Is it possible to over water squash? My zucchini and crook neck look great in the morning before watering but soon thereafter they start to wilt. Part of the problem is Texas heat- We have had 104-106 degrees for 9 days in a row and overnite temp of 84-88. I figured they needed alot of water in this heat but maybe not. All advice is welcome.

Check your plants out for these...

#1. Sawdust at the very base of the plant
in the hollow stem...
*where ground meets stem mostly,
but can be up at any junction really*
****Or you may just see a hole too****

#2. Any yellow bugs? *Black Striped or Circles*

#3. Any powdery mildew on the leaves??

Thanks for the reply. There is no powdery mildew on the leaves and there are no bugs or eggs on the under side of the leaves. I will have to check on the sawdust this evening. Are you referring to a sawdust like material that would be produced or left behind by an insect or actual sawdust?

Ciao jfredt,

It's pretty normal to see cucurbits wilting during the day regardless of how much watering you're doing. It has to do with the plants' ability to transpire at a similar rate as it's uptaking water from the roots. Kinda hard to do in Texas heat. Unless you're having rain rain rain, cucurbits love water. In fact, their stems are hollow. Their dislike of constant rain is more to do with the overcast and damp leaves which can lead to powdery mildew. If you're soaker hosing them, don't worry, you're doing great. It's just normal daytime wilt in response to the heat. They do recover.

Cheers,
Julianna

Sawdust like material produced when a Squash Vine Borers is present...

WEEZIE- YES THERE IS SAWDUST AND A BIG HOLE! What am i supposed to do? I put seven dust around the base last night because that is all that i had- please help

I do know you can perform surgery on the plant..

I do it with my finger nail,
but I suggest you take a stiletto knife
or something that's thin and sharp...

You cut straight up from the hole,
(one thin slice) up the stem,
*you may have to go up several nodes to finally find him/her*
until you come to the culprit..
*a big white grub* who's chewing away on
the inside of the hollow stem...
***See picture of grub in the above link***

The plant should survive..
and should continue to produce..
Maybe not as great as it would as if the grub
never attacked it... but you should still get
a crop of squash...

Thank you for the quick response. I will perform surgery this evening and report back. I looked through 150 of your oictures and did not see the grub but I am sure to recognize the one thing that does not belong- thanks again

Click here to see a picture of the grub....

Thank you so much. That was very informative.

I think that you were peakin' into
my photobucket earlier..
*(I got to thinkin'....150 pictures hearing the outcome of it all...

Weezie- I GOT THE SUCKER! I performed the surgery and they were all the way up to the stems. The plant is lost but I learned alot. There were actually TWO in there. I have put seven around the base of the plants I hope this will discourage others. Thanks again.

Yayyyyyyyyy! Very good to hear!

Okay, was the plant alive..
*green*

Have you pulled?

(The plant WILL LIVE with that slit...
Even if it's veryyyyyyyyyy longgggg)

Well, at least I am very glad you got those bad boys *and girls*

Did you or do you have other squash plants...
*or even Pumpkin plants?*

Weezie- I was dead. It was not like a fews leaves died but the whole plant by the time i figured out what to do--At least next time I will know and recognize it earlier. I have other I just hate to lose any. My biggest problem has been pollination, but just this weekend I saw two bees in the garden. YEA! I have been hand pollinating with somew success. My questions is where do these vine borers come from? This is a new raised bed planter 12 inches tall that has never been a garden before this year. Do they fall out of the sky?

Sometimes I believe that...

I am going to ask the "Buglady" to see if she has a picture of the (*Melittia Cucurbitae Moth*) for you to see what the "Momma" of this culprit looks like..
Give her a wee~bit to come thru..
or to let me know...

Also, if you go back to the link I gave you,
it'll give you a wee~bit of info on them..
*no picture though* but I'll get you one for sure, so you can see them... and know what you're looking for in other seasons..

(I just saw one in my garden the other day
and squished it...)

Vine borers are just baby bugs (larvae). Nasty little fellas if you ask me. Danno was kind enough to post a pic of a Squash Vine Borer , all grown up. I lost all of my yellow squash, pumpkins, and zucchini to this little evil guy and his babies. I'm so happy that they don't like cukes!!!

Also as a side note...
Have you looked into other plants that are
bee friendly plants you can get to be along side your garden to help bring them in to do their business???

I love Borage..
It's a fun, tall bright blue flowered plant.
*and good for tomatoes to grow by*

Centaurea scabiosa, Foxgloves, Red Clovers, Sunflowers, Mountain Bluet, and alot of wild flowers you can let grow along side the garden too..Dandelions, Mustards, and I let my raddishs go to seed too, they have the prettiest pink flowers.

***Sarah,
Nope, that's the wrong bug..

That one does attack the squashes, but does it from the outside.. *by penetrating it's sucking mouth parts on the outside of the stems...

The moth,
Melittia cucurbitae - Squash Vine Borer -
lays it's eggs and it over winters in the ground as a grub.
Here\'s more info on it...

What a pretty looking moth, I'd never guess how bad it is! Thanks for setting me straight--it's pretty easy for me to get confused. I did recently read, however, that Marigolds help repel cuke beetles and SVB. I think I'll be planting some of them next year!

It can be very confusing sometimes..
I still have to stop and think of which stuff is what sometimes.. though I know it like the back of my hands sometimes, others' I'm like, DUH!

And it's taken me YEARS to know some of this stuff.............
I learn everyday....

How do you know you got em all?

I think if you look at your stem..
And then look at the leaves going up the stem,
where the grub is/has been, the leave starts to
go yellow/brown/soft/turn to mush like...

*at least that has been my experience with them*

I usually get my fingers right in there and feel..
*the stem will be hollow where it's is/been....*

not so positive about marigolds repeling cuke beetles. i had some planted last year and i still got the stuiped beetles.