Tonight I had to research zucchini wilt... not so fun. I hope I can catch it in time so the rest of my plants don't suffer the same fate. I noticed I do have quite a few good size zucchini but once I got up-close-and-personal with my plants I saw one that did not look right. It looks deflated, which is common from my Internet-research, and squishy. So I picked it off and threw it in the woods. Looks like my zucchini will be a little more work than I thought, but I love them so it will be worth it!
You can see the bottom zucchini on the plant looks like it is bent in half, this little one is my problem.
You can see the bottom zucchini on the plant looks like it is bent in half, this little one is my problem.
Zucchini wilt can be caused by a few different things. Here is what I found and the solutions. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do... maybe try them all?!
Issue 1: Lack of Calcium.
Solution = Add 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt to 1 gallon of water, pour over plants. Repeat once per month.
Issue 2: Fungus (usually from too much water.)
Solution = Carefully remove flower from plant once healthy. If there is fungus on the young plant, carefully remove.
Issue 3: Larvae or squash borers. (in stem)
Solution 1 = Dig out larvae and bury the stem-end.
Solution 2 = Use rotenone pyrethrin dust under the vines.
Solution 3 = Place foil under the vines to confuse the moths, use shaving cream on the vines to prevent borers from laying eggs on the stems.
Issue 4: Lack of pollination
Solution: Unsure, already have the mason bee house up...
For more tips check out the forums I found with the best info:
2 comments:
I've gotten into the habit of hand-pollinating my zucchini and squash plants. It really increases the veggies you'll harvest.
Blossoms are open only for a day, and morning is the best time to pollinate. You need to learn the difference between what the male flower looks like and the female. It's very easy, once you know. The female flower has a bulb-like formation under the flower while the male doesn't. Inside the female stamen is more like a wrinkly cushion while the male stamen is more, well, penis-like. I use a q-tip to dab around the stamen to collect the pollen, then dab it around the female stamen. It's very easy.
Wow, that sounds like the way to do it. I was gone over the past 3 days and was sad to find out I lost 6 little zucchini. I'm hoping to still have some flowers on Saturday so I can try this out. I planted late but we've been having amazing August weather. Thank you so much for the tip!
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