Hey everyone! I'm feeling pretty frustrated with my squash this year. I recently had a battle with vine borers that wiped out my spaghetti squash, and now I just noticed they've gotten to my zucchini plants as well. Two of them are totally gone, and I'm not too optimistic about the other two surviving. I was really looking forward to growing 8 ball zucchini—do you think it's too late to plant some? I'm in zone 6B (Ohio) and, yeah, I'm a bit of a newbie here. Any advice would be super appreciated!
3 Answers
Totally not too late! I’d recommend soaking the seeds in a paper towel for a quicker start. I’m actually thinking of removing some of my overgrown zucchini plants to make space for new seedlings—sometimes you just gotta make room!
It’s definitely worth considering! First, check the germination time and how long it takes to harvest. Just make sure that will fit in before your first frost date. I just had the same problem with vine borers attacking my hubbard squash, but I'm still holding out with my sweet pie pumpkins and some hubbards! If you plan to try for next year, consider planting moschata varieties that are less appealing to those pesky bugs.
You’ve still got time for zucchini! With the estimated frost date in mid-October for zone 6b, and zucchini taking about 45-60 days from germination to harvest, you should be fine. Just make sure to get those seeds in soon, and they’ll likely germinate quickly due to the warm weather. If the bugs give you trouble again, consider planting varieties that are resistant next year!
Yeah, I’ve had my own issues with them, but I've had some success using spinosad and surround WP treatments every few days. It really helps keep those vine borers at bay!