I'm short on space and have very little full sun in my yard. The last 2 years we've had really good luck growing tomatoes, peppers and basil in containers in the driveway where (of course) it's sunny. I'm going to try some zucchini in a container this year. I was just reading an article about vining zucchini-the recommended variety was Black Forest and it will supposedly grow up a trellis. I can't find seeds anywhere. Has anyone heard of this variety and know where to get it? Any suggestions on growing vining zucchini (or container zucchini in general)? I'm excited to try container zucchini's because I have problems with vine borers in the garden and this should solve that problem! Thanks for any advice you can give me:)

I'm finding it for sale in the UK but so far not here.

What you want is a solid stem squash. The borers don't attack them. The borers don't care if the plant is in a pot.

What Philip said. (hey Philip!)

Vine borers are the larvae stage of a moth. The moth flies in and lays eggs around the base of the stem. Eggs hatch and the larvae drill into the stem. Boom! Dead or soon-to-be-dead plants. Most summer squash has hollow stems...the SVB can easily drill in and tunnel through these vines. Philip suggested winter squash which pretty well all have solid stems thus making it more difficult or impossible for the borers to enter the stems, much less tunnel through them. Planting in a container really won't help being as the adult moth will simply fly to your potted vines.

The moth kind of look like a wasp. https://www.almanac.com/pest/s...

Just for info: Most winter squash are susceptible to SVB. Only the C. moschata (butternut group) have solid stems. C mixta (Cushaw group) has some resistance to SVB. Trombocino which is a butternut is often used as a zucchini substitute. Another option is the Cucuzzi (Lagenaria sicerari) which is a bottle gourd sold as Italian summer squash. If you want vining summer squash, these two are pretty readily available. Standard zucchini and, crooknecks, straight necks, scallops are predominately in bush form and all are easy prey for SVB.
https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/... https://www.gardenbetty.com/zu...

I love it when the treasure chest opens! Thanks for this info, Dillard!

So, only the butternut/moschata group has the solid stems. I had bought some c. pepo seeds (Delicata) in hopes of growing some of them for a more "delicate" squash than the Tromboncino but looks like they will just be SVB fodder, too. Ah well, maybe it's time for me to try some of the Waltham Butternuts...hmmm, can you fry it?...stew it???

Edible gourd? That kinda goes against this ol' southern boy's upbringing. But, as I tell folks, I'll eat most anything...long as it ain't moving too fast!!

Yes the delicatas are as susceptible to SVB as any C. pepo. I can deal with SVB easier than pickle worms tho.
Varieties of C. moschata include Calabaza, Rumbo, Black Futsu, Long of Naples, Seminole pumpkin, Bungkan, Autumn Crown, Fairy, Tan Cheese, Autumn Buckskin, Musquee de Provence', Long Island Cheese, Dickenson, Jap, Musquee du Maroc, Fagtong Sri Muang, Fairytale... These are varieties that don't look like the traditional butternut and which I know a little bit about. There are multiple varieties of Butternut.

farmerdill said:Yes the delicatas are as susceptible to SVB as any C. pepo. I can deal with SVB easier than pickle worms tho.
Varieties of C. moschata include Calabaza, Rumbo, Black Futsu, Long of Naples, Seminole pumpkin, Bungkan, Autumn Crown, Fairy, Tan Cheese, Autumn Buckskin, Musquee de Provence', Long Island Cheese, Dickenson, Jap, Musquee du Maroc, Fagtong Sri Muang, Fairytale... These are varieties that don't look like the traditional butternut and which I know a little bit about. There are multiple varieties of Butternut.

Don't slap my hand hard, but would any of those work "somewhat" as a yellow crookneck replacement for frying and stewing? I really wish I could grow crookneck but I know better than trying.

not really. nothing taste like a crookneck. lots of folks do use butternuts and really like them fried as immature squash. I grow crooknecks with no problem, but I have to complete the harvest before July, when the pickle worms arrive.
Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo 'Tempest') Yellow Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo 'Horn of Plenty') Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo 'Daisy Mae') Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo 'Delta') Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo 'Dixie') Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo 'Pic-N-Pic') Squash (Cucurbita pepo 'Medallion') Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo 'Multipik')

Oh a whim I did plant a few "Yellow Belly" hybrid squash...look like crookneck and was a freebie seed pack from somewhere. ??? We'll see if this is just a sacrifice to the borers or not.

I foresee something along these lines... If these yellow bellies were in a Greek arena fighting it out with a gladiator and the gladiator had them down on the ground with axe raised and looking to the emperor as to what to do, I believe the emperor would do this...

You most likely have Butter Belly which is a hybrid crookneck. https://www.seedsnsuch.com/pro... You already know about the wasp imitator moth that flys in and lays eggs. At least here their arrival times are June so I can sometimes get ahead of them. They lay eggs (which look like fly specks along the base stem) I keep an eye out for the moth, One or two can lay enough eggs to take out a whole patch. I use a contact insecticide when I spot one. Some folks wrap the stems with aluminum foil which slows them down a bit. Other use a syringe to inject Bt into the stem once the larvae enter. Bt will kill them if they eat it Unfortunately the larvae hatch and bore into the stem quickly so external application is not very effective.

You nailed it, Dillard. I dug the old pack out and it is indeed Butter Belly. Yellow Belly really doesn't sound like a good name, eh?

I've never been able to spot a moth. It seems for me that I never have a problem with them until *just before* they start making squash. Great-looking plants one day, then the next day a total collapse. I'll inspect these closer this year, but won't be going to very much trouble with them. Who knows, I might be fortunate with these this year. Most likely I will have to do my crookneck harvesting at the farmer's market!

Tatume zuchinni is advertised as a climbing variety.

Concur: It does have a rampant vine and looks like a small pumpkin. It is a C. pepo so I don't know about resistance to SVB. https://aggie-horticulture.tam.... I have not grown it but it seems popular in Texas and Mexico. It can be a zucchini substitute but I don't if taste is comparable.

I'm thinking about planting some Seminole squash. I can't do it inside the fenced garden but I've got a small area, maybe a 20x20 foot area to the east of the garden I could stick some push-in electric fence posts into the ground with a couple of strands of polywire on it attached to the main garden fence, till up a small area and plant the seed. They could ramble around ever how they want to. I'd just have to keep the vines off the fences and my weather station. I'm really not sure that low fence would stop the deer, though. Maybe by now they've got an aversion to messing with the polywire and the psychology of it will keep them out.

I did see a big doe approach the garden the other morning. Saw it out the kitchen window in the yard near the garden. It started walking that way but when out of sight behind some crepe myrtles so I ran to another window...when I got there the doe was running away from the fence area. I don't know if the fence bit her or if something else spooked her. She stopped and looked at the garden and then swung *wide* around it, disappearing over the hill behind it. Maybe the fence is working, eh? I hope she told her friends!