Hi all,
I need some help with my gem squash please.
They are fruiting lovely, the fruit get to the size of a golf ball and then fall off.
There is no apparent reason why this could be happening. There are no bugs on the plant, the plants look really healthy. Could it be our climate seeing they are native to South africa? Sun, rain, sun rain....??
Speaking to another member of the forum growing them, he has the same problem as myself.
can anyone shed any light?
Hi Springbokgirlie.
I'm having exactly the same problem. Don't know what it is though (she says unhelpfully) as I'm a complete newbie to this allotment lark. Will be very interested to hear if anyone has any advice...
Hi,
I've seen this on my squash and pumpkins before, and think it is due to the female flower not being pollinated. The fruit grows a little and then drops off the plant. To avoid this you need to get out there and manually pollinate the flowers.
The female flowers have the small fruit behind them, the males are all flower. I think TeeGee has some really clear instructions on his website.
Are they inside or outside?
I have 6 squashes under cover and two outside. The inside ones are fine and the outside ones have one squash between them.
Thus the controlled trial shows that it must be the weather!
See my site for photos of the set up as well as on YouTube
http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_Vegetables_squash_butternut.html?1217914333906
Mine are outside. Just had a look at your video - your plot looks amazing! Something for me to aspire to, as I have only recently taken mine on.
Hi, it can actually be one of several reasons, usually it is due to improper pollination, the fruit appears to start to grow and then dies off, this is often with the earlier fruits in the season.
However it can also be due to too much water and in fact also to not enough..I ma talking real extremes her,,as in sodden or bone dry almost.
A third reason, often overlooked is that squash can get blossom end rot, just like tomatoes, look on the blossom end for dark patches, again it seems to right itself later in the season if you have the time for the next flush of fruits. This will not hurt the plant by the way and is often caused by over/under watering.
Nothing to do with being in the UK any more than any other squash.
Hope this helps .
XX Jeannine
Thanks Jeannine. That's really helpful. I've been and checked and can't see any signs of blossom end rot, and they haven't got really dry or soaked so don't think it's due to watering, I guess therefore pollination must be the issue.
Thanks everyone for your help!
xx
Quote from: Jeannine on August 05, 2008, 15:24:53
Hi, it can actually be one of several reasons, usually it is due to improper pollination, the fruit appears to start to grow and then dies off, this is often with the earlier fruits in the season.
However it can also be due to too much water and in fact also to not enough..I ma talking real extremes her,,as in sodden or bone dry almost.
A third reason, often overlooked is that squash can get blossom end rot, just like tomatoes, look on the blossom end for dark patches, again it seems to right itself later in the season if you have the time for the next flush of fruits. This will not hurt the plant by the way and is often caused by over/under watering.
thanks Jeannine
i was given the same advice today from Suzanne as i asked the same question
never stops amazing me this site as the amount of knowledge in one place thanks again
Nothing to do with being in the UK any more than any other squash.
Hope this helps .
XX Jeannine