Quote:
Originally Posted by JerryHaskins
I USED to grow yellow summer squash by the tub full. But for the last few years, I have had abysmal luck.
Squash vine borers killed some plants, lack of honey bees resulted in almost no pollination even though I had lots of blossoms.
I tried manual pollination, but that didn't do much better and it was hard to do.
This year I kind of figured out a solution to the squash vine borers problem: I dusted the stems with BT using a hand crank duster like this:
https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...QqLABQQ8wII5wE
The vine borers lay eggs in the ground near the plant, and the larvae hatch out and bore into the stem. I figured the BT would kill the larvae when they eat into the stem. It seems to have worked.
I have seen no (not one) honey bees this year. I have had lots of bumble bees buzzing in my squash blossoms, but apparently bumble bees do not make good pollinators. I've only gotten a few squash to eat. |
Unlike you I have had a growing honey bee population for the last 5 or 6 years. I enjoyed going out in the early morning as soon as the blossoms opened the bees would start working the open blooms. Although I would see some on cucumbers they are more partial to squash. The only precaution I take is I try to spray any kind of pesticide very late in the day when possible so that the impact is minimal on honey bees. I do have some large holly bushes that are very attractive to bees and have noticed loads of honey bees around them when they are blooming as well as a large, no longer bearing, peach tree that is always attractive to honey bees when blooming. Maybe someone has a bee hive nearby that I am unaware of and that has caused the population surge in my garden.
I hope your honey bee population comes back because it does seem to make a huge difference in the production of squash plants. I can remember when we went through a period of hardly seeing any honey bees in the spring and how slow and poorly my squash set fruit during those few years.
Bill