Crookneck Squash Extended season

CarolynPhillips 7/24/2011, 2:27 pm

Just wondering if anyone has ever put a cold frame over their productive squash plant
in the Fall to protect it from random light frost? Did it help extend production. Since squash plants really like warm temps= is it a wasted effort?

white95v6 7/24/2011, 5:46 pm

well i am hoping it works. cause i put 4 zucchini seeds and 6 squash seeds in the raised beds this week. and i do plan to do do a green house over them. soo posting to see what everone has to say.

CarolynPhillips 7/27/2011, 10:13 am

I guess no one has done it.

jazzymom 7/28/2011, 4:00 pm

I did the same thing the other night just before it finally rained in SC. I figure we have enough warm days left that I should get a better crop than I got this summer...it was TOOOOO Hot, everything just scortched! I got a a few pattypans, a couple of funky yellow straight neck and two zucchini....then the borers did them all in. I am going to cover my seedlings with row cover or screening until I get female blossoms....and PRAY!

CarolynPhillips 7/28/2011, 4:13 pm

oh no= how sad. I haven't seen any SVB lately. The last time I saw one was last year. She killed my giant pumpkin.

I seriously thought about making a screen box for my squash plants==one with a lid so I could open it and pollinate. The guinea hens keep most of the squash bugs eaten but I still see one every now and then. And it was extra hot here too for a long while and the summer squash plants didn't like it.
I started a few new crookneck and a few patty plants around July 4th. They are showing young bloom buds now. Just wish I could make them produce long into the Fall season. They are growing in TT gardens.. Will try something when that time comes.

sherryeo 7/29/2011, 1:05 am

It's rained here all week and I hadn't been able to get out to the garden. I had been wiping my zucchini stems down every few days and spraying the stems with BT to try to avoid the squash vine borer. But I haven't been able to do that this week and I found their frass on two of the stems today.

Icckkkk! I didn't know if I could do it, but I did! I cut slits in the stems and dug the demons out of there! Time will tell whether it will save the plants, but they hadn't even started wilting yet, so I hope so!

On the up side, though, I think leaffooted bug season must finally be over here - I haven't seen any for probably close to a couple of weeks now! I read that we in the south have two generations each summer of them, but I think they must be gone finally! Yeaaa!!!

FarmerValerie 7/29/2011, 8:09 am

I'm down to 2 zucchini plants, lost everything else (started with 14 crook neck & 12 zukes, and 10 spaghetti squash), but I did not once see evidence of SVB. The base was fine, so I did not cut into it, and there was no dust or frass either. I did have an over abundance of Squash Bugs (I'm talking eggs that were missed and hatching so many tiny ones that the back side of some leaves were totally covered with litttle squash bugs. Those leaves looked like they have been chewed through, I know these bugs bite and suck, but if you have about 30 babys biting and sucking, it can tear a leaf to bits. Also, the spotted and striped cucumber beetle population is high, so I am thinking most likely bacterial wilt to them. But I'll be honest, as much as I want more squash, I am tired of the daily picking off of bugs. I may try and plant 2 or 3 more to see how it goes for fall.

sherryeo 7/29/2011, 1:40 pm

ARRRGGGHHH!!! Well, I apparently missed some SVB with my little surgery attempt yesterday. It was a hurried attempt since I was trying to get it done in between rain showers. But they had wilted to the ground when I checked them this morning. So I just pulled them up - guess I'm kinda like FV in that I'm just tired of fighting the good fight against them right now. I'll definitely try again, though, and probably will use the extra light insect barrier to cover them right from the get-go.

I do have another square of zucchini, but will have to check them closer when I get the chance in between showers. I think there's a very good chance that they'll go the same way.

I'm ready to plant for a fall garden! I've never tried lettuce before and lots of other cooler weather veggies. I look forward to the experience.

CarolynPhillips 8/3/2011, 1:37 pm

Today I saw a SVB. I couldn't get close enough to kill it. I have no idea how to find the eggs they embed into the vines. Don't know what I'm looking for. Sometimes I think pollinating squash would be easier than trying to keep out squash bugs and svb. I might try to make 3x3 beds with screen cages for squash. I know that would be hard on a large scale. But to have a few protected when all others have been killed out would be great.
Then use the same screem frame to protect plants with during first several frost.
It's not too late for me to start new plants now either. The last squash I started is showing female buds now and will bloom in a few days and it only took 4 weeks by the time they bloom from sow date. Plenty of time to get a good fall crop for the freezer.

moswell 8/3/2011, 4:00 pm

I just put my zucchini back in the ground after the vine broke off in my hands from an SVB attack. The one zucchini on it that looked like it had been pollinated hasn't gone mushy yet - it must still be getting a few nutrients from somewhere. If it survives, great. If not, well, next year I'll plan on more protection. I'm not afraid to hand pollinate. Smile

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Crookneck Squash Extended season

Crookneck Squash Extended season

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Me too.

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CROOKNECK SQUASH EXTENDED SEASON

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