Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: 1066 on August 25, 2010, 14:54:02
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Help!
Went to the plot today and found that 2 of my squash have gone all manky. A queensland Blue and a Rouge Vif D'Etamps. Each plant has 3 squash on them, and about 10 days ago I pinched the growing tips off them as I didn't want the plant to waste any energy on growing. Anyway today (haven't been to the plot for 2 days) I found 1 each on the plants. They were nearly full grown. What has happened? And are the rest of the squash going to be ok, or should I pick them now?
Thanks
1066 :'(
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oh my god, i am frightened to pop in to the lottie as i do not want to find mine like this, how awful, i wonder how it happened :(
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I know what you mean - it's gruesome viewing :'( :'( :'(
The rest seem ok at the moment.......... :-\
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What a pity 1066 - can you salvage any bits of them for soup? Hope the others survive!
Tricia
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Probably not Tricia. I tried to pick mine up and it squished all over the place. Hoping that the rest of my stuff is okay.
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I am so sorry to see this..it looks like fusarium rot, I truthfully never saw it when I was in the UK
There are several very similar rots and it almost impossible to actually define which one it is.
It is a similar pathogen to blight that we get in potatoes and toms,it affects the plant in similar ways but, it is not the same pathogen so this will not affect your spuds etc.
Look up fusarium rot,(not wilt) and black rot on the net.There are many strains and variations.
You need to carefully get rid of them, don't put them in your compost, most rots like this stay in the soil and they stay on the seeds, so if you are keeping any seeds from amy of your stock this year I would wash them well in a 10% bleach and water mixture and also do this on ant fruit you keep.
again, I am so very sorry.
XX Jeannine
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thanks Jeannine, someone else had sent me a link to Black Rot, and it certainly looks like it.
Insert your expletive of choice here ............................................
Can I save any of the other squash this year?
these were the links I was sent, will look up Fusarium rot as well
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Cucurbit_FrtRots.htm
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Cucurbit_GSBlight.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_5896103_treat-powdery-mildew-squash-plants.html
1066 :'( :'( :'(
Just looked up Fusarium rot - and that's not happy reading either! "There are no resistant varieties available and there are no effective fungicides. "
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A couple of our sunshine were like that yesterday. I just put it down to the heavy rain we have had lately. I am going to pick the others tomorrow and leave them on a sunny windowsill and hope for the best
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Oh Shirl, I hope it hasn't affected yours too!! Hopefully it is something else.
I'm going to pick mine later today
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Oh no this is awful!! It has been very wet, hasn't it? Maybe that makes it more likely. I do hope you have better luck next year :( :(
Start planning next year's varieties to cheer yourselves up? (you probably have already!)
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I've been trying to read up on what to do, and am confused as I have absolutely no experience of this.
With blight, I've managed to cut things down and still got a crop of spuds and toms, but with this what do I do?
Yesterday I went in the pouring rain and picked a few of the small varieties - blue ballet, blue kuri, potimarron, and have brought them home. I can't get to the plot today.
Do I have to pull them all up?
Can I leave some on their vines to try and ripen, or will I make the situation worse, not just for me, but other plot holders?
Or could I just pull the ones that had the infection up and hope the others are ok?
Will the ones I pick be able to be stored? - from me reading the answer is a no.....
Some help and hand holding need here folks!
And Pigeon - yes I have been trying to cheer myself up, not really succeeded so far. I just keep telling myself, they are only squash, not very precious varieties, my income doesn't depend on it etc etc. BUT!
1066 :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
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I was speechless when I first saw your photos :o dreadful!
I know they're only vegetables, but this winter squash adventure is such a long-haul with so many highs and lows and care invested in them that this kind of result is bound to get you down.
Hope you can save some.
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Oh me too! It looks like we'll be eating a lot of under ripe squash!!
As PigeonSeed mentioned I wonder about the weather - we had practically no rain for 2 months, and decent temps, and mid august onwards, cooler temps and a lot of rain. I wonder if this is part of the problem?
It is such a bummer - my garlic and my pumpkins are 2 of the main reasons I have an allotment.
As to plan b's and c's, yes I'm working on those. Will have to seriously pay attention to crop rotation over the cominng years. At present, it's fairly rough and ready - with separating out the main groups, but it looks like I'll have to add the cucurbits into the equation - and my cucumbers, this year on the plot (after trying them for several years in the garden) are great :-X :'(
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Watch them carefully, the foliage may or may not be involved, check the stem carefully. Also check the fruit . turn it over, it can start by looking like a dimple or small sunken area, it takes a while to get bad. If you see what I describe pull that one, bring it home. cut out the bad bit and use the rest, they will not store and can be a stinking mess quite quickly.
Re your neighbours, if you have it, it is there pulling all your stuff up will not help them.
Check everyday,, this is the best thing to do now.
XX Jeannine
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thanks Jeannine - needed a bit of reassurance! So vigilance it is
1066 - slightly happier but not overjoyed!
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I've got a squishy one too and then I tried to lift a couple (just a little) to put tiles underneath and they broke off at the top - I'll have to eat them soon (shame - one was a great big blue banana and I really like storing them for winter food).
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sorry to hear that Gwynleg, I have some Blue Banana to try next year, it's meant to be lovely. Any ideas as to why it was squishy (dreadful technical term but it was the only description I could muster!!)
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We brought home 5 sunshine and another one that is supposed to be a hubbard. All safe and sound. Just the load of butternuts and the bfg that Betty gave me for a bon bon to harvest now.
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good to hear you managed to rescue some of yours Shirl :)
Been up to the plot today, and pulled the plants up from the smallies (potimarron, blue ballet, blue kuri etc) and checked on the rest. What's peeing me off is that there are some lovely looking ones, Sucrine de Berry, and Muscade de provence, Rouge Vif D'Etamps, which I haven't grown before, and so far are nowhere near ripe. So I'll just have to hope some of them make it
1066 "Fingers crossed emoticon"
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Hi everyone, Ive got similar problems with my pattypan & butternuts :'(
Literally 3 days ago all was ok I had a great crop of unripe squash & today many are shrivelled, brown & squishy. I have cut some that look ok off & will try to ripen the butternuts on the windowsill. I will make soup with the unripe pattypans BUT I just wanted to double check that it is ok to eat the fruit that arent squishy?
This year had been a disaster for my winter crops, all my turnips, swede, beetroot came ready so very early despite successional sowings they all came ready together, sigh ::) I dont know if any of my winter squash will store well.
My sweetcorn have recently been blown over in awful storms....my winter cabbage are huge so will have to be eaten sooner than expected....what a wierd growing year this has been :-\
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Crystalmoon - what a year! And what a shame about the squash (and the rest)!
From what I've read the ok ones will be find to eat, but I'm certainly not an expert on this. The advice seems to be keep checking them and use at the 1st signs of anything nasty.
I'm starting to think about contacting one of the hort colleges or research centres in the uk to ask about this. Does anyone have any suggestions?
1066 - "no more new squishy squash as yet but still has her fingers crossed emoticon"
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I've got a couple of tiddlers with that exact same look now too, only from the Queensland Blue, none of the rest affected and just two very small, late quashes which I'd seen going a bit yellow and thought they'd drop off by themselves.
Maybe, it's not as serious as we think if now, three people have it. Is it possible they're were just not viable and the sudden cold nights and wet made them rot quickly.
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I wonder if you have a point there EarlyPea, it has been so wet after a very dry 2 months, and the temps have been low. I did wonder if it is in the seeds itself, but the Queensland seeds were from a packet that I got last year, and had no probs. Do you think yours are just rotting off then?
1066 "It's a mystery to me emoticon"
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Do you think yours are just rotting off then?
They looked marginally end-blossomy when I saw them last Friday and then when I went again on Monday they looked just like yours - brown patches, beginning to dent. I could take a photo if you like, they're under some stuff for burning.
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Yes maybe a photo would help.
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I had a very informative pm about my squishy squash and the poster raised some interesting points, that I thought I could share with you folk
Firstly it could be gummy stem blight, which comes in on the seeds but probably more likely to have been blown in from elsewhere.
And that this problem is now an issue for UK growers
the possible answers are to wash the squash (while still on the vines) with a weak solution of bleach, pretty much like what is recommended for squash that you have picked for storage. The bleach may kill any of the spores off.
And that if this is Gummy stem Blight then it has a marked tendency to infect squash through the cut stem or abscission layer located where the fruit meets the stem - so important when trying o store them
1066 - "a bit confused as to what I should do, but will give most things a try emoticon"
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OK, now you've got me in a whole new panic :-\ (I'm sure you're the same)
The gummy stem blight does look likely having googled some photos; I had noticed a leaf that looks like that and was wondering what it was because it doesn't look like mildew or dying off. I can't see myself going down there washing them with bleach regularly enough, and there's a lot of dew now.
This is a quote from Jeannine
You can eat winter squash whenever you like really but..... they will be like courgettes. For true winter squash flavour and the ability to store them,leave them on the vine till it withers,unless frost or mildew start in which case pull them then. When you gather them in they need to be cured,outside in the sun is best but if not possible do it in a warm room, once you can no longer make a mark with your fingernail in the rind they are cured.
I'd misread that and I've been waiting until I can't make a mark with my fingernail while they are still on the vine and actually my nails are as tough as screwdrivers and I reckon I could chisel through anything with them.
My Queensland Blue look as near as d**n it ready, turning colour ever so slightly, but my nails can make a dent. Do I bring them in??????? Is there another test? The stems are corky, is that enough?
Help!
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I have a favourite quote, it came from Peanuts, Charlie Brown says "don't panic PICNIC" :D
Anyway - I've been googling images of GSB and some of mine had the black stems, I need to go and check on the leaves and what is happening there.
as to another test - the stem is a good indication - and corky would be a good way of describing them. But as you know I'm no expert, so we'll have to wait for some extra advice
1066 "still confused emoticon"
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Blimey, you don't need this do you?
I wish Jeannine was nearby I'm sure she could hav a look and tell you. But maybe after all this research, you'll be our local squash disease expert
Dr Squash! :)
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Well, I made the executive decision to panic a bit, picnic a bit 8)
It's not just this disease, but it's getting very dank where my QZ Blues chose to grow - not up their allotted trellis, but on the ground by a bin and shaded by the shed and a mud wall.
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Dr Squash! :)
in the absence of experts, the clinic is now open - kind of think I look good in a white coat with a stethoscope for accessorising ;D
1066 "with a stethoscope emoticon"