Little St. Simons Island's Organic Garden: A Story of Squash: Seed to Table

Tahitian Melon winter squash in the field.

I am happy to report our guests are dining on winter squash from the garden this fall. But my what it took to get these enormous beauties to the table this year!

It was a long labor of love that began with the patty pan summer squash I planted in the raised beds. I trimmed the winter rye and cut holes into them where I direct seeded the squash. These dwarf plants came up lovely, green and gorgeous, but just as they began to fruit, the pickleworms bore holes in their vines and their fruit, so there was none left for the kitchen! The pickleworm is the larval form of a night moth which lays eggs on the leaves of cucurbits and once their eggs hatch, the young bore into the flowers of the squash, into the vines and into the fruit. We were quick to pull those summer squash plants in an effort to get rid of the worms, but in hindsight leaving them in as a trap crop may have been a better option. Just as soon as they had no more patty pan to feed on they descended upon the cucumbers on the backfield trellis!

"Frass" from hole where a pickleworm bore into cucumber.

I left those cucs in place because right next to them were the winter squash. Now, pickleworms, according to research, typically aren’t keen on winter squash like they are on cucs and summer squash, but just in case, I covered the backfield with row cover, which also would protect it from the dreaded squash vine borer should it have decided to make an appearance this year.

A pickleworm inching its way through the vine of a cucumber.

Row cover on the winter squash.

When the squash started blossoming, I was faced with some choices: hand pollinate and keep them covered; uncover them by day and let the bees do the job and cover them again by night (when the night moth emerges again); or uncover them and see what happens. Well, I tried all three options but soon found the last was the most practical, and least laborious! However, within weeks of uncovering them, I noticed some holes in the vines and some fruit shriveling up with a worm in it eating its way through the flesh.

After more research, I decided to try a biological pesticide called Dipel. It’s a bacteria that attacks the worms. The trouble with spraying this stuff on the squash plants is that it has to make direct contact with the skin of the worm. Now, these guys are borers and are usually protected not only from the cover of the huge squash leaves, but also from their comfy abode hidden in the hollow of a vine and fruit! So in order for this to work, I had to thoroughly spray at the base of every flower, around every fruit, along as many vines as I could, lifting the protective leaves as I went. Well, I was determined! And...