During the summer and fall, a couple of my butternut squash
developed splits in the them,
Most of the splits were around the top near about 2" below the stem,
Other splits also happened vertically up and down the squash.

Most of the butternut squash did fine though.

What would have caused this ?

Thanks
Craig

Craig said:

During the summer and fall, a couple of my butternut squash
developed splits in the them,
Most of the splits were around the top near about 2" below the stem,
Other splits also happened vertically up and down the squash.

Most of the butternut squash did fine though.

What would have caused this ?

Could be the sun, most likely to occur if foliage has been lost to mildew,
exposing the fruit. Some varieties are more likely to crack than others.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

On Oct 25, 4:03*am, (Pat Kiewicz) wrote:
Craig said:



* During the summer and fall, a couple of my butternut squash
developed splits in the them,
* Most of the splits were around the top near about 2" below the stem,
*Other splits also happened vertically up and down the squash.

* Most of the butternut squash did fine though.

*What would have caused this ?Could be the sun, most likely to occur if foliage has been lost to mildew,
exposing the fruit. *Some varieties are more likely to crack than others.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Okay, that certainly makes sense here. As most of the leaves did
turn white, then yellow then gone.
Thankfully I did get quite a lot of squash.
And this is my first time ever growing winter squash.

What causes the white mildew on the leaves and next year how can I
stop it.

Thank You
Craig

Craig said:
What causes the white mildew on the leaves and next year how can I
stop it.

It's associated with:
cool, damp nights + heavy fruit load + other stresses (pests, nutritional).

You can slow it down, but I'm pretty much convinced you can't stop it.
Eventually the vines become senescent and succumb. *Early*
outbreaks are the ones that hurt fruit yeild and quality.

Too much nitrogen makes it worse. Adding potash and micronutrients
helps. (Seaweed spray is good.)

The best 'cure' (if the powdery mildew is consistantly early and
rampant in your garden) is to use a combination of baking soda and
oil spray.

See: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/bakingsoda.html

(My neighbor's squash begins to show signs of powdery mildew weeks
before mine eventually does.)

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)