What's wrong with my squash?

Hey everyone, I've been reading the forums for awhile now, but am pretty new to posting. I apologize if this has been asked elsewhere and I missed the answer.

I have some Potimarron winter squash vines. The vines appear to be just fine, but not the squash! The little squash start out great, and grow easily, turning from green to yellow, and one even made it to a light orange color, but after they start to get yellow, they always turn brown, first at the stem, and then eventually over the entire squash, until they just shrivel up and die.

The vines continue to produce more squash that always begins healthy, but I've yet to save a one. Much as I hate to, I do use Sevin dust and spray on that plant.

Can anyone tell me what's wrong, and offer any solutions? Thanks in advance!!

Dixie

Hi Dixie, Welcome, Hopefully someone can come accross this post and help you. I've had the same problems with watermelons, on the same vine, some will just turn brown andwither and others will be ok. sorry I can't help, I'm going to watch this so I can find out too.

kathy_ann

In the case of the pumpkin, it sounds like abortion due to lack of pollination. Watermelons like squash will set only the amount of watermelons the vine can support and abort the rest. If your vines are healthy and aborted all fruits you most likely have a pollination problem. The pickle worm will attack the squash/pumpkins but the the holes and frass will be apparent.

Farmerdill, you simply amaze me with all your knowledge. You have got to have a beautiful garden yearly. I'm jealous LOL. I wondered why some of the melons would die off and the rest be good , Now I know. Thanks

As I noted in an other post, I have my share of culls and rejects. Watermelons are my favorite crop tho.

Farmerdill is right we all have our crashes from time to time this year I broke the golden rule in my push for extraordinary results and fertilized two very early very large tomatoes growing in 25 gallon tubs one got to much and I burned half of one of them up it lived but will never catch back up. Corn is a no brainer and I replanted it three times losing it to crows but had it grown right in the first place they would not have been able to devastate it. To much manure sometimes free access to it and a tractor is a bad thing lol.

Kathy Ann apples do the same thing many times they will set way to many to make good apples so they drop a bunch sometimes still not enough so I hand pick mine. In a drought situation the trees will also drob enought to conserve strenght to finis the rest. Commerical orchards spray to kill some of the earliest blossoms to avoid small sized fruits.

Though I know better I still have a tendacy to plant a lot of things to close togeather lol knowing this I force my self to use a planting stick most of the time. Ernie

Corn last year lol this year nothing

Thanks so much for the welcome, the support and the information--I've read many of your posts, Farmerdill, and have learned a lot from you! Thank you so much for that.

On pollination: I had assumed the fruits that eventually get the brown "rot", for lack of a better word, were pollinated, as the flower had dropped off, and they had grown a great deal--some of them almost to full size, and began to change color before they (the fruits) just fizzled away.

Is it possible for a squash that is a week or two (or more) old to be aborted? At any given time, one vine only has about two viable squash on it. And if that is possible, what is lacking? More fertilizer?

Thanks so much to you & Kathy Ann--I know you must be very busy with your own gardens, and I'm most appreciative!

Dixie

I have not grown Potimarron, but it is rare for me to have more than two winter squash/pumpkins growing to maturity at the same time. I grow mostly Cushaws today, but have grown others. The larger size fruits usually abort until the two reach maturity, and then set a couple more. Best yield todate is 11 green striped Cushaws from one plant, but it did it two at a time. Exceptions of course are small ones like acorns and butternuts.

Good to know! The Potimarrons are little fellers, like acorns. Presently there is one on the vine that has lost quite a few fruits already, but this one seems to be the biggest and healthiest yet, so I'll keep my fingers crossed! At this point I'd be happy just to have a couple grow successfully so I can save the seeds and try again next year.
And eat them, of course!

Thanks again to all of you--and eweed/Ernie? I am always guilty of planting my row vegetables too close together. I know what 2' looks like, yet somehow when I stand in the garden with packets of seed, 2' suddenly shrinks to about 1'.... it's a cruel optical illusion brought on by optimism...

Dixie

Dixie yes it is Ernie but when Linda says it it is ERNIE lol. Some of my squash close to being planted right lol no stick. All either with flowers or flowers and squash

Punkins planted to close to the fence on purpose several vines will grow through the fence and be gifts for the school kids on the othere side of the fence is a playground for 1st to 4th graders and they do not wreck the pumpkins. One year one of their dads drove across the ball field and loaded hi car or truck of all but the smallest. Nice example lol. The really little kids really like them growing there for them. Ernie

Nice looking squash rows, Ernie. Everything looks so green and lush!

Love your story about placing your pumpkins close to the fence for the children on the other side. What a softie. ;)