Squash come in an astounding range of varietals and cultivars, and in their various forms cucurbita vegetables are some of the most popular food plants in the world. Many of us are growing them right now, which means that we’ve faced this issue: what do you do when your squash vines start splitting? Splitting vines can affect all squash or zucchini plants and their cucumber relatives, and while the damage may look alarming there are possible solutions for the home gardener. So let’s dig in and learn a bit more about why squash vines split and what we can do about it!
Gardzen Executive Summary:
· Squash vines splitting is a very common garden problem, and it can have a variety of causes
· Potential causes of squash vine splitting may include irregular watering, heat, insect or pest infestation, or physical damage.
· Sometimes the damage caused by a split squash vine can be repaired.
· While repairing split vines is possible, preventing the damage is a better approach.
· Preventing squash vines from splitting involves some simple preventative steps.
· No matter how careful we are, things can always go wrong and we need to remember that gardening is a learning experience every season.
Some Basics About Squash, Zucchini, and Cucumbers
While all of these plants look similar—and all can be affected by vine splitting—the botanical reality is that squash (including zucchini) and cucumbers/melons are from distinct branches of the family Cucurbitaceae. Squash are a New World plant of the genus Cucurbita, initially domesticated and cultivated by the native peoples of the Americas. Native farmers and agronomists developed a variety of different cultivars to suit their needs across the diverse landscapes of North and South America.
Cucumbers and melons are from the genus Cucumis, and are natives to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Farmers in these various regions developed thousands of different varietals and cultivars just as their counterparts in the Americas did with squash and adapted these plants to their needs, geography, climates, and cuisines.
When European exploration and colonization of the Americas began in 1492, so did the Colombian Exchange. This refers to the transfer of plants, animals, and microorganisms from Eurasia to the Americas and vice versa. As part of this Exchange, cucumbers and melons were introduced to New World farmers and Old World farmers encountered squash for the first time. Many of the varietals of these plants which we now enjoy are the results of this transfer.
Squash and Cucumber Vine Splitting
As they come from the same family and were cultivated by humans to fill similar roles, it’s understandable that squash and cucumber plants share some of the same problems including vine splitting. Both types of plants have relatively strong vines that are stiff and partially hollow. While this is a good and functional evolutionary design that helps with efficient fruit production, it does have some potential problems including vines splitting.
So why do squash and cucumber vines split, exactly? Here are some of the most common reasons:
· One of the prime culprits in vine splitting is physical damage from wind and weather. It can be that simple: strong winds, heavy rain, or a plant falling over can cause the vine to split. While it can be obvious if wind, weather, or trauma cause vine splitting, it can be difficult to diagnose this cause when the plants are still young.
· Hot weather or irregular watering can also cause fine splitting. Hot weather causes the vine to split as the plant struggles to keep itself cool and hydrated, while irregular watering can cause the plant to contract its capillaries to save water only to be flooded after a heavy rain or excess watering. Both can lead to internal pressure changes and thus vine splitting.
· Similarly to both of the above, rapid growth and excess fruit production can lead to vine splitting. Too much weight develops too quickly, sometimes before the vine is fully grown, and the added pressure creates damage to the vine.
· Finally, vine borers and other pests can damage squash vines and cause splitting. Most of these pests are squash-specific, meaning that they’ll leave cucumbers and melons alone. Vine borers are the most common. These moths inject their eggs into the stem of the plant, and as the eggs hatch into larvae these grubs burrow through the stem and cause stem splitting. This is the most difficult version of stem splitting to deal with.
So now that we know what causes it, how do we treat and prevent squash stem splitting in our gardens? Let’s keep digging . . .
Preventing and Treating Squash Vine Splitting
As with so many gardening issues, it’s easier to prevent vine splitting than it is to treat it after it occurs. Prevention is mostly common sense: ensuring that squash, cucumber, and melon plants have room to grow and that their vines are supported along their full length. If growing our plants vertically, we need to ensure that we’re using a strong plant support cage or trellis. These plants require a healthy amount of water and they need to be watered regularly and consistently to ensure full health, good production, and to prevent vine splitting. Regular inspection is important; we all need to take the time with our plants to ensure that the stems are whole and healthy and to address any damage as soon as we find it to prevent it from getting worse.
Treating some forms of vine splitting is fairly simple: these plants will produce roots along the length of the vine where it contacts the ground so by covering a split with a thick layer of dirt we can encourage new roots to grow and thus address the issue. Please note that this only works for vine splits that result from damage, weather, or watering issues; vine borers are another matter. Our companion article this week address vine borers in death, and while we don’t normally do this we’ll suggest reading that for the full details on these pests and how to deal with them.
We hope this article helps—vine splitting is a really common problem and most of the time the causes and solutions are fairly straightforward. If you see vine splitting in your squash or cucumber/melon plants, don’t panic! Find the cause and address it, treat the damage, and remember that we’re all learning as we go when it comes to this wonderful thing called gardening!
Leave a comment