How to Avoid Common Squash Problems
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 5. 08. 2024
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Squashes are a staple in many gardens, yielding versatile fruits that spark our culinary creativity. Theyâre vigorous growers, but that doesnât mean theyâre trouble-free.
Pesky pests, diseases such as powdery mildew, accidental damage, and incorrect harvesting and storing can all take their toll on your crop.
In this short video weâll share tips and tricks to sidestep common squash problems so thereâs no barrier to your successful harvest.
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Lazy gardening tip: If you get behind on weeding to the point where your weeds are growing taller than your squash or pumpkins, go through your vines, lightly lift them up, and set them on top of the weeds (I have even done this on top of spiny pigweed which is a horrid intrusive plant with thorns). They will grow on top of the weeds for the rest of the growing season ensuring your leaves get all the sunlight they need while giving some protection to the squash and pumpkins themselves. I have done this for the past two years (bad procrastinator here) and have gotten around 200 pumpkins each year in a 40 x 40ft area.
What a brilliantly simple tip - thank you!
@@GrowVeg Can you use any type of milk in the milk solution spray?
As always these short videos are enthusiastic, informative and very watchable. Thank you
I am so tempted. They take up so much space, though.
You could try a trailing variety of squash, which you can then train up onto supports such as trellis. This would save space.
Thanks for responding with a video to my question. Much appreciated! â€ïž
Always anticipating your needs!
I live in Australia. I'm growing Spaghetti squash and jap/kent (1st time this year) and butternut (my 2nd time). I planted lots of seeds this time. Last year i had 2 plants and only got 3 butternuts. I'm hoping to get a good harvest this year. Thank you for all your information. I love your channel, i learn so much
Wishing you a very bountiful harvest Charmaine. :-)
We grew crockneck, pumpkins, spaghetti and blue Hubbard squash this year. 70 so far (not counting the crockneck!) And more are coming. Our biggest spaghetti squash was 4 lbs!! We've got a blue Hubbard coming along that's so big, he might not pass through the back door! It's been a wonderfully blessed garden harvest and your videos, Ben, make it more fun â€đ€. We love your mug!!
Ah, thank you so much for the kind comment. Glad you're having such a fantastic year - it's so rewarding when you get those bumper harvests!
What a great video on squash! Thanks for all the tips and tricks. I just started my fall garden and already have so many decorative gourds growing.
Helpful all around! I had those bugs early on and didn't realize they were so damaging! Thanks so much for your great videos.
This was the most informative video on squash I've watched. Thank you on the tip for hardening winter squash off the vine. We are getting a ton of rain and my honeynut butternut squash are splitting.
I am so glad I came across this video. I am growing Cinderella pumpkin in Western Washington and have been dealing with a mild case of mildew and will try the milk water solution. Happy gardening!
This year Iâm growing zucchini, crockneck, acorn, and butternut in NW WA state. I did get powdery mildew on my zuccâs and yellow squash and so I sprayed the leaves with the milk/water mix and it works great!!
Glad to hear that!
Glad to hear that works!
I dream about having my squash and melons living long enough to get mildew. Vine borers aren't just destroyers of squash. They also take out zuccs and melons.
I live in WA too! I grow spaghetti squash, butternut, acorn, zucchini and my favorite summer squash, scallop squash. Powdery mildew eventually hits them, but I get a good harvest anyway. I'll have to try the milk trick.
@@Honojane12 I wish that were all I had to worry about. My plants are nearly always wiped out by squash borers. Squash beetles are annoying but have never done more than minor damage. Squash borers devastate.
You are such a joy to listen to, and I appreciate all of your tips!
Thank you so much. :-)
The biggest issue I'm experiencing is blossom end rot. It would be great if you could cover how to avoid that problem in a future update.
Thanks for the suggestion Melissa. Blossom end rot is often caused by inconsistent watering, which means plants struggle to circulate nutrients properly, causing deficiency. Often what looks like blossom end rot in squashes, is simply a result of the fruit not having been properly pollinated. This causes it to rot at the end.
Perfect timing! I needed this!
Thankful for this video! Next yearâs harvest will be much better in dealing with squash borer! They were disparaged this year.
Milk solution also works well on Roses for Marsonia...black spot. Thank you so much for such interesting videos and info.
Thanks for the extra tip Gail.
I wish I'd had this video back in May. XP
You have, this year! đđ
Very educational and I love your passion for growing
Thanks for the tip of wrapping the vines in foil. I lost so many vines to borers this year.
I always do the crooknecks and this year I got a bumper crop with plenty to give away but mildew always gets them in the end. I tore them out and planted some new for fall in a different part of the garden. and 2 cucumber plants gave me more than I could give away!
First time growing squash for me here just outside of Toronto. Honey Baby butternut and so far I count about 14. Thanks for the tips Ben; you always have great advice and I love your enthusiasm đ
That's a good haul of squash - nice work Anne!
Thnk u!! I have struggled with both pests living in Kansas, US and ended up with powder mildew for first time too....
So many fabulous Tips! Canât wait until next season to use them! Butternut squash is a favorite here. Roasted and mixed with coconut milk and some spices, it makes a divine soup. Thank you!
Would you be willing to share the recipe? :)
Love all your video posts. Learn so many garden hacks and look forward to more. (Also, being from the moist Pacific NW I am so happy to see I am not the only one who gardens in the rain!
Yes, not ideal to film in the rain but I was off on vacation late that afternoon. Trust me to leave it to the last minute - it literally rained all day!
Growing Black Futsu (a staple of mine). 2 plants - 25 squash. I got some Yokohama Squash seeds for next year. Can't wait to give them a try.
Wonderful information, thank you!
Have been growing yellow and green courgettes and made some great courgette cakes. Am also growing two pumpkins, one is âBeckyâ and I currently have one perfect pumpkin on the vine. The other is âMammothâ and unsurprisingly it is taking over the garden!
Thank you for this video đđ»
Great video! I love butternut squash, putting my first two raised beds in soon and looking forward to tryingđ€đđ
Your garden look beautiful , growing a lot plant in the garden , thanks for sharing
Very helpful video! Thank you đđ
We planted a dark Zucchini, Alexandria summer Squash, Early Yellow Crookneck and a winter squash Green Kabocha. We are having the best squash year thus far. Now the zucchini has succumbed to disease (I did not wrap this year), the Alexandria looks great, the Crookneck is battling the bugs well. The fall Kabocha is wonderful. We have had about 40-50 summer squash so far. Our cucumbers lasted much longer also and we have had about 60 cucumbers but now it is done, almost to September which is a record. I did milk spray the cukes for a while. We have also used Neem oil spray to kill squash bug young with success. Also kills the eggs. But the adults half way killed.
Very good info and wish I'd done a little more research.. I'm in North America and having problems with everything you spoke about and whiteflies this year. Thanks for sharing!
Iâm growing butternut squash for the first time and my one plant has lots of fruit! Thanks for the tips - I was worried how to take the way care of them.
Like always..... super informative . Wish I could have a garden like yours, beautiful ,peaceful and yumi one âșâș
My garden is very far from perfect, but I still enjoy all the pottering and time outside. It's most important to just enjoy your garden, which I'm sure you do.
Thank you so muchâŠ.Central Florida, USA
I love delicata squash, and this year we are growing a variety of delicata called, Candystick. I can't wait to try it this fall. It is a winter squash with a skin that it thin enough that you can eat it if you like. Thanks for the squash growing tips!
Iâm growing this for the first time this summer. We love it!
Iâm in northeast USA and the squash bugs and vine borers have been out of control this year! I took 50-100 eggs off my plants every single day, and I only have 5 squash plants! At least Iâve found an easy way to do it⊠duct tape! Press the tape against the leaf or stem where the eggs are and the eggs come right off. Fold up the tape and discard. Also, when checking the squash plants I wear sleeves and gloves as those leaves are prickly and easily scratch and irritate the skin.
Really fab tips there Lynn - thanks for sharing.
Iâve grown Butternut squash âHerculesâ this year, first time Iâve tried. I might add Iâm not a gardener I just like gardening. Iâve planted two plants in two big 30l plastic buckets. Iâm in Norfolk UK. They have produced a few fruit. Some have just dropped off when quite small, however some are looking healthy and are hanging on. Iâve counted 5 squashes each about 8â long so far and itâs only mid August. Keeping the pots moist is quite a challenge, they are thirsty plants! I feed them once a week with tomato feed. Hereâs hoping. I donât quite know when to harvest them. Iâm just going to wait and see, unless someone tells me otherwise. Great videos. Thank you.
Harvest when the skin is hard, dull beige in color and the stem is brown. There should be no green in the skin.
the little ones that drop off are ones that weren't pollinated.
What a coincidence, I'm also growing butternut squash for the first time this year! I'm from Kansas. I planted mine beneath a tree that is dying and in an area with plenty of pollinators and whatnot so they're growing quite well. My only problem is that they've expanded so crazily that it's hard to tend to them - the foliage is everywhere.
If you like gardening, you are a gardener :) I'm having the same problem with the tiny, baby squash turning yellow and dying off. I've had a few healthy butternuts grow but I'm losing a lot of babies. Not sure if it's a pollination problem or something else.
Fantastic video blog! I have 2 types- straight neck and butternut, both provide so much delicious fruit. Very important to erect support structures because they vine rather vigorously. Thanks for the tips and tricks.
You're very welcome, thanks for watching.
I grew honey butternut and WOW! The flavour was amazing in a soup!
I am growing acorn and kobocha squash in Montana where the growing season is quite short and it is sometimes difficult to get the fruit ripe. I have been told that the appearance of the squash does not necessarily indicate when it is ready to pick. It takes time to develop adequate flesh with a good taste and the best indicator is to determine when the fruit sets; i.e. when the female plant is pollinated which I do with a small paint brush. the fruit is ready to pick about 50-55 days. I noticed the fruit sets over a period of a few weeks so that gives me an idea when they will be ready if the temperature cooperates. This is true for all varieties of winter squash. This from research and work at Johnny's Seed company.
Great advice, thanks for sharing this Pete.
Grey Ghost is a personal favorite. They have a phenomenal shelf - life. In fact I am still eating last fall's harvest. Greetings from Canada.
It's great to find a variety that stores so well like that.
lucky me I live in mid south USA Tennessee. The vine borer gets me every time. The netting does not always work, the vine borer will tunnel in the ground and sleep there all winter and surprise you next spring. I found one they are quite big. This time I am using freshly bought soil and then netting, that should work. I am not going to let some little bugs beat me. :) Another fine video. Thank you This year I will be growing, Tatume, Cucuzza, several kinds of zucchini (round, long green and yellow) Tromboncino, Red Kuri, Luffa (harvested early they taste a bit like zucchini, left late the are sponges, and are not bothered by vine borer, very prolific)
Wow - they seem determined blighters! Hope you manage a borer free season this summer.
Growing climbing miniature butternut squash up a cattle panel arch here in NW Missouri. We do get vine borers, so they have been wrapped in tulle up about 4 feet. They are just starting to turn color!
So pleased they're starting to ripen up for you Cheryl.
Very glad to have seen this, but I'll have to use the tips next year as it's too late for most of my squash. Our biggest issue are the vine borers. I'll try the row cover AND foil next year!!
We have a vine borer problem. So much so that those techniques donât work for me. They lay eggs all down the vine and even got to my sunflowers this year. I love butternut squash, but the borers here do too. Iâm not sure where you are located, but Iâm in eastern Virginia, US. Next year Iâm going to see if I can come up with an enclosure for my squashes that I can keep on all year and see if that works. If not, Iâm resorting to flame thrower, haha. Good luck!
Butternut squash, pumpkin, courgettes.
Butternut squash store fine in a cool area. Pumpkin and courgette go in the freezer.
I've had a few squash rot that are on the ground! It's been a hard year for growing them!
I have planted butter nut squash 1st time in the greenhouse. Now going to transfer in the pot outside. Keep finger cross hope will get some fruit later.
Fingers crossed for you Jyotsna.
Really great information here. Though my summer varieties never fruited this year, my Waltham Butternut squash is growing great and looking like I will be able to have lots of butternut squash soup this winter.
Butternut squash soup is super-tasty!
First time planting squash.... First 4 weeks beautiful growth until all the pests moved in. Vine borer, inch worm and powdery mildew. Next year I better be prepared.
Butternut & Uchi Kuri are my must grow winter squashes. This year Iâm also growing Crown Prince as a trial to see if I like their taste
Crown Prince are absolutely delicious - I think you'll love them!
This year I only grew "crooked neck squash", cuz I couldn't find any zucchini plants in May/June in my area of the country. I didn't count on having such prolific plants. I have a ton of squash coming at me & 2 tons of tomatoes. I LOVE to garden đ and yes it's a lot of work but it's worth it. I just need to find a bunch of good recipes for using squash. It's beautiful & I don't want it to go to waste. Enjoy all the yummy produce coming from your gardens. It's all worth the effort you put into it.
Google "squash recipes ". I have about 100 or so squash recipes, both sweet and savory. Unfortunately, my squash have stalled in the draught, blooming and healthy, but not producing đȘ I've gotten 2 zucchini out of 6 plants and 1 crook neck squash ("prolific ") out of 6 plants and cucumber vines are under 12 inches, with no fruits. So frustrating and disappointing so near the end of the growing season đȘ
You can always slice, blanch and freeze excess squash. My first year was super productive (before squash bugs found us). We froze a lot and enjoyed for a couple of seasons afterwards when we didn't get any because of pests.
Thank you so much for the video. Now, I will burry the exposed stem with dirt for extra protection from đ đ
I grow seminole pumpkin which is a native to the US type. These will keep a year nicely. I just throw out last years stock to my chickens. This year's is coming in now.
I've got sugar pie pumpkin, two types of acorn, and two types of butter nut....and some mini pumpkins for my daughter's.....and they are completely taking over my garden. Fingers crossed for a decent harvest this fall!
All the rampant growth bodes well for a good harvest!
I shred my crooked neck and zucchini and freeze and use it for soups, pasta sauces, they just melt and be un noticed but add nutrient dense goodness to just about any meal
What a great idea. :-)
I'm growing 4 kinds of squashes this year. In containers & vertically for the first time, they've been getting irregular waterings and now all have very pale green leaves. I think my butternut squash stopped taking up water/nutrients for a few weeks and it's suffering from saturated roots- it has the black-edged leaves and the fruit is deforming. I may stick to just 1 variety next year.
Iâve got a blue Hubbard from almost a year ago. No rot no mold. Planning on campfire roasting it this fall.
That will be a delicious way to enjoy it - yum!
I'm growing butternut. I love the flavor and it stores very well
It does store fantastically doesn't it. :-)
I was tucking a handful of hay under each butternut squash, not Iâll look for a tile or something similar. Itâs still getting more moist than Iâd like with the hay
Thank you for your videos. very helpful. This year, I will try to can sugar pumpkins - just like jams. First baked them, then pureed, added apple and spices and some sugar over stovetop and poured into disinfected jars and let them cool very slowly (over 2 days). Not sure if this will work, but if so, I have super easy soup or pie base ready all winter. Fingers crossed.
Fingers crossed for you, it seems like a great idea.
We've had rain here in the mountains of western NC almost every day! Been pouring 2", 3" and 5" out of the gauge way too often. We got two consecutive no-rain days this week, a record for months. So yeah, we got powdery mildew! Grew a lot of squash. My favorite is Trombetta Di Albenga, an amazing climbing, Italian summer squash that produces long neck fruits that are dry and sweet, never watery or mushy. One squash is a meal. Still producing from a July transplanting. Second favorite, Clarimore, a Middle Eastern, pale green Zucchini that shares qualities with the previous. Yellow Crockneck is the old southern standard that I've eaten since childhood, grown it for 42 years. Black Beauty and Golden were the Zucchini choices also.
Then I went wild with winter squash. From Row 7, a delicious, super sweet, tiny butternut bred from Honey Nut that is only called 898, from Cornel University trials. Robin's Koginut is a cross between a Kobacha and a Butternut. Transplanted them out in early June and they've matured, bypassed disease and insects for most of their life. I Also grew: Honey Nut, Honey Boat Delicata, Candy Stick Delicata, Sweet Dumpling. Tetra, also from Row 7, is a Delicata bred for edible stems, flowers, immature fruit and winter squash. I blew it and didn't keep it separate to experiment so it'll just be a winter squash.
For heirlooms I grew Dutch Fork, a local Cherokee variety, and North Georgia Candy Roaster. I also grew Lady Godiva, a naked seeded pumpkin. Watermelons, canteloups and cucumbers also.
Just transplanted out my last blast of summer squash, yellow Crockneck and Black beauty. Started them inside because of the rain. Seeded out the 40 days to maturity Ortolana di Faenza a few days ago also.
Only one Golden Zuke, a couple of YCN and the Trombetta are still producing from my first plantings. The giant winter squash that went out late July have powdery mildew but they're still throwing out fruit and growing vigorously. The plants that went out late June aren't very productive and will only mature a few fruit each. And, as I said, the early June plantings prospered.
BTW, I can quarts of summer squash with basil, oregano and over abundant herbs and blend it creamy to add to canned tomatoes for a low acid pasta sauce in the winter. Great for soup base also. So easy to pressure can.
Wow - want aren't you growing! What a fantastic list of squash delights! I love the tip of a squash sauce - a nice alternative/addition to tomato sauces.
I grow Crown Prince squash. They have a great texture and taste and store very well. I used my last one from last year just this week. This means it stored from October to August.
That is incredible!
First year I've tried growing marrows. Plants took off vigorously but then contracted powdery mildew, despite regular watering. It happened so quickly too. The marrows we've been able to harvest (woodlice appear to thrive on them in our garden, attacking the young fruits very early on) have been delicious. Picking up more and more knowledge this year, so next year I'll hope to do better.
Gardening is very much a journey - we're always learning!
5:33 I had one particularly disorganized autumn/winter a few years back. By May the following year, I stumbled across a pumpkin in my bedroom closet. No idea how it got there but it was perfect and unspoiled.
Oh wow! đź
First time trying butternut squash this year. I've got 5 growing at about a foot tall so far (a bit late in sewing) going to get them all into a bigger pot with a tripod of cane for them to climb and a gauze sheet for protection. In Scotland but it's been 25 degrees this week so hopefully they'll be ok once outside đđ
Think they should do fine in this weather Andy. Hope you get a good crop. :-)
I am growing 5 variety of pumpkins, zucchini, butternut squash this year. For the first time ever, I planted birdhouse gourds. They are huge and so adorable! Garden is producing great.
I see some sqash bugs now amongst my pumpkinsđ€šđ€šđ€š. Vines died because of a lack of water getting to them. I'm ready to be done with over 100 degree weather.
I hope the weather cools down for you soon. We seem to be getting an early autumn over here in the UK!
Arkansas USA, we have a lot of (bug) problems, this year I am using Cedar chips to deter the wretched bugs!, along with lining the stems of my squash with aluminun foil.
How I wish I could see this video three months ago so that I won't have so many rotted pumpkins. đżThank you!
One zucchini goes for almost two dollars USD here in the Southeastern USA because it takes so much labor to grow any at all.
Trombocino squash are brilliant. The seeds are concentrated in the bulb at the end & the neck is just the flesh. They also can be stored all the way through to March.
Thanks for the recommendation Caroline.
I grew zucchini this year. The plants did great at the beginning of the summer and I got about 10 gorgeous fruits! Then the squash vine borers hit... and that was the end of that. I'm too inexperienced to know how I could have saved my plants. I'm also a little hesitant to try zucchini again next year. I practice square foot gardening in a raised bed so if I do try zucchini again next year, I'm either going to plant them in a different part of my raised bed, give them their own space or treat my entire raised bed with diatomaceous earth before next spring. But this video helps a lot!
Glad the video was of use. Good luck for next growing season!
I'm playing around & see if I can get a second harvest of Sugar Pie Pumpkins, they should be ready by Thanksgiving or 15 of Dec. Next year I'm trying Lakota Squash & Boston Marrow Squash
I have yellow star fruit squashes - they seem to be prolific again this year. Uses - soup with harissa paste is one recipe, decorating the church at Harvest time is another use - other recipes would be grand! Thanks for explaining how to harvest - never thought of the T shape before
Some great uses for your yellow star fruit squashes there Debbie, thanks for sharing.
Winter squash does beautifully here in NE Georgia, at the foot of the Appalachias. We do fight squash bugs and now marmorated stink bugs, it worth the effort. I still have a few butternut, spaghetti and Cherokee Tan pumpkins (an amazing native American cultivar) from August 2019 in our basement! The North Georgia Candy Roaster is amazing but not as long on the shelf given its huge size.
Summer squash does well too, and our season is long enough we can start late to avoid some of the pests. Favorites are bennings green tint (pattypan), lemon, and ronde de nice. Our plants were beautiful and full of fruit when I pruned some leaves for airflow and space, but this may have been an error as they quickly looked diseased when rainfall picked up :( any advice on that? I did 4 plants in a 1.5 meter square box and they were flowing over all sides.
Love the tip about using a tile under larger fruits especially and will try the milk solution next time I am faced with powdery mildew!
A lovely variety of plants there! Generally, if the leaves are green and healthy I would leave them be. They are the powerhouse behind the plant, helping to swell the fruits to maturity. Your planting density sounds fine, particularly as they are growing over the sides too.
This year it's Uchiki Kuri and Zucchini. I'd do anything for more room to grow big pumpkins!
Lots of problems with our squash this year. How about a video on who pollinates squash and how to attract ( needs of pollinators). Also, slow growth this year?? Heat, sun? I dunno???
You're in luck: we already produced a video on just this topic here: â@â Hope that helps! (If the link doesn't work, just search for GrowVeg Hand Pollinating Squash and you should get it)
the bees have all but disappeared around here. I've seen some other insects trying to pick up the slack
I had the same problem here in Tennessee. I watched and followed video but still no fruit so no clue what happened this year.
The stink bugs and the borers are so bad in our area (SEastern US). Wrapping the stems with foil and keeping them covered until they bloom has made a huge difference.
That's great to hear. We don't have these pests in the UK, so it's great to hear that these techniques really do work.
Thankyou for the useful tips, it is my first year of growing Squash; butternut and Cheeky Prince which is a hybrid. Initially I got lots of fruit growing but over the past month the babies have been rotting once they get to golfball size, I think it is because it has been so cool and wet in North Yorkshire...
It likely means they're not being pollinated. You could perhaps try hand pollinating them instead?
@@choose47 Thankyou for the suggestion, I will give it a go...
The cooler, wetter weather we've been having recently will certainly affect fruit production. They can be a lot less predictable in these conditions, and there will be fewer pollinators on the wing to pollinate.
Here in Cape Town we have something called pumpkin fly and it destroys the fruit. I'm prepping for my war with them this summer
Hope you win the war!
You can pickle it, steam it, stir fry it, fry it, grill it, stuff it and make squash casserole.
Most of the time, when I grill, I use half squash and half zucchini. So this recipe works for both.
To GRILL it, Do not use lighter fluid or charcoal that has lighter fluid in it. Get a Webber chimney and start your charcoal with it from now on, this will take the taste of your food to another level.
Set your grill up for indirect cooking. I use a disposable aluminum pan on the side with no coals, to coat the squash in and keep it warm.
In your pan add some butter and garlic. You want enough butter, to baste the squash while your cooking it and keeping it warm.
You have to slice the squash lengthwise and you want the slices to be 3/8" or 10 mm thick. I use tongs to turn it.
Coat your squash with the garlic butter and put it over the coals, I season with Cavender's Greek Seasoning. Baste often, but do not start a fire with too much butter. I like to grill mine to a darker golden brown, the more caramelization, the more flavor.
Baste it again when you take it off the fire and put it in your pan to keep warm.
To Southern Fry, Slice the squash across so that you have round slices 1/8" or 3 mm. In a bowl mix 1 egg and 1 cup or 236 ml of milk. In a bow mix 1/2 cup or 118ml of flower and corn meal.
In a skillet pour in enough oil of your preference so that the squash rounds will just barely float and heat to medium or deep fry at 350f or 176c.
Fry to golden brown and add a touch of salt as soon as you take it off the heat.
Strain off the oil the best you can and place on a plate with paper towels to soak up excess oil.
Mmmmm... this sounds extravagantly delicious. I'm going to have to try this in the summer, thank you!
I'll be growing pumpkin and butternut this year.. I think I will skip soft squash this time around
Well, I covered a bare patch of garden with home made compost. I now have a staggeringly vigorous pumpkin and squash patch with at least 30 healthy squash all from discarded squash innards I guess. Well worth trying...
You do get a lot of volunteer seedlings that way. Will be worth seeing how it all goes.
Vine borers are my arch nemesis
I am growing my favourite, sweet dumpling. First time growing it but ate it all last winter. In my opinion, it is much tastier than other squashes. Plus it is scalloped so pretty when cut and small, good for individual portions or 2 people so nothing gets wasted. Mine are growing over an arch and I have 3 that are a good size and getting some colour. More are still being created. How will I store them? Not sure. I think squash like warmer conditions than other root cellar produce so gotta figure that out. What a great topic for another video! I'm in Toronto, Canada.
My understanding is they like it cool but not cold in storage. But a root cellar should be fine if there aren't other options available to you.
@@GrowVeg Great, good to know! Thanks.
This is so incredibly helpful and I really appreciate it. Our squash, butternut waltham, Looks very very dry but The leaves are yellowing. I think we are watering it too much. Opinion? Northern New England
It can be quite hard to overwater them. Check the soil - dig a finger down an inch or so deep and if it's moist, hold off watering until it's dry. Sometimes the leaves can be a bit yellow after planting while the plants find their feet and settle in. Keep the soil moist and hopefully things should pick up.
My Spaghetti squash was doing amazing Got about 6 Large squashes in 3 months but now the plant is looking horrible brown, dry and powdery . I am in SoCal and will give that milk solution a try.
If you have a full blown infection, milk will retard the spread, but wont knock it back. Use potassium bicarbonate; a cousin to baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) Baking soda will also hamper the spread but won't kill it off. For that you need the potassium bicarbonate
My butternut squash problems consist of rabbits and squirrels
We have a couple of beautiful butternuts on the vine here in suburban Pittsburgh! For the life of me I cannot get zucchini or summer squash to grow here. It's so sad! They have big beautiful plants that never fruit or the fruit rots when it's pinky size (and then the vine borers set in and destroy the beautiful plants. Sigh!) I'm going to try neem oil next summer as it worked this summer for keeping the japanese beetles off the rest of the garden, but I only started using it after the zucchini were doomed.
That's a big shame Susan. I hope next summer brings better luck with the zucchini and summer squash.
We managed to ward off the squash bugs early in the season but it looks like the vine borers have moved in recently here in central Virginia. It's been a losing battle for me over the past few years but I love winter squash and I'm determined to keep trying.
We also have problems with Vine borers where I live. I have had great luck with squash in the moschata family. Their Vines are resistant to the borers. I really like the squash sold by row 7 seed company. Google them for more info. I've got a great harvest coming in this year for the first time. My favorite is their center cut squash because it is both a good summer squash and winter squash based on when you harvest it.
@@EmInMI80 I do grow a couple varieties of moschata but they aren't my favorite, which I why I keep trying others. My butternut are actually looking good so far. I need to get better at employing some of the tactics to ward them off -- row cover, aluminum foil around the stems, etc.
Hi! I'm Dutch. I will be trying your milksolution on my holyhocks next year. Thank you! Any effective tips for slugs and snails? I have given up on anything related to squash, cucumber and sunflowers, because the slimeys always eat the flowers or the young plants. đ„
Goedendag! The best way to avoid slug problems is to start your squash and other susceptible plants off away from the garden - in a greenhouse, on the patio or wherever. Then only plant them out once they are a bit bigger and able to fend for themselves a bit better. I find slug traps filled with beer to help. The slugs are attracted to the beer and you can dispose of them every now and then. Some of these tips may also help: czcams.com/video/KQh7mX1tWHw/video.html
I thought zucchini was the weed of the vegetable world and would feed my NH neighborhood. I had just 1 fruit out of 4 plants. I had bright yellow flowers until the vine borer destroyed each plant. I will try your tips next summer.
Hi Donna. My zucchini were somewhat disappointing this year too - and I can't even blame the vine borers!
Thank you for the great video. Could butternut squash be grown up a trellis with the sling supports?
Yes, absolutely.
My zucchini had two fatal problems this year: First, it sprawled everywhere and made enormous leaves, but very few fruits. And the fruits that it did produce were munched by squirrels before they could reach anywhere near harvestable size! Squirrels also get my tomatoes, cantaloupe, and even spaghetti squash - they bite into everything and ruin it!
That's a huge nuisance. I guess the only way to prevent that would be to grow them in some sort of cage to keep them off.
The rodents this year have been ridiculous! (I'm in Canada.) The mice have eaten several of my white acorn squash as well as cucumbers that were hanging from a trellis! LOL I don't even want to talk about the chipmunks.......
Question: I grew birdhouse gourds for the first time this year. I have many quite large gourds growing. The trellis fell over in a recent wind storm and now Iâm worried they will all rot on the ground. Is it ok to just go ahead and cut them off the vine (late Aug in Vermont, USA) and start curing them or are they unlikely to be fully developed enough?
I suspect they may still have a little way to go. If you can, leave them on the plant if it's still growing okay. Perhaps support the gourds on slates/tiles to keep them off the ground. You can then harvest them in another month or so.
Would love to share an image of our Cucuzza squash trellis but don't know where to attach it! Its a prolific fruiting vine that makes a great point of interest in our therapeutic Garden of Hope at Good Samaritan Hospital (Suffern, NY)
I've looked them up online. They are stunners aren't they!
Seminole pumpkin is totally out of control. It never got cold enough last winter to kill it back and now it is like a weed. Nothing stops it. But for yellow squash and other summer squashes our biggest problem are pickle worms.
Pickle worms have been bad for us too. Hardly a squash picked that hasn't been sampled first! We just cut out those sections for the chickens - they love squash (and the odd pickle worm!)
This video is great, but to late for me. My zucchinis already died đ. I am in Alabama, USA, and seem to have all the pests and diseases. I will try the aluminium foil and milk next year.
Thank you
I hope this helps for next year.
Patty pans are my favourite, Iâve just put some seed to sprout. I harvest them small, no need to peel, just chopped up and fried in butter. Iâve heard that adding crushed eggshell can boost calcium for strong growth?
You could add crushed eggshell for this reason, yes. But usually there's enough calcium and any lack of calcium is usually down to irregular watering. :-)