Original Blog Entry: Container garden [the squash plants]

JAP69 — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 03:01:27 GMT

While I was on the patio deck cleaning this that from the shelf rack I was looking at the squash plants. They were dying and did not look to healthy so I went over and took a look at them. The stems were split open near the potting mix level. So I yanked all of them out.

I also had them staked to grow more vertically which probably was not a good idea.

I reseeded four containers. Two with zucchini and two with the yellow butters. While I was at it I put a smaller chimney in each container about eight inches in diameter that went on the inside of the larger chimney which is about twelve inches in diameter. With a small chimney inside a larger chimney should give added support for the squash leaves to rest on. I had the smaller chimneys on hand from previous plantings which were done for the year.

I just read this article which says you can bank your soil around the squash up to the first leaf level for added support. Now when the plants come up I will take a clean one gallon plastic milk container and cut the bottom out and cut it up further to have room for more potting mix to the first leaf level. The jug can be supported with the smaller chimney around the perimeter. Now I will add potting mix around the plant as it grows to the first leaf level.

I should have enough time left for them to produce squash before cold weather. Takes about 45 days after germination to flower. That should be around October first. Does not get that cold until about sometime in November.

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Why Did My Squash Stems Split and Die?

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/did-squash-stems-split-die-105185.html

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