Late thinning ?

markqz 9/14/2019, 7:53 pm

I planted more squash-type plants per square than Mel originally suggests. Partially because I didn't expect them to all grow and partially because I was worried about fertilization. Now I'm considering doing a late (30 day) "thinning." Obviously I wouldn't pull them out of the soil, but cut out the extra vines near the root.

Or should I? What's the downside of leaving them in? Thinning might help the other plants get more sun light. On the other hand, the other plants mostly like cooler temperatures, so the squash are providing a bit of shade. Or is it about how much fertilizer is in the soil?

Thanks!

**sanderson** 9/16/2019, 2:09 am

Summer squash or vining winter squash? Vining winter squash 1 per 1 or 2 squares grown on a trellis. Summer squash, 1 per 4 squares or even 9 squares. May I encourage you to let this garden be an experiment and don't worry too much. I found the first year was the greatest learning curve and I've been building on it every since. For late thinning, yes, cutting is the best way to remove a plant without disturbing the roots of the keeper plant. Very Happy

markqz 9/17/2019, 11:35 am

sanderson wrote:Summer squash or vining winter squash? Vining winter squash 1 per 1 or 2 squares grown on a trellis. Summer squash, 1 per 4 squares or even 9 squares. May I encourage you to let this garden be an experiment and don't worry too much. I found the first year was the greatest learning curve and I've been building on it every since. For late thinning, yes, cutting is the best way to remove a plant without disturbing the roots of the keeper plant.

So I've pretty much packed the court, as it were. Well, I sort of went with the seeds I had, rather than delaying longer, expecting that most of them wouldn't grow anyway. But between the temperatures and Mel's mix ... they almost all grew.

After some research, I'm taking an in-between path, trimming the leaves of the summer squash where they are interfering with other plants. Online sources indicate that this might lead to smaller fruit, but in the case of zucchini this might not be all bad.

Thanks!

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Late thinning ?

Late thinning ?

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