Your Squash Patch Is Already Under Attack. You Just Haven't Seen It Yet. | Farm Fresh Homestead

Your Squash Patch Is Already Under Attack. You Just Haven't Seen It Yet. | Farm Fresh Homestead

From Farm Fresh Homestead | Homesteading, Organic Gardening & Living Off the Land by Mary Boyd - Food Sovereignty & Resilient Living Expert

May 5, 2026 · 10 min

About this episode

This episode discusses how to prevent squash vine borer infestations in squash plants grown east of the Rocky Mountains.

If you grow squash east of the Rocky Mountains, the squash vine borer will eventually take your plants. This episode covers everything you need to know to prevent it: the prevention window (April and May, before the moth flies), how row cover works and when to remove it, stem wrapping for large plantings, and how to surgically extract a borer from a stem before the plant collapses. Plus: the single visual signal — a tiny hole at the stem base with orange frass — that most gardeners see and ignore, and what it means. Farm Fresh Homestead — practical, honest homesteading from someone who has lost more squash than she'd like to admit. New episodes weekly.

People in this episode

Host: Mary Boyd

Topics covered

  • squash gardening
  • pest prevention
  • organic gardening
  • homesteading
  • plant care

Keywords

  • squash
  • vine borer
  • pest control
  • gardening tips
  • organic gardening

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Farm Fresh Homestead

Places: Rocky Mountains

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