I have a yellow squash that is putting out little squashes now. Some look good, a couple seem to have some blossom end rot, and a couple never grew and just got brown, possibly either never have been fertilized at all, or succombing to the rot.
Anyway, do I remove all but the good ones? I'm thinking 'yes' but then again, I thought -- well maybe the tiny ones just naturally fall away and I don't need to interfere, and maybe the ones with just a little brown on the end will still be good squash if I just avoid eating that end.
On the other hand, I've heard that with some veggies, it's good to pick a few very early ones to encourage more bountiful production.
So, pick or not?
And, getting back to the blossom end rot, I'm not *sure* that that's what it is, but it seems to be. I sometimes get BER on the very first tomatoes from a plant, and then the plant seems to adjust and the problem solves itself. But, if there is something I should be doing, please let me know. I think I recall that a little Epsom salt can help?
Thanks!
Squash questions on when to pick and blossom end rot
Lise, we pick baby squash for market all the time. Customers love them. They are great used whole, very sweet and tender without bitterness.
Check your squash for powdery mildew, sometimes the first sign is rot on baby fruit. A fungicide for PM should stop the rot and keep it from ruining your plants. Your choice whether to use organic or non (chlorothalonil is the best non organic available). Do not use sulphur or copper on squash, especially if you have used an oily spray (like neem), it will stunt them and possibly kill the plant.
Also check the blossom end of the ruined squash for pickle worms which burrow in from the blossom.
Thanks for your advice, Calalily. I'll go ahead and pick some. (Yay, squash for dinner and I'm excited to have something to pick!). Thanks for the info on powdery mildew - I'll research that more. Also thanks for the reminder not to mix sulphur with neem. If it's pickle worms, I'm guessing neem would be the way to go, though.
Pickle worms are so hard to get rid of. I've tried Bt and Spinosad without a lot of success. The best control was picking the flowers from the squash as soon as they would come free with a gentle tug.