Topic: A bit sudden, surely?

[tim]

.

[saddad]

They can go over very quickly at this time of year...  :'(

[Deb P]

I've been taking off the affected leaves for some time now Tim....the plants are still flowering, but the yield is slowly reducing. Happens every year as soon as the weather cools....the wet summer hasn't helped :-\

[CharlyPickle]

this has happened to my courgette plants - what is it? also could it affect my squash plant nearby?

[tim]

Strange year - never had them go like that in a few days.

[saddad]

Powdery Mildew Charly... yes the squash will get it too... but they hold out a bit longer in my experience.  :-\

[Barnowl]

I've had three out of seven go like that since last weekend - in sunny London! We did have a couple of cold nights and the torrential rain.

Strongest performers have been Parthenon F1 (the most expensive seed, from POD) and Striato di Napoli (one of the cheapest, from SOI in 2006) and they are both still going well.  Tondo di Piacenza not doing too badly either.

Lungo Bianco has hardly produce a thing but Trompetta d'Albenga has been productive and great  fun. Seeds for both were courtesy of Digeroo who did say that only one or the other of them will do well in a given year.

[CharlyPickle]

oh dear, will my squashes be ok? i have 4 growing...is there anything i should do?
thanks  :)

[telboy]

Nah!
It's one of them fings innit/
Liv wiv it.

[chriscross1966]

Spray with 10 parts water, one part full-fat milk or 5-parts water 1 part semi-skimmed..... seems to get rid of powdery mildew.....
That said at this time of year those leaves are dying anyway.....

chrisc

[tim]

Yes!!

[Squash64]

It happened to mine too.  One day they were alright, over the next couple of days they got mildew.
My giant pumpkin is also affected..... :'(

[earlypea]

Do you all compost or burn when the squashes have gone this way?  Last year I burnt, but seems like a massive waste - stems aren't mouldy.  Could I compost those at least?

[Squash64]

Do you all compost or burn when the squashes have gone this way?  Last year I burnt, but seems like a massive waste - stems aren't mouldy.  Could I compost those at least?

I compost the whole plant, mildewy parts included.

[Digeroo]

My Trieste went first months ago.  Total waste of space.

Weather has been very dry so quite a lot of mine are producing good new growth and fruiting on the ends of the plants.

Trompetta d'Albenga has been productive and great  fun

Glad you like this Barnowl.  I have had loads of them.  They seem to particularly like it under the sweetcorn.  They last quite well, but not as long a butternut squash.  Seeds are up one end, so unlike butternut there is lots to eat before you hit the seeds.  I have had them growing right by some butternut, I am hoping for a cross pollination.  I would just love to get a butternut squash that was more productive and less fussy about the sun shine.  Both are Curcurbita Moschata.  

Much more likely to get a long thin thing with a very hard shell which is extremely fussy about the sun.

[Squash64]

Trompetta d'Albenga has been productive and great  fun

Glad you like this Barnowl.  I have had loads of them.  They seem to particularly like it under the sweetcorn.  They last quite well, but not as long a butternut squash.  Much more likely to get a long thin thing with a very hard shell which is extremely fussy about the sun.

I kept one from last year in my porch and only got rid of it a few weeks ago.
I grow them up canes and they have always done very well, and caused much amusement with other plotholders  ;)

[ceres]

Weather has been very dry so quite a lot of mine are producing good new growth and fruiting on the ends of the plants.

Interesting.  I thought I was going to have to pull my Custard White which last week had stopped fruiting and was on it's last legs from mildew.  This week it has sent out two long shoots which are green and healthy and have baby fruit on.

The Tondo di Tosacano is the same with one new green shoot with several fruit on.

[earlypea]

I compost the whole plant, mildewy parts included.

Thanks Betty  :)

You don't happen to have a photo of these growing up their canes, do you?  Might do that for a bit of fun...

[Squash64]

I compost the whole plant, mildewy parts included.

Thanks Betty  :)

You don't happen to have a photo of these growing up their canes, do you?  Might do that for a bit of fun...

Both of these were taken in 2005, which must have been a nice summer because everything grew well.
The fruit start off green and change to a lovely buff colour as they mature.

[chriscross1966]

Powdery Mildew Charly... yes the squash will get it too... but they hold out a bit longer in my experience.  :-\

On my plot it seems to vary from strain to strain.... Uchiki Kuri has pretty much succumbed, some of the courgettes are going great guns, the Waltham butternet seems happy, as do the Harriers, the unknown pumpkin is fairly afflicted despite spraying it a while ago, the Winter Festival is showing plenty of vigour but isn't as happy as the butternuts  ... I'd be more fussed but all of them have long since finished growing fruit (courgettes aside) and are just ripening off now.... apart from one of the hunters which put out a pair of female flowers a week or so ago.... if one of them sets and hold it can have a chance, will depend on the weather I guess, currently the fairly good conditions we're having look loike they're continuing for a few more days at least, but we're predicted a change next week, so I'm harvesting  today all barring the newly formed Hunters, they'll get some spare fleece.....

chrisc