I can't imagine why a vertical vine would be less attractive to SVBs. If they can travel from one bed to another, traveling from the ground up a few feet should be no problem.

Since the source of the SVB eggs/larvae is a moth that flies all around the plant to lay her eggs it would make no difference if it was vertical or horizontal. Plus I have found another disadvantage to vertical growth with most varieties - easily broken stems is the main one besides the inability to bury stems as needed.

Dave

So your thoughts seem to be pretty much the same as my mine. It seems a trade off of a few small gains in exchange for more important losses ...and probably not worthwhile. Still, I have enough plants started this year that I can experiment with a few just for the heck of it. I seem to’ve been having success with BT the last couple years and it occurs to me that with this pole supported vertical method, perhaps, less BT would be needed and with fewer leaves requiring attention you’d get better coverage, especially of the (fully exposed) stem.

Also, I’ve been considering trying a hybrid technique starting with the traditional mound, letting it sprawl somewhat, keeping those vines buried then, at various points, particularly where it wants to split, mound those points, stake it encouraging it to take root and go vertical ...basically turning one traditional plant into 2,3,4,5.. vertical plants. That way if, for whatever reason, the BT proves ineffective and the borer gets one partsof the vine, others may still continue to thrive.

I tried for couple of seasons, the plants didnt thrive. Maybe, it was too hot and dry.

The cucurbits like humidity. I even started to grow cucs on a horizontal trellis, just 6-8 inches above the ground. Somebody showed their design here, and i tried that. Cucs loved it.

about SVB - the best was covering plants with tulle. The SVB season here is relatively short, and i used parthenocarpic varieties. Cavilli was one. Created something like a high tunnel.

Spinosad and BT work too, if diligent.

Most summer squashes are bush or semi-bush, with dense heavy leaf growth close to the stem... not an ideal growth habit for training upward. If the large leaves are crowded together, it will encourage mildew, and offer hiding places for other squash pests (such as squash bugs).

There are a few vining summer squashes (such as Costata Romanesca, a very delicious zucchini), and Tromboncino. Tromboncino is really the only summer squash which will climb... but it is an aggressive climber (similar to gourds) and would require a substantial amount of support. I normally grow Tromboncino on the ground (because it roots heavily along the stem) but when I trellised it, the vines completely covered a 6' tall trellis.

There are several strategies which can be used to combat SVB. As mentioned, you can cover the plants early (with tulle or floating row cover) and remove the cover when the SVB egg laying period has passed. The parthenocarpic varieties mentioned in the previous post can be grown completely under cover, since they do not require pollination. You can also plant late - such as July - to avoid the egg-laying period, and still get a good harvest before Fall (I will be doing that this year). Tromboncino has the added benefit of being very SVB resistant (the main reason I started growing it) and if you have the space for it, is worth trying. All of these methods have been successful in my location.

Late planting didn't really worked for me. Powdery mildew was so severe in mid-August that nothing helped. Plants weren't producing well.

I am going to try again this year, maybe the weather would be better.

Didn't like the taste of either Tromboncino or Costata Romanesco.

If you have the room then letting them go on the ground is best. As to the borers: have you tried dusting the vines with powered diatomaceous earth? I've had good luck using it to deter all sorts of critters in my organic garden.

I'm afraid DE will do nothing for borers. The borer moth lands, and deposits the eggs. The caterpillars hatch, and bore their way straight into the vine. No one needs to touch any DE to make that happen. If the moth wazzles around on the stem, I suppose it might pick up some DE and die, but the eggs are already laid. There is no DE dust inside the stem, so once inside, the larvae are extremely happy.

You need to kill them with poison or by skewering them.