morning- looking wilted and very sad! None of my other plants are wilted so it must be a fungus or bugs.

Can I save my squash? I was so excited about this guy, he just started flowering and it looked like I was going to get a good yield. Now it looks like it's at death's door

Look at the vines under the leaves, do they have grooves in them? If so you have borers. Is the plant getting adequate moisture? Too much moisture? See any downy mildew on the leaves? Got photos?

 

[duchess47]

Yes, could be borers. If you can find where they are attacking the stem and treat it, then cover the stem with dirt past that point, it may be okay.

 

[Jeff B.]

BT can help with squash vine borers...

Jeff B.

 

[abby normal]

As I lifted the plant to investigate I found the problem: it was snapped clean off at the base.

Turns out letting 4 year olds in the garden can be very bad for your plants. I can't even be mad at him, he didn't do it on purpose. In fact, he accidentally stepped on one of my corn plants as I was investigating the squash.

I had a couple seeds left so I put them in. Maybe there will still be time before frost.

 

[packyderms_wife]

Yes, could be borers. If you can find where they are attacking the stem and treat it, then cover the stem with dirt past that point, it may be okay.

or a strip of aluminum foil which is what a lot of people are doing this year in the gardening groups. Borers are horrid this year for some reason.

 

[abby normal]

I went to inspect my zucchini plants, which are huge, just like the blue hubbard squash was. Some of the interior stalks had snapped in half. I know the kid could not have broken those off.

So now I'm wondering if the squash didn't break under its own weight. I didn't actually see my kid stumble into the blue hubbard, and it would have taken a good deal of force to snap it in half at the base.

I've never heard of staking up squash plants to prevent breakage, does anyone do this?

It's crazy how enormous my zucchini plants are, never seen anything like it. God is good.

 

[summerthyme]

It sounds like you have vine borers. Look closely at the spot where the breakage occurred... also, look at plants (near the soil line) which are currently healthy... you can often see a bit of debris ("sawdust") where the borer has bored a hole into the vine.

If you find one really early, you can literally inject Bt into the vine, or stick a piece of wire into the hole and jab/stir it around to try to kill the thing.

On vining plants (not zuchinni so much), if you cover parts of the vine with a handful of dirt at intervals, they will root. That way, if a borer invades the central stem, parts of the vibe will still survive.

We haven't had borer problems much, but I've always thought that putting a handful of diatomaceous earth mounded around the base of the stem might provide effective organic control.

Summerthyme

 

[abby normal]

It sounds like you have vine borers. Look closely at the spot where the breakage occurred... also, look at plants (near the soil line) which are currently healthy... you can often see a bit of debris ("sawdust") where the borer has bored a hole into the vine.

If you find one really early, you can literally inject Bt into the vine, or stick a piece of wire into the hole and jab/stir it around to try to kill the thing.

On vining plants (not zuchinni so much), if you cover parts of the vine with a handful of dirt at intervals, they will root. That way, if a borer invades the central stem, parts of the vibe will still survive.

We haven't had borer problems much, but I've always thought that putting a handful of diatomaceous earth mounded around the base of the stem might provide effective organic control.

Summerthyme

Thank you, I don't have BT but I do have DE. The bugs are plentiful this year!

 

[summerthyme]

The issue is, if the borer has already hatched and bored into the vine, it's too late for DE to work. Here's an overview of what you (may be) dealing with...

Squash vine borers

How to identify squash vine borers Adults Adult moths are unique in that they fly during the day and mimic wasps. Moths are about 1/2 inch long with an orange abdomen with black dots. The first pair of wings are metallic green while the back pair of wings are clear. The back wings are folded...

extension.umn.edu

Summerthyme