Help! My zukes are shrinking!!

Queen Lucy 7/14/2010, 6:24 pm

What did I do wrong?? I have lovely zucchini and crook neck squash plants that FINALLY bloomed (yeah for a week of sunshine in the PNW!!), and there are little baby zukes/squash growing. However, when they get about 3 inches long, they shrivel up and then fall off.

Did I do something wrong? Do zukes and squash grow okay in a SFG?

Lucy

Chopper 7/14/2010, 7:03 pm

From what I understand this is normal. The first couple often do not get pollinated and they die. To insure pollination, get a paint brush and take pollen from the male flower and put it in the female flower (the one with the fruit). I had the same thing happen with all of my squashes. I now have fruit growing on each one.

If we had to work hard like row gardeners we all would have been too busy to notice the first couple of failures.

Megan 7/14/2010, 7:13 pm

That happened to me, too -- pollination issues, I think -- but now I'm having another issue. Do/can squash get blossom end rot? Because that is what it looks like. Except I have some completely healthy looking fruit on the same plant???

**Josh** 7/14/2010, 7:57 pm

Mine grew like that at first too,then I also would have some swivel up and die even though I was getting healthy big ones,then they all started growing and I didn't have any more problems with any dieing.

Queen Lucy 7/14/2010, 8:01 pm

Megan--

Apparently zukes can get end blossom rot! Read about it here:

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/problems/squash-blossom-end-rot-causes-and-treatment.htm

Lucy

Megan 7/14/2010, 8:08 pm

Thanks Queen Lucy... time for me to get another spray bottle!

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