Squish, Squash, Splat!



A poem: 

No one likes him 
he's quite the horror
I want to squish him
He's the squash vine borer 
                                                                  - Bryon Reiger2015


Recently we discovered squash vine borers in our precious pumpkin vines. These little guys are sneaky and it's hard to see them coming. Also, once they are in your plants it's likely that they will overwinter in your soil and be ready to munch on your vines next season! Resilient little monsters. Here's how you get rid of them! 

Get your tools together (see below) gloves if you don't like their ooey gooey ick to get on your hands, a knife for gently opening the vine and scissors for cutting the leaves that have wilted. Naturally, iced coffee is always a tool for the early morning garden crew. 

Gently open the vine where you see a split or borer waste. GET IT! Pluck em right out of the vine and then squish! No vine borer left behind. It's important to be thorough.  
 Here's a picture of Suzanne finding the little monsters, she's the most thorough of them all. 

Lastly, bury the vine where the stem is split and top it with rich compost. Be sure to keep these areas moist as the plant heals. 

We do not use chemicals on our field at Garden on Marais so to avoid the same destruction next season we will not plant vining crops in these beds. 

 For you, a follow-up photo of our happy pumpkin vines 

Here's to pumpkin pies and jack o lanterns! 





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