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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: Squashfan on September 22, 2006, 15:12:12

Title: help! rotting squash stem
Post by: Squashfan on September 22, 2006, 15:12:12
Hi everybody,
Right, I have a problem. I have a galeuse d'esyines squash (kinda like a warty pumpkin) that is a very good size but was attacked by vine borers when it was growing and so its stem is rotting away. I have moved it indoors and keep cutting off the soft bits, and have wrapped the stem in polyroll, but I'm wondering - is there any way to a) stop the stem continuing to go mushy and b) something I can coat the stem with to draw out the moisture and thus keep the pumpkin itself from rotting before I can use it? Any advice helpful - otherwise it's going to be soup quickly!
Title: Re: help! rotting squash stem
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on September 22, 2006, 15:57:31
Cut the whole stem away, quick. If you're lucky you may get ahead of the rot. Otherwise, make pumpkin soup.
Title: Re: help! rotting squash stem
Post by: Squashfan on September 22, 2006, 16:51:14
Thanks Robert.  :D Going home to saw the rest off and then look up recipes...
Title: Re: help! rotting squash stem
Post by: Mrs Ava on September 22, 2006, 22:10:20
wow, I have never heard of this problem before.  Very interesting!  Tis a battlefield out there!
Title: Re: help! rotting squash stem
Post by: Squashfan on September 28, 2006, 17:00:30
Good news is it seems to have worked.  ;D The bit's now dry and I'm hoping it'll keep for awhile. Still, it's the first one to get made into soup, methinks.
Title: Re: help! rotting squash stem
Post by: saddad on September 28, 2006, 18:14:00
My veg spags are rotting back into the fruit, but that is a storage problem... OH will insist in using the Tumble Dryer in the shed and not venting it properly!!!
;D