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daninthedirt

SVBs in central Texas

9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago

Probably better for the Texas gardening forum, but I thought I'd post it here. I have regular problems with SVBs, and I don't have the time to cover, wipe, spray bad stuff, or do surgery on vines to prevent them. Moschata? Hah! Yes, they are slightly more resistant to SVBs, but around here that's all I plant, and my vines are still slaughtered by them. That Moschata are immune to SVBs is a wholesale myth.

But.

I usually plant out my squash early in the season, a few weeks after last frost. In early March. They grow quickly, and in May and June, the plants are largely demolished by SVBs. The ones that manage to survive continue to grow and, after July, they aren't bothered by SVBs at all. I have a patch of Tahitian Melon squash that crawled through spring, managing to give me one or two squash, and is now wholly taking over my garden, with large numbers of squash. It's just exploding. Not any SVB damage to be seen.

I think the lesson is not to plant out squash around here until June or July. That's what I'll be doing next year. I understand that SVBs emerge in the spring and lay eggs which create larvae. And evidently then they're done for the year. I have heard about second waves of SVBs, but I don't seem to be getting those.

Is this consistent with what is known about SVB life cycles? My season is long enough that I'll get loads of production after setting out plants in June or July. That is, maybe the trick with SVBs is just to wait, especially if your season is long enough to allow that.

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