hollow/woody squash.. what to do?
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hollow/woody squash.. what to do?
I've just started harvesting some of my squash, and I'm finding that some of them are hollow and woody. They aren't very big either, so it's happening early on. Does anyone know what would cause this, and how I can prevent it? I get really good ones from the same plant, and then those that aren't good.
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Hi Kerry,
Three possibilities come to mind. Poor pollination, dry soil or poor soil fertility. Since you are getting some that are good, I tend to think it's poor pollination. The male and female flowers don't always mature at the same time and that could be the problem, especially with the earlier fruit when there are less flowers.
Of course fruit left on the vine too long and become over ripe will be tough and woody with a bitter taste.
Newt
Three possibilities come to mind. Poor pollination, dry soil or poor soil fertility. Since you are getting some that are good, I tend to think it's poor pollination. The male and female flowers don't always mature at the same time and that could be the problem, especially with the earlier fruit when there are less flowers.
Of course fruit left on the vine too long and become over ripe will be tough and woody with a bitter taste.
Newt
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Thank you! I wasn't sure if it was something that I could change or not. I had this problem last year too. There really isn't a way to pollinate them better, is there?
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Kerri, you are so very welcome! You sure can hand pollinate. Here you go.
http://www.pollinator.com/squash.htm
Newt
http://www.pollinator.com/squash.htm
Newt