Rotten Zucchini?
Question:We planted a couple of zucchini plants this year and they have really taken off. The plants are huge and healthy looking but the baby zucc. Rot before they get much bigger then a few inches long. And they are rotting from the inside out. We opened a few looking for a bug or beetle or something but found nothing. Any ideas?
Answers:
Usually only the first ones get rotten. Try not to water them in excess.
kdhj
blossom end rot. you can get some spray to stop it
Try making a little "hammock" for the zucs. What you do is, use some stakes or trelis, and place the babies in a net (panty hose will be perfect), supported at the top but ensuring that it gets ventilation. Hang it like a little hammock, make it look like those hobo sticks in cartoons. It may help
If it is blossom end rot, it will start at the blossom end... the end NOT connected to the stem... and spread down the fruit. You can prevent it in all vegetables by using calcium in the soil when planting. I save eggshells and powder them in my food processor and put about a teaspoon in each planting hole. I haven't had blossom end rot since I started this. You can also lime the soil for squash plants -- I don't want to do this for tomatoes since they like acid soil but zucchini likes "sweet" soil, and limestone will do it good.
The prior comments on keeping water from sitting and giving plants room so they don't stay wet are good info too. You might want to water early in the day as opposed to evening.
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