23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Normally, the flower rotting is normal--it serves its purpose to pollinate the fruit and then rots and falls off.
If the fruit is rotting when the squash is still small, then as Peter says, it's because the fruit didn't get pollinated so it is dying.
What you have to do is, in the morning when the flower opens on the female (the fruit) pollinate it with pollen from an open male flower.
If you're getting rot when the squash is bigger, then I don't know what is going on.
Is there anything that will steal the entire berry? Last year every time I had one close to being ready to be picked, it was taken.
I'm trying to come up with a new plan of attack this year. I live in a rural area with woods on 3 sides, so lots of critters. I feel like every year I have to come up with a battle plan so I can actually enjoy my fruits and veggies.
I'm thinking this year I'll do some of those hanging strawberry bags on my deck, and then drape them with netting. For the last two years I have attempted to grow strawberries and have yet to enjoy one single berry because of the nasty little thieves who keep stealing them all :( I do not plant them to share with the wildlife. The strawberries are the only thing I can't seem to get any of. Everything leaves my blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries alone, and since switching to trellises, stopped losing so many cucumbers and squashes to bugs.
I buried my strawberry plants right in the ground and what I thought were harmless grubs turned out to be strawberry eating pests! I also made the mistake of letting plants grow around it and although I will take care of that ASAP, I need to know what plants are attracted the moisture all the plants are creating. Then I can finally take forth in ridding my delicious straw berries of pests. Can somebody please tell me what pests I have probably attracted, and what I can do about it? I would like to use an organic insecticide and mabey other insects that are of help. (Note: I already know I have, strawberry sap beetles, roily ploys and possibly strawberry weevils.)
If anyone can help me out please do!
Thanks!
I have more sunscald some years than others, depending on how the season goes. The smaller-fruited varieties seldom have this issue, but the big bells can run into problems. I think your shade cover is perfect. The only reason I use tulle is that it stays put in the wind better than other types of cloth or row cover.
Mama2Luvu- Was the blossom dried up and shriveled, yellow and open, or was it green and unopened? In any case, you'll know soon if it was pollinated or not. If it was, it will grow. If it wasn't, it will fall off. And a female blossom always has a little fruit behind it from the time the flower starts to grow (before it's pollinated).
Rodney
A few of my early ones looked like that. I origionly thought my daughter's bad watering while we were gone for 2 weeks was the culprit, but it also could have been bad pollination.
Either way, I've got one zuk and one crooknecked yellow that are producing like gangbusters! Nancy
Well first of all, 1.5 foot tall peppers are much too large to be transplanted, in my opinion. Bigger is not always better when it comes to transplants. The bigger the transplant, the more stress it undergoes when it's roots are disturbed. That's why they took a while to start growing and were having issues from the get go.
Second, the reason they continue to have issues is because of your watering. Peppers don't need watered 2-3 times a week, especially when they are mulched. You're probably drowning them. Deep, infrequent watering is best. Once a week should be sufficient. Check down a few inches in the soil and see if it's moist before watering. If it's moist, wait a day or two. If it's dry, water. If you correct your watering practices your peppers should survive.
5-6 hours of sun a day is less than optimum but it should be enough. And they might need some fertilizer.
Rodney
Edited to add link to the OP's tomato thread.
Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato plants' leaves curling. How much sunlight needed?
This post was edited by theforgottenone1013 on Thu, Jul 10, 14 at 22:56
Is it too late to start seed for brassicas for the fall?
I started cauliflower [two varieties to space it out] on June 21st and about 5 broccoli of two varieties. then i started the main fall broccoil on July 4th. I have 3 varieties to space it out some.
Figured Bt would work for any caterpillar. Have to see what the moth looks like - these are new up here. They aren't bothering the curly kale though I should just pull that now, that's the only brassica I'm growing. Think if I just pull all the kale and wait a few weeks I'll have them die out, or will it be just in time for the ones who have already matured (?) to lay eggs? I really hate to spray if I don't have to.
I also have bush beans but they are so limp and small! It has produced one bean but they are just so fragile looking I can't imagine it producing anything much!!
As for the fertilizer, I initially put in a fertilizer specific to vegetable gardens and followed package instructions with mixing fertilizer with my regular south florida soil! Hopefully it's not too much nitrogen for them! I'll post if it starts to produce any vegetables!!! Thanks for all the help everyone!
It's normal.
Rodney