Pumpkins again
 

I posted earlier about all my pumpkins and winter squashes rotting from
the inside and was informed it was a fungus. I have also read about this
problem in the newspaper where it was rampant in the mid-west this year.
We had to buy three pumpkins from the supermarket to replace mine and
they too have rotted from the inside.

My questions a Is it safe to put these rotten pumpkins in the compost
or should I discard them in the woods on my property? And what
precautions should I take for next year to prevent another occurrence?
Right now I'm thinking of not growing any next year to break the cycle.
Also, do the abundant squash bugs (not the vine borer) play a roll in
transmitting the fungus?

JAB

Pumpkins again
 

"jab" wrote in message ...
I posted earlier about all my pumpkins and winter squashes rotting from the
inside and was informed it was a fungus. I have also read about this
problem in the newspaper where it was rampant in the mid-west this year. We
had to buy three pumpkins from the supermarket to replace mine and they too
have rotted from the inside.

My questions a Is it safe to put these rotten pumpkins in the compost
or should I discard them in the woods on my property? And what precautions
should I take for next year to prevent another occurrence? Right now I'm
thinking of not growing any next year to break the cycle. Also, do the
abundant squash bugs (not the vine borer) play a roll in transmitting the
fungus?

JAB

When you spoke to your local cooperative extension, what did they say about
this? Since the fungus also affects commercial crops, someone must know the
specific type of fungus.

Pumpkins again
 

jab said:


My questions a Is it safe to put these rotten pumpkins in the compost
or should I discard them in the woods on my property?

Well, I had one buttercup squash rot in the garden and one carving
pumpkin rot before Halloween. The one in the garden went into the
township compost program (along with the frost-killed vines) and the
carver went into the first compost bin. Whatever remains of it next
spring will be added into a new compost batch, which should get
plenty hot. (I send the old squash vines away because they are so
long, tough and hard to chop up by hand. As I bring plenty of leaves
in from outside, it's no big loss.)

Any that rot in storage go out with the regular trash. And, in a typical
year, a few do.

And what
precautions should I take for next year to prevent another occurrence?
Right now I'm thinking of not growing any next year to break the cycle.
Also, do the abundant squash bugs (not the vine borer) play a roll in
transmitting the fungus?

Parts of the country (the Northeast in particular) were just hammered
with rain this year. Some areas had droughty conditions early in summer
followed by above normal rainfall in late summer. (Which is rather the
wrong way around for squash.)

If you have some way of arranging a good, hard, deep freeze this winter
and a more even distribution of rain next summer (especially, avoiding
heavy extended rain as the fruit is ripening), you might accomplish
something.

Otherwise, plant in rich, well drained soil, do your best to manage insects,
and cross your fingers.

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

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