Cobnut Squash infant mortality rates!

[Amybee]

Hi everyone

Could anyone help me with my butter nut squashes? They are the cobnut variety and seem like really nice big healthy plants. They are growing in large pots. Lots of little fruits appear to be forming but they are yellowish in colour and quickly go soft and brown and drop off. I feed the plants about once a week with tomato food and water them regularly. The compost in the pots seems quite compacted though. Anyone have any ideas why this could be?? I had one healthy fruit but it was eaten by a slug....

Why can't all plants be like sweetcorn?? Mine seems like even a nuclear bomb wouldn't kill it...!

[Shortie]

If tey are yellowing and dieing of quickly, it sounds to me like they are not getting pollenated properly. I always pollenate mine by hand to reduce this, other swear by not needing to. Why not give it a try on a couple and see if things improve...? You can sually tell in a couple of days after pollenating them if they're going to survive as they sudenly put on a 'swelling spurt'!

Good luck and let us know how you get on

[Amybee]

Thanks Shortie

The fruits are dying when very small and the flowers haven't opened yet. I have been pollinating my courgettes with lots of success. Any other ideas?

[bramble]

amybee, maybe you're overwatering them.

[BigstU]

Sounds to me like overwatering, allow the pot to dry a bit before watering again.

The compost will get compacted by watering, so try an loosen it up a bit.

[blackkitty]

I've had a look in my 'the expert' book and it says overwatering as well. It says to remove the withered fruit and to spray with foliage feed. Hope this helps.

[Amybee]

That's great thanks for the advice. I had got a bit overzealous given the sunny weather so will let them recover a bit. Thank you