Delicate squash question.
I have several volunteer plants if Delicata squash.
Many small squash start then whe. The are finger size wilt and rot away.
I thought it was from stress to the plant by bumping them when watering etc....
Then the weather cooled off and I got several that were getting large...one of which was almost full size and growing rapidly.
It is about 2 inches in diameter and 5 inches long then tapers to a point.
This morning I notice the point end is shriveled so I picked it.
Any ideas why these are having troubles?
This particular plant is in a pot set in a raised bed and I am letting it grow over and out of the pot.
Is the rot accompanied by a black patch at the blossom end of the fruit? If so, it might be Blossom End Rot, which is caused by calcium deficiency, the same as in tomatoes.
There are other diseases that can cause the fruit to rot on the vine, but they usually show in the leaves first. Are the leaves big and green and healthy?
It’s also possible that the plant decided that these fruits weren’t pollinated well enough for its liking, so it self-aborted them. But my gut instinct is that this is unlikely in your case. Most likely, your squash just need more calcium.
I had that prob as a kid with my yellow squash. I put newspaper under the little ones to keep em off the dirt.
I eventually gave up and only grew zucchini. Tougher skin.
I only grow cukes now because of wild turkeys
Most likely the problem is Blossom End Rot. It is a Calcium deficiency.
Because you’re growing it in a pot, (hopefully with DRAINAGE _ if not, you’ve got other problems) nutrients are washed away with every watering, so it’s not getting what it needs to set healthy fruit.
Check a seed pack to see how much longer you have in your growing timeline to see if this is even worth your effort. If it is still enough time to get mature fruit, then start watering your potted squash with a few tablespoons of milk in the watering can when you water (each day? 2x a day when hot?) and see if that helps with the blossom end rot.
If you can find liquid bone meal (that can be mixed with water) you can use that, too.