Need help with yellow crooked neck squash

Hi all,
I planted 6 squash plants early about Easter, and my squash is not right....The yellow ones start growing like gourds, hard and bumpy and just get worse as they get big....Even at 3 inches they are that way....Does my plant need something??? They were Bonnies starter plants from Walmart or Lowes....And my green zuccini gets about 6 to eight inches but the skin is pretty hard too....Can anyone explain what I or the plants are doing wrong?
Please help...I am ready to pull them out and start with new seed from scratch.
Thanks
Gail

my mother is having the same problem said she has never seen the like.I am looking forward to the answer to your question too.

1. The old Yellow Crookneck is just naturally warty. It has to grow fast and you have to pick it two three days after the bloom closes ( 3-5 inches depending on your soil). It grows a big bush, so if your bush is small, fertility is holding the squash small. Nothing you can do this year, but amend the soil next year.

2. I don't remember what Bonnie is selling for Zucchini this year, but the same criteria applies. Apparently your plants are stunted from lack of fertility or lack of water. Amending the soil is the best fix. The long type zukes, whatever the cultivar, should be tender to 6-8 inches.

Edited to add: Sometimes these stores keep plants too long and they are stunted in thier pots. If a squash plant has grown true leaves, it will most likely be a POOR transplant.

This message was edited Jun 4, 2007 6:59 PM

Thanks for helping me understand....I do water them and give them fertilizer, but I will improve the soil next year....I will never buy veggie plants again....only from seed from now on.

Thanks alot.

Gail

Actually, those plants normally transplanted, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collards do fine with purchased plants. They are rarely direct seeded and starting your own in planting trays, pots can be time consuming for some folks. Does give you more control over cultivars and reduces the risk of introducing diseases. In general tho, those veggies that do well direct seeded should be planted that way.

please help ihave yellow crooked neck squash and it starts to grow than it start to like dehydrate itself and the large part sinks in what to do?

If you talking about the fruit itself, it sounds like lack of pollination. Squash are insect pollinated, and if insects (primarily bees) are absent you will have to resort to hand pollination.

hogue06- Farmerdill is exactly right. I have no bees in my area, and had to hand pollinate. It works real well with yellow crookneck. If you only have one plant like I have, you have to wait until a male and female both open the same morning. Next season I'm planting 6 plants because I only get one squash about every 2 to 3 weeks. Not even close to enough!!!!!

My squash aren't doing very good this year either. I have 6 plants of each: straight squash, crooked neck squash and zuchini squash. They have flowers every morning but no fruit yet. How do you polinate them? I also have the same problems with tomatoes and peppers. I have not seen any bees of any kind in my garden this year. We have been mowing the property around the garden about 6 acres and have left all the rest of the property unmowed. There are wild flowers in the unmowed area and as of yet I haven't checked to see if the bees are there or not. Could it be that the bees are staying in the wild flowers?

Pepper and tomatoes are self fertile. don't need insects. The squash do. But you need female and male flowers open at the same time. Ther are lots of techniques discussed on the internet as well as in these forums, but basicly you just transfer pollen from the male flower to the female.