Training Squash to grow Vertically - Trimming to Reduce Pests
Тәжірибелік нұсқаулар және стиль
In this video I show my weekly process of trimming back my squash and training them to grow upright. I always trim off leaves that have started to yellow, or show any sign of disease, I also remove any spent flower stems as well. These grow so quickly that any leaves I remove will be replaced in a day or two. Next I go through and look for any pest eggs like vine borer eggs or squash bug eggs. Then I look for plants that need some support to grow up the stake. I use a Velcro tape, but you can use some string to hold them up as well.
The benefit of removing old leaves, and training squash to grow upright is vast. There are multiple reasons for growing squash this way. First is that it opens up the area, and reduces the chance of diseases like powdery mildew. The increased airflow and keeping the leaves off the soil is what helps with this. Another reason is that it makes it so much easier to see if you have disease starting, or if pests have laid eggs on your leaves. When the squash is left to grow by its own devices, it will get very dense with leaves and make it virtually impossible to see all the eggs laid by vine borers and squash bugs. One other reason for trimming your squash plants and growing them vertically is to save space. This allows you to get more squash in a smaller area. The upright growth keeps the squash from vining out along the ground which then takes up more space. Growing them up a stake can allow you to get almost double the amount of plants in the same space. This is very beneficial for me and other backyard gardeners who are growing in just a handful of raised beds.
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Пікірлер: 21
This is exactly the information that I was seeking. I appreciate the clear, direct instructions lion's without a lot of jabbering and sales talk. I can quickly learn and now go out to help my plants produce.
@Escapingthedailygrind
Ай бұрын
Glad it was helpful. Boy i think this could be the first time someone didn’t think I was jabbering on. Haha! I am not too good at concise speaking. I tend to talk a lot. I’m so happy to hear this video helped and you found it some useful information
Thank you so much your videos are very simple to follow and I already have the stuff I'm ready to try it
@Escapingthedailygrind
2 ай бұрын
Awesome! I’m so glad the video has helped.
Awesome, thanks for this.
@Escapingthedailygrind
3 ай бұрын
Glad you liked the video
Very helpful … thank you !
@Escapingthedailygrind
2 ай бұрын
You're welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the video, thank you for the comment
Thanks for sharing 🦋🏞️🐝🙏🧑🌾
@Escapingthedailygrind
2 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching. Hope you enjoyed the video
Do you know if I can prune squash like rampicante and delicate? They are trellising but they are still huge and will take up a lot of space in my walkway. I don’t know which leaves I can take off because no flowers have opened up. I’m already seeing squash bugs and found a couple of borer eggs on a stem!
@Escapingthedailygrind
Ай бұрын
Yes you should be able to. Fallow the main stem and trim off any that aren’t main stem. You could even trim off a main stem if you have enough side shoots to take over. If it’s up a trellis then I’d not trim too much though, just insure the side shoots are not crossing with other stems.
@kimberlyearly8918
Ай бұрын
@@Escapingthedailygrind Thanks! I went ahead and pruned some just to keep it from taking over my walkway and get leaves off the ground.
@Escapingthedailygrind
Ай бұрын
Yeah cool, let me know how it does. I always trim off any discolored leaves as well. Watch for those vine borers. They are terrible! Probably my worst pest here at my house.
@kimberlyearly8918
Ай бұрын
@@Escapingthedailygrind I’m gonna inject BT in the stems today. I’ve seen lots of people say that helps a lot. I also saw a lady that put a mixture of glue, water and DE and painted it on the bottom of the main stem and others in the comments said they do it. It stays on even after rain. I know the borers will lay eggs in other spots though. I’m also having tiny little yellow bugs with black stripes. Is that a cucumber beetle? They’re on all the different squashes but not the cucumbers though.
@Escapingthedailygrind
Ай бұрын
So just dilute the bt to recommend use, it works well enough if you catch it early enough. I did a video on doing that recently also. Yes that’s a cucumber beetle, they are bad but not quite as bad as the vine borers. Plus you can spray for those.