Failed Squash - How about 'taters

11 years ago

I have never had much luck with squashes in Florida. I put 2 hills of summer squash and 2 of winter squash in the bed where I last planted the Party sweet potatoes. The sweets did great and I'm still eating on them. The squash came up great, but not for long. The winter squash leaves started looking peaked and every fruit that formed shriveled, turned brown, and dropped off. Lots of blossoms on the summer squash, but never a squash... not even a little bitty one.

I have given up and pulled the plants. The roots look like the picture. Is this root knot? Can I get away with putting potatoes in the bed?

This is a 2 year old 4X4 raised bed. I put 2 bags of black Cow in it after the sweet potatoes.

Larry

Comments (3)

bamboo_rabbit
11 years ago
I don't like winter squash so don't grow them. We do like summer squash but we mostly just eat the blossoms and very small female fruit while it still has the flower attached.

If you attached a picture it isn't showing up but if you think it is root knot it probably is as the condition is hard to confuse with something else.

I know you are in Inverness also and while I have never had a nematode problem here the soil changes a lot just in the area of one small town like ours. I do mulch heavily with woodchips and manure and I think it is that that keeps the nematodes at bay. Do have neighbors that have problems with them but I never see even the slightest sign of them. I just tore my green peppers I planted this spring out. They were 5' tall and still producing peppers and the roots were perfect.

Instead of using that expensive Black Kow which is so so at best look on craigs list and go get some free horse manure? A couple of garbage cans full is not a lot to haul. I see places all the time offering it....heck one person pays people $20 a load to take it. While people may argue I will tell you right now you can plant in soil that is mulched 4" deep with the horse manure. If you do that constantly your nematode problem will go away. I would also suggest rabbit manure but these days people are charging for it and the horse manure is still free. Don't use fresh cow manure or fresh poultry manure though.
inulover (9A Inverness, Florida)
Original Author
11 years ago
Not sure what happened to the picture the first time.

Larry
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whgille
11 years ago
Larry - That looks very bad! Remember how I grow them in pots inside the raised bed? that works for me.

I don't remember if you met an experienced gardener that came to the party? Well, he has the most productive gardens that I have ever seen, he is all organic and grows to make a living so he cannot fail. His garden was raised most of it with free horse manure and everything went well. Till the last time that I saw him and he said all his garden was burnt out and he lost business, apparently the manure was contaminated with something like herbicides or pesticides of some kind, so we all have to be careful about our sources.
Nematodes are not active in the soil when it reaches certain cold temperature so I would think potatoes will do fine where you had the sweet potatoes. Mine are already planted where I had the sweets, I added a lot of hay there and if we get a freeze, they will get a blanket.

Silvia