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Butternut squash

campbellcatriona1campbellcatriona1 Posts: 3
in Fruit & veg
Why are my immature squashes rotting on the vine?  Several very small ones have rotted and been removed asap. I have a good size one that has begun to rot, is it safe to eat the good part?

Posts

  • diggersjodiggersjo Posts: 172
    Poor weather conditions.
    Yorkshire, ex Italy and North East coast. Growing too old for it!
  • scrogginscroggin Posts: 437
    The smaller ones have probably not been pollinated so they will turn yellow and rot/fall off. If it's happened to a larger one then it's possibly been attacked by pests i.e slugs, snails, mice or rats, once damaged the fruit will rot. 
    To aid pollination you can do it by hand.
  • campbellcatriona1campbellcatriona1 Posts: 3
    Thanks for the info on unpollenated fruits.No visible damage to the large fruit that has started to rot
  • scrogginscroggin Posts: 437
    From the photo it looks like it might be a fungal infection. It might be because of the damp weather of late.
    It obviously won't store but the squash should be fine to eat , just cut out the affected bits.
  • diggersjodiggersjo Posts: 172
    Can't be sure, but that looks like a mould on it, probably due to damp conditions. If I was growing them here I would have an old plant pot under the fruit to keep it off the ground. If you cut the skin where it's dark hopefully it will be its normal nice orange colour. A shame if you can't use any of the skin as it's lovely in the JamieO recipe for roasted squash with chilli and sage.
    I assume the plants are still going? If so cut off any fruit that's been there a while and done nothing (not pollinated). We have loads of hover flies here now, so ongoing I don't think there will be a pollination problem. Personally I would stop the leading head on any that already have growing fruit now. I grew these in Italy for 10 years and often had crops of 20-30 and they kept until March/April when stored. Obviously not those with the problem the above shows.
    Yorkshire, ex Italy and North East coast. Growing too old for it!
  • pinutpinut Posts: 194
    Yes, it is safe to eat the good part - just cut and discard the rotted part.

    However, if you leave it too long, the taste of the flesh on the good part will change even though it may still look good.

    This advice applies to other unpollinated cucurbits too - they are edible and, provided that you catch them before the rot sets in, they are palatable too.
     
  • campbellcatriona1campbellcatriona1 Posts: 3
    Thanks all. We'll have it for tea. Yum I hope ) 😋
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They're great roasted @campbellcatriona1, which I'm sure you know  - and you can roast and freeze them too, for later in the year. Brilliant in home made soup  :)
    It just looks as if they've got damp - keeping them off the ground is the best solution to avoid any deterioration.  Hopefully you can avoid the problem in future, and enjoy plenty of sound crops  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Buttertnut Squash Risotto is tasty too.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Roasted butternut squash and red pepper soup … big batch made this morning. 😋 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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