I have some pictures that might help if you are trying to split the vines for SVB. The cup is about 2" across. SVB can be smaller and it is better if you get them out when they are small. I made a small long-wise split and then fished around inside the vine with a small hooked wire. a Be on the look out for frass. It's a sign that the evil critters are in the vine. I was somewhat successful with a combination of splitting the vines, injecting with BT (Bacillus thuringeinsis - it's organic) and injecting with beneficial nematodes. I posted this a while ago, but this was my method: "I tried spraying the plants down with BT, but I think I discovered the borers too late. It might have helped with later infestations, but I don't know. I used Thuricide mixed 4T to a gallon. Wear goggles when you spray it! It irritates the eyes. I also injected BT directly into the infected vines. I mixed it at 1 teaspoon BT to 1 cup water and injected 1ml at each spot. I used an 18g needle and 3ml syringe. They are available from any farm and ranch/livestock catalog or feed store. I also tried injecting predatory nematodes into the zucchini vines. I mixed it up as instructed, transferred to the sharp needle (the one it comes with is useless) and injected .5 to 1 ml per spot. THIS IS IMPORTANT: wear safety glasses/goggles when injecting. The squash vines will clog the needle occasionally and, when that happens, the needle comes away from the syringe and the bt or nematodes shoot back directly into your face. It is not any fun flushing your eyes out for 20 minutes and then frantically searching the internet to find out if the nematodes are about to eat your eyes (they won't, there have been accidents at the facilities that grow the nematodes and everyone is fine). Also, do not dispose of the needles directly into the trash. Drug stores sell containers for used needles (for insulin needles). Something worked, but I don't know if the nematodes or BT did the job. It definitely saved my African and Delica winter squash. Unfortunately, some of my squash were too far gone to recover. I'm going to try it again next year and attempt row covers for the time period when I had problems." As a side note: a the end of last year I decided to dig through my squash beds and pick out all the SVB cocoons. I found SVB-sized rocks, SVB-sized pieces of wood, SVB-sized chunks of clay, a million interesting bugs, but not one SVB cocoon. And I REALLY searched. My only guess is that the nematodes either really did get all the SVB in the vines or they went down into the soil and ate the cocooned SVB. Hope this helps and happy SVB destruction, Bellatrix

You can...but be careful wood ashes are very alkaline. You could easily throw a balanced mix off. If it's purchased "Mel's Mix" I wouldn't - if it's "Your Mix" but you call it Mel's Mix - hey it's your call. Or use it to balance some peat. JMMO - Just My Meaningless Opinion, Gumby_CT

Thanks for the links--been looking for good forums and found several that weren't good for advice. I've bookmarked several. I was annoyed at my plastic jug because I couldn't get it sealed and I wanted a sealed unit to bury. Added a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to avoid any algae, bacteria, etc. and wouldn't hurt the worms if it did leak. Finally got it sealed--yea! The worms do love it; I find them all gathered around it each time I look to see how things are going. I'm using an old laundry basket, lined with cardboard, and put inside a kitchen cabinet now. They were in a plastic tote until now. I had no holes drilled in the plastic tote, but monitered the moisture carefully. I drilled a few small holes in the bottom of the basket and put it on an old tote lid. Now things get buried directly into the bin. I started out with bedding of cardboard, newspaper, and mostly oak leaves--add a few handfulls of sand, and soil. Worms seemed to be happy from day one--never tried to escape. Been almost 3 months now--and no where near ready to harvest yet. Maybe I haven't kept them warm enough yet? Then again I did notice lots of babies in pockets after reading through some other posts. Started out with 1 lb. of redworms, and hoping for an increase. Only me, but I eat a lot of veggies, and make most stuff from scratch. Don't add dairy, meat, or oil. Sometimes if I get too much I put it in the blender--really gotta watch the blender; can burn up a motor quick. I need more worms! LOL! Hence why I was looking for heat in winter.

I live in Ont. A few years ago when I was previously married and had a house, my then-hubby built a plywood box around my bin. It was right against the house. We lined the plywood with insulation and straw between the plywood and the bin. On the top, we put 2 window panes on an angle so the snow wouldn't stay on and on sunny days, it would be some warmth. Granted, I didn't feed them much during the winter. I gave them lots of food and lots and lots of whole leaves to tie them over the winter. In the spring, we dismantled the wood and the worms had all survived, and I was in business again. I'm sure I could have composted all winter, to tell you the truth, I never thought of it, back then.