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So my zucchini plants are not doing so well...I'm thinking of pulling them up and planting something else. They did produce for a little while but now they look terrible. A few questions.
I'm not sure what happened to the zucchini, they may have had powdery mildew...everything else in the garden looks great though. Should I be worried about planting in that part of the bed in case of disease?
Also, what could I plant mid July? Anything I plant would be from seed so the plants wouldn't mature til the end of the summer moving into fall. Is it too early and hot to plant for fall?
If I could find a few zucchini plants this late in the season should I give it another try? I do love zucchini. A friend is giving zukes to every man, woman, and child who walk through her door since she has so many, I'm a little envious. Maybe I should forget the plants and just visit her often:)
Thanks for any advice.
dont worry about finding plants, just sow the seeds. they germinate real fast. you have plenty time for another crop of zukes, cukes, yellow summer squash
Hi, Ivytwine! I'm sort of a beginner, so you can take my advice with a grain of salt if you wish! This is only my second year growing zucchini, and I do love it because it produces so abundantly; however, it seems difficult to keep it healthy for a long growing season. Between the powdery mildew, the squash bugs, and squash vine borers, there's a lot to get them down. If you did, in fact, have powdery mildew (which I am battling with my plants right now), I think the best thing to do would be to make sure there is nothing left of the old plants lying around. If I have all my facts right, it is a fungus and can spread easily (but not to all hosts, just particular plants). Then, if you decide to plant again, take some precautionary measures to keep the mildew from growing in the first place. I think the milk & water solution works pretty well as a preventative measure, but nothing seems to work really well once it gets started! :) There seems to be some disagreement on the appropriate concentration. Some people say 10%, others say up to 50%. Here's one site to get you started, if you wish to go that direction: [HYPERLINK@www.gardenguides.com]
Here's an additional site devoted to the other nemeses, the squash bug and squash vine borer:
[HYPERLINK@www.ca.uky.edu]
The best thing to do for squash bugs is simply to "squash" them. Check a couple of times a week for the presence of eggs under the leaves and destroy any adults you see!
Hope this helps a little. Happy gardening!!!
I'm putting in half a dozen squash tommorow. Last year mildew wiped out the crop by mid July and, while that hasn't happened to the plants already producing I don't want to chance it.
Never know for sure but I credit Chlorothalonil
with preventing powderly mildew from having its way this year.
Last year I used baking soda. While it knocked mildew back on zinnias, sodium bicarbonate was too late to save the squash and eventually lost out to mildew on the Zinnias. Have to be careful using it too, too much will burn the plants. Read potassium bicarbonate is just as effective, is milder and better for the soil (potassium vs sodium) but haven't tried it.
Two years ago I started out squashing the squash bugs using a paper towel. Hee, hee, hee. I got over that quickly and now have no qualms just squashing them. Easier to catch if you splash water on the leaves. The bugs come right up to the top to be squashed!
Hi, Karen. I'm with you! Last year I was so timid about catching them and disposing of them. Not this year! I've seen what they can do if you don't keep their population in check. We had them hatching out everywhere. Disgusting! This year, it's grab and stomp! :)
Hope all goes great with your second crop, Ivytwine. Let us know how it goes!
I pulled the zucchini, tilled in some compost, and sowed more zucchini and lemon cukes in the row. I'm so excited...they're already an inch tall with a second set of leaves (true leaves?). Thanks for all the advice. Now I'm thinking towards fall and what I should plant next:)
Very exciting, Ivytwine! Isn't it amazing how excited we can get watching stuff pop out of the dirt?! :) I love it. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to think that despite all my efforts, something has gotten to my zucchini. Either that or they've just decided they've given all they could give this year! So...I, too, am thinking about pulling them out soon and starting something for fall. However, I've never done any late summer or fall planting before. Any ideas???
Best to you and your new crop of zucchini and cukes!
'lily'
One reason to pull the infested squash is there might be borers lurking in the stem that you haven't caught, that could come to maturity and overwinter for next year.
For fall planting: green peas, anything in the cabbage family, spinach, lettuce, carrots
