growing butternut squash...

[Cheesypuff]

ok...so i've been growing my butternut squash for who knows how long...it's grown quite big, and flowers have bud (which means it should bring forth fruit soon!!!!). but NOOOOOOOOO....no fruit for me!

I DO see little fruit growing from the base of the flower, however after a couple a few days or weeks, the flower falls off, and the little fruit is rotting off...it's pissing me off...they're not growing to butternut squash!!! THEY KEEP ON DYING!!! and now...my leaves on the plant are starting to grow this white mold on there, so i've been pruning the leaves (or should i let them mold away and die?), but i was scared the mold would spread to the whole plant, which is why i pruned them. am i doing the right thing?!?! what am i doing wrong?!!? I WANT SQUASH DAMMIT!!! I want it before winter comes and freezes my plant dead!!!

[renovation]

we got them to grow one year and that was it in are garden here in michigan .but i to have had your same problems !

[attgig]

aren't the flowers edible?

[attgig]

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Growing-Vegetables-740/2008/7/butternut-squash-8.htm

sounds like you got a fungus growing in your plant!

[zenbooty]

My dad used to grow a bunch of the stuff every year. I'll ask him about tips next time I talk to him.

[Cheesypuff]

oh thx zen...i would gladly appreciate it.

[Cheesypuff]

oh shoot...i just read your link attgig. Thats exactly whats happening to my plant!!!! NOT COOL!!!! ARG!!! jf;klaje;jaf;jaljfla;jlfeja;flje i'm so mad!

That plant took me forever to grow...i need to figure out how to remedy this fungal problem!!! sniffsniff. Any suggestions on anti fungal stuff...i doubt I can remedy the problem before winter tho...I might have to bite the dust and wait to plant next season. sighhhh.....i named my plant bertha....and bertha is gonna die.

[attgig]

actually, just googled http://www.google.com/search?q=squash+blossom+drop&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a


from other links, it sounds like it MIGHT be other stuff... though your description of the mold on the leaves doesn't sound promising.

but make sure it's being polinated, and make sure it's not too muchw ater.

[Cheesypuff]

hrm...i'll try the pollination method...see if that works...i'll keep y'all updated =)

[Napoleon54]

When did you plant Bertha? Seems to me like it's well beyond squash season, at least here in the northeast. Squashes are usually picked a couple months ago.

[Cheesypuff]

i planted bertha back in early april...and still no little bertha babies.

i might have to call it quits this season...but next season...the day is mine!

[Napoleon54]

Wow, that sounds like about the right time to plant squash. Is she a big plant, did she grow well? If everything went right you should've had squashes a long time ago.

[Cheesypuff]

yah...about 3 months ago...she grew like i've never seen her grow before...HUGE leaves, big flowers...just no fruit.

[InfiniteNothing]

I hear you might be able to take care of a plant fungus with milk in a spray bottle.
http://www.google.com/search?q=plant+fungus+milk

[zenbooty]

When did you plant Bertha? Seems to me like it's well beyond squash season, at least here in the northeast. Squashes are usually picked a couple months ago.Butternut squash is a winter squash, and is planted and harvested later in the season than yellow squash, zuchini, etc. But Nov. is still pretty late. Early Oct. is generally harvesting season.

[Cheesypuff]

well...I took a q-tip and did some artificial plant sex with the male and female flowers. Hopefully that and the correct amount of watering will produce me some squash before it gets too cold.

[GraingerGuy]

artificial plant sex

Hmmm...something I never would have thought would be uttered anywhere...:)

[Cheesypuff]

hahahah...you like that?!?! i'm a foliage pr0n star!

[Napoleon54]

hahahah...you like that?!?! i'm a foliage pr0n star!
squash pimp!

[DarkFury]

hahahah...you like that?!?! i'm a foliage pr0n star!
Honestly, I'm just hoping that "white stuff" over there in the corner is just "Ranch Dressing" and not something else... :eek:

[Cheesypuff]

so after doing the artificial bow chicka bow wow with the male and female flowers...the flower still fell off and the fruit is dying from the top down again. sighhh....

not even artificial plant sex helped it produce a squash. I guess i'm gonna have to concede this season and take the loss. sighh...i was so looking forward to butternut squash too.

anybody recommend anything to plant right now?

[Cheesypuff]

well...a litte update on the plant...

everything is starting to grow mold on it, the stalk is getting skinny and brown...and things are dying. I fear this is the last month i see of my butternut squash plant that i've so dearly cared for for 9 whole months. sniffsniff...it's hard to see it go. This is my FIRST plant i've grown from a little seedling. next season I will have fruit!!!

[zenbooty]

9 months???

Where is this thing growing? In a plant pot or something? Nothing we've ever planted in the garden has taken that much time to raise and harvest.

[attgig]

sounds like it was mold all along.

[Cheesypuff]

yah...i first planted the seed around late feb early march...i first grew it in a pot, then i xfered it to the ground. Then i moved houses, and xfered the plant to the new location, it didn't like the move and almost died, but then i gave it plenty of TLC and it started growing again. so all in all, it took about 8-9 months to grow where it is today.

[Napoleon54]

did it have plenty of sun? sometimes plants will keep growing and growing and it looks like they're doing well, but they're really just trying to find sun. That's what happened to my tomatoes this year, tall and spindly, very few fruits.

[attgig]

digging this up, but just read this via lifehacker and totally got reminded of this post. why this post stuck around my head for so long, i have no clue...

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-...ticides-169168 (http://www.gotapex.com/l.php?r=276242/www-apartmenttherapy-com-how-to-make-natural-garde)

Baking Soda Spray

This spray is great for treating plants with fungal diseases. There is nothing quite as frustrating as discovering your plant has an unsightly case of mildew, a type of fungal disease. Suddenly your beautiful green cucumber and squash leaves are replaced by patches of grayish-white blotches.

1 tablespoon of baking soda
1/2 tablespoon of oil
2 quarts of warm water

Add baking soda and oil to a cup of warm water until it dissolves. Mix in the rest of the water. Before attempting to spray and treat your plant, remove the most severely damaged leaves first. Then spray your solution, repeating every few days until it disappears. This mixture is best made and used immediately.