Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
daninthedirt

butternuts come back to life

I have a patch of butternut squash that, in the spring, produced a bountiful harvest in June. But in the fierce heat that followed (near 100F every day for weeks at a time), the well-mulched plants started to suffer, and didn't even bloom any more. I watered frequently, but the stems looked like they were crisp, brown, drying up and falling apart. The plants looked like they were simply dying. One or two did. I threw some mulch over the stems to see if that would encourage them. The weather cooled (it is now in the mid-80s), and the patch is now lush, healthy, with a bunch of new squash on the vines.

What happened??

I'm reluctant to blame it on SVBs. Butternut is not immune to SVBs, but it is pretty resistant, and I had canteloupe nearby that were doing pretty good. The SVBs would have gotten them as well. Never saw any obvious SVB damage.

I've seen this before, in previous years, but I just thought the plants were done. These were not. I'm going to get a lot more fruit. If the plants want to sulk a little during the heat and not flower, that's fine, but I'd like some reassurance if they're planning on perking back up.

Comments (7)