Moving the squash to a new part of your garden should help with the wilt and disease problems but the squash bugs are going to find your plants no matter what. Just like they found your squash this year. Insects seem to show up out of nowhere.

"And there is still the wilt. After pulling the vines and removing any remaining debris, what can I do to clean up if I really want to use that space for a cucurbit?"

You could remove as much of the old soil as possible and replace it with new soil but that's a lot of work. I'd suggest just adding compost to the old spot, planting something other than squash there, and moving the squash to a new area next year, if it's possible.

Read up on how to control squash bugs so you can have a better harvest next year. I'm kind of new to squash (only my third year growing them) and I don't have any experience with squash bugs so I can't give any tips. Squash vine borers (SVB for short) are something I'm familiar with as they were horrible this year for me. With cucumbers (I have much more experience with cukes), be on the lookout for cucumber beetles. They are a pain in the rear too as the beetles transmit bacterial wilt.

Edit: I seemed to have missed the part about the plants being in a container. Changing the soil will definitely be the way to go.

Rodney

This post was edited by theforgottenone1013 on Tue, Nov 5, 13 at 18:16

Thanks for sharing you experience of squash growing. Squash and pumpkin are two very fun things to grow. They give great sense of achievement when grown successfully. The thing is that you have to be very vigilante to grow successful cucurbit. The fruits will only be as big and healthy as the time you are welling to spend killing pests and maintaining the growing patch.

For the squash bugs, you can spray them with a little dish soap in water especially when they're small, you can use duct tape wrapped around your hand to pull their eggs off the undersides of the leaves before they even hatch, and if they are big you can vacuum them up using the hose attachment. I also read a long time ago that planting garlic or onions with the squash helps (i plant one or two baby garlics in each hill).

I live with squash bugs every year and still get plenty of squash -- don't give up!

Thanks for the encouragement, all. I am ready to fight back against the bugs, but it's the wilt I'm really scared of, honestly.

I read somewhere that often plant disease strains vary with the type of plant, even if it's the same disease. Do summer and winter squash get the same kind of wilt as cucumbers, or would it be safe for them to switch places?

Just saw your edit, Rodney. Would I need to change all the soil? That actually would be a lot of work, and rather expensive. I trucked in 7 cubic yards (around 1500 gallons) of soil and filled each container a shovelful at a time, one by one. Probably about 5 cubic yards was planted with cucurbits. I expected it would be a one-time investment, lol.

There are 3 types of common insect pests of squash: squash bugs, striped and spotted cucumber beetles, and squash vine borer moths/larva

"Those are some weird red ant-looking things... but they're just sitting there."

This sounds to me like cucumber beetles of which some species are kinda orange-red. They love squash, too. Or squash vine borer moths if they truly were red...not very ant-like, though. Check some photos for ID. Squash bugs are also pests you could expect, but I wouldn't call them red or ant-like. Best to be on the lookout for all 3 species. The cucumber beetles would spread bacterial wilt. The others can cause the plant to wilt, also, but not due to bacteria. The bacteria lives in the gut of the cucumber beetle and will not survive in just the soil. No need to replace the soil, but do keep a sharp lookout for any of the 3 species next year and take quick action to control them and keep your squash alive.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bacterial wilt

Definitely, I will skip it.
Not enough space, Not enough sun. too cool , too wet.
I will grow chards instead.

5 cubic yards? That's a lot of soil (and a lot of containers, no?). Is there any particular reason that you have to plant in containers?

"I expected it would be a one-time investment."

All container soils eventually get worn out (they decompose and lose their drainage qualities) and eventually need replacing. How often they need to be replaced depends on the materials of the soil. I'd suggest doing a search over on the container gardening forum for more info on this.

Rodney

Here is a link that might be useful: Container Gardening Forum

At the very least I would recommend that you rotate the crops in your containers each year. In other words, don't plant cucurbits in the same pots next year. Grow tomatoes or beans in those.

That being said, I have made the decision that I am not going to grow any cucurbits except cucumbers next summer. I am just fed up with SVBs and pickleworms. I am going to try a parthenogenic cucumber under row cover, and then plant more eggplants. We like them just as well as squash, and other than flea beetles, they are far easier to grow here. It makes me sad, but I cannot afford to waste valuable growing space.

I have had issues with squash bugs and cucumber beetles, I read that planting radishes as a companion plant to cucumbers -and letting them go to seed will drive them away. It worked very well.
As for the squash bugs Neem Oil seems to work the best, however like most organic fixes it must be reapplied on a regular basis. I've noticed the squash bugs seem to have 2-3 generations each summer around hear, spray them when their young, when they look like weird spiders.