transplanting can slow down squash, but I grow several every year and always transplant. Even my giant pumpkins get transplanted after it is 2 feet tall and wide. Transplant carefully and you should have no problem. It looks to me like maybe too cold and too wet. ? Where are you located? I am on the coast of British Columbia and this (last week of May or first week of June) is when I set my plants to ground from the green house. Don't fertilize until they show growth. If you can put a cover over them that will help to warm them up but DON"T burn them!. You need root growth in June. Taking off the first few flowers will let leaves and roots develop. Leaves and roots are what feed the fruit.

I've saved a few plants over the years by killing the borer (a razor blade works well) and then mounding up soil over the bottom of the stems and keeping it moist for a couple of weeks. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I suspect it depends on how much damage the borer has done before it's dispatched. It's certainly worth a try. Also, it's not too late to try for another crop. Seeds planted now might make a few squash before frost. They germinate at record speed this time of year if you keep them damp.

So many people with issues with parents...sad. I was loved, I had toys and gifts,dresses, dolls, books, sport stuff, games,I lacked for nothing . But as I got older, I think I tried to "recapture" my childhood. As an adult, I loved antique shows, flea markets, garage sales. Any time I saw something we had in our house growing up, I had to buy it. I even bought too many rose bushes and planted them in my garden, trying to re-create my Grandma's rose garden. I now have a linen closet stacked with doilies and tablecloths I'll never use, sets of fancy glasses too fragile to use, things like that. Oh, and on the funny side, my daughter cleaned out my bathroom just yesterday. She found eleven bottles of Listerine. I don't know, I hate the stuff, it burns... I remember buying one bottle because it did everything, whitens teeth, freshens breath, makes gums healthy, strengthens the enamel. I'm just always looking for something to make me happy.

My best bet for growing is using containers where I can place them in optimal sun. I bought peppers, zucchini, squash and eggplant and would love to get them going in containers vs. trying my luck planting them in the ground. Any thoughts??