I guess that's what it is since they rot on that end . Anyway , I
read that it's caused by a calcium deficiency . And since egg shells are
mostly calcium ... but I read that it's not in an easily absorbed form .
My wife has a bottle of calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets ... I'm
tempted to stuff one in the ground near the stem and see what happens .
I was looking forward to having some stuff from the garden when she gets
back from her trip (Alaska cruise with our daughter and her family - I
got enough sailing when I was in the Navy) but it looks pretty much like
that ain't happenin' . Lots of stuff getting started , damn little ready
to pick - except green onions , lots of those ready to pick .
--
Snag
"You can lead a dummy to facts
but you can't make him think."

Snag wrote:
> I guess that's what it is since they rot on that end . Anyway , I
> read that it's caused by a calcium deficiency . And since egg shells are
> mostly calcium ... but I read that it's not in an easily absorbed form .
> My wife has a bottle of calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets ... I'm
> tempted to stuff one in the ground near the stem and see what happens .
> I was looking forward to having some stuff from the garden when she gets
> back from her trip (Alaska cruise with our daughter and her family - I
> got enough sailing when I was in the Navy) but it looks pretty much like
> that ain't happenin' . Lots of stuff getting started , damn little ready
> to pick - except green onions , lots of those ready to pick .

are you sure it is BER and not just a failure to pollinate?

are you seeing any bees in the blossoms?

are there the two sexes visible and potential cross pollen
sources? for squash and other similar plants often there is
a better fruit set from having different varieties around.
selfing is usually not as good as crossing.

in the cucumber seed packages often there are a few seeds
of different varieties included just for this sort of purpose.

songbird

On 6/11/2023 6:37 PM, songbird wrote:
> Snag wrote:
>> I guess that's what it is since they rot on that end . Anyway , I
>> read that it's caused by a calcium deficiency . And since egg shells are
>> mostly calcium ... but I read that it's not in an easily absorbed form .
>> My wife has a bottle of calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets ... I'm
>> tempted to stuff one in the ground near the stem and see what happens .
>> I was looking forward to having some stuff from the garden when she gets
>> back from her trip (Alaska cruise with our daughter and her family - I
>> got enough sailing when I was in the Navy) but it looks pretty much like
>> that ain't happenin' . Lots of stuff getting started , damn little ready
>> to pick - except green onions , lots of those ready to pick .
>
> are you sure it is BER and not just a failure to pollinate?

Pretty sure , some earlier blossoms didn't get pollinated and they
just dropped off while very small

>
> are you seeing any bees in the blossoms?

There are 8 bee hives less than 20 feet from the plants ...

>
> are there the two sexes visible and potential cross pollen
> sources? for squash and other similar plants often there is
> a better fruit set from having different varieties around.
> selfing is usually not as good as crossing.
>
> in the cucumber seed packages often there are a few seeds
> of different varieties included just for this sort of purpose.
>
>
> songbird
>

There are blossoms of both sexes visible on all the squash family
plants in that space - pumpkin , yellow and acorn squash , and zucchini
.. And a watermelon plant , which has already set several melons .
Everybody but the yellow squash seems to be setting fruits successfully
.. A real head-scratcher .
--
Snag
"You can lead a dummy to facts
but you can't make him think."

On 6/11/23 15:32, Snag wrote:
>   I guess that's what it is since they rot on that end . Anyway , I
> read that it's caused by a calcium deficiency . And since egg shells are
> mostly calcium ... but I read that it's not in an easily absorbed form .
Hi Snag,
Our water is FULL of calcium. You can see a white power
after it dries.
I have experiences with "blossom rot" with standard sized
tomatoes. The other cause is that I don't water
the stinkers enough!
Also, full tomato plants need about 4 to 6 feet of
good soil under them. Or so I am told. I don't
think you need anywhere near that with a squash.
I have never had a successful full tomato crop.
Cherry tomatoes, on the other hand, I excel at!
Have you tried cutting off a male flower, removing
the pedals, and twirling the male parts inside the
female flowers (manual pollination)?
-T

On 6/19/2023 7:30 AM, T wrote:
> On 6/11/23 15:32, Snag wrote:
>>    I guess that's what it is since they rot on that end . Anyway , I
>> read that it's caused by a calcium deficiency . And since egg shells
>> are mostly calcium ... but I read that it's not in an easily absorbed
>> form .
>
> Hi Snag,
>
> Our water is FULL of calcium.  You can see a white power
> after it dries.
>
> I have experiences with "blossom rot" with standard sized
> tomatoes.  The other cause is that I don't water
> the stinkers enough!
>
> Also, full tomato plants need about 4 to 6 feet of
> good soil under them.  Or so I am told.  I don't
> think you need anywhere near that with a squash.
>
> I have never had a successful full tomato crop.
> Cherry tomatoes, on the other hand, I excel at!
>
> Have you tried cutting off a male flower, removing
> the pedals, and twirling the male parts inside the
> female flowers (manual pollination)?
>
> -T
>
>

I don't think it's a pollination problem , the bee hives are only
about 20 feet away and I see bees in the flowers . The fruits will get
4-5 inches long then start rotting from the blossom end . I stuck a
couple of the wife's calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets in the ground right
by the plant , we will see if that helps . I find it odd that the yellow
squash is the only one affected , there are also zucchini , acorn squash
, watermelon , and pumpkins in that same patch and they're not affected
at all .
Squash bugs on the other hand are trying to infest everything . I
smashed at least a few hundred eggs this morning , only found one leaf
that had baby bugs . They're dead now too ...
--
Snag
"You can lead a dummy to facts
but you can't make him think."

On 6/19/23 06:59, Snag wrote:
> On 6/19/2023 7:30 AM, T wrote:
>> On 6/11/23 15:32, Snag wrote:
>>>    I guess that's what it is since they rot on that end . Anyway , I
>>> read that it's caused by a calcium deficiency . And since egg shells
>>> are mostly calcium ... but I read that it's not in an easily absorbed
>>> form .
>>
>> Hi Snag,
>>
>> Our water is FULL of calcium.  You can see a white power
>> after it dries.
>>
>> I have experiences with "blossom rot" with standard sized
>> tomatoes.  The other cause is that I don't water
>> the stinkers enough!
>>
>> Also, full tomato plants need about 4 to 6 feet of
>> good soil under them.  Or so I am told.  I don't
>> think you need anywhere near that with a squash.
>>
>> I have never had a successful full tomato crop.
>> Cherry tomatoes, on the other hand, I excel at!
>>
>> Have you tried cutting off a male flower, removing
>> the pedals, and twirling the male parts inside the
>> female flowers (manual pollination)?
>>
>> -T
>>
>>
>
>   I don't think it's a pollination problem , the bee hives are only
> about 20 feet away and I see bees in the flowers . The fruits will get
> 4-5 inches long then start rotting from the blossom end . I stuck a
> couple of the wife's calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets in the ground right
> by the plant , we will see if that helps . I find it odd that the yellow
> squash is the only one affected , there are also zucchini , acorn squash
> , watermelon , and pumpkins in that same patch and they're not affected
> at all .
>   Squash bugs on the other hand are trying to infest everything . I
> smashed at least a few hundred eggs this morning , only found one leaf
> that had baby bugs . They're dead now too ...
Hi Snag,
In the heat of the day, my squash bugs like to
go down to the trunk by the ground where it is cooler.
I squirt dish soap at my zuke trunks at the ground.
Then I water. The squash bugs come lumbering up
through the soapy water. They are walking dead.
Death to squash bugs!
Death to Earwigs!
-T

On 6/19/2023 10:10 AM, T wrote:
> On 6/19/23 06:59, Snag wrote:
>> On 6/19/2023 7:30 AM, T wrote:
>>> On 6/11/23 15:32, Snag wrote:
>>>>    I guess that's what it is since they rot on that end . Anyway , I
>>>> read that it's caused by a calcium deficiency . And since egg shells
>>>> are mostly calcium ... but I read that it's not in an easily
>>>> absorbed form .
>>>
>>> Hi Snag,
>>>
>>> Our water is FULL of calcium.  You can see a white power
>>> after it dries.
>>>
>>> I have experiences with "blossom rot" with standard sized
>>> tomatoes.  The other cause is that I don't water
>>> the stinkers enough!
>>>
>>> Also, full tomato plants need about 4 to 6 feet of
>>> good soil under them.  Or so I am told.  I don't
>>> think you need anywhere near that with a squash.
>>>
>>> I have never had a successful full tomato crop.
>>> Cherry tomatoes, on the other hand, I excel at!
>>>
>>> Have you tried cutting off a male flower, removing
>>> the pedals, and twirling the male parts inside the
>>> female flowers (manual pollination)?
>>>
>>> -T
>>>
>>>
>>
>>    I don't think it's a pollination problem , the bee hives are only
>> about 20 feet away and I see bees in the flowers . The fruits will get
>> 4-5 inches long then start rotting from the blossom end . I stuck a
>> couple of the wife's calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets in the ground
>> right by the plant , we will see if that helps . I find it odd that
>> the yellow squash is the only one affected , there are also zucchini ,
>> acorn squash , watermelon , and pumpkins in that same patch and
>> they're not affected at all .
>>    Squash bugs on the other hand are trying to infest everything . I
>> smashed at least a few hundred eggs this morning , only found one leaf
>> that had baby bugs . They're dead now too ...
>
> Hi Snag,
>
> In the heat of the day, my squash bugs like to
> go down to the trunk by the ground where it is cooler.
>
> I squirt dish soap at my zuke trunks at the ground.
> Then I water.  The squash bugs come lumbering up
> through the soapy water.  They are walking dead.
>
> Death to squash bugs!
> Death to Earwigs!
>
> -T

I've never had an earwig problem . Japanese beetles ... I patrol the
bean row at least twice a day flicking the little SOB's into a container
of soapy water . The squash bugs can usually be controlled by smashing
their eggs . A fairly short window for them to breed , if you can get
all or at least most of the eggs before they hatch it's much less of a
problem later in summer . I'm just very limited on what I can/will use
as far as chemicals and other natural control methods . Around here BLM
means Bee Lives Matter !
--
Snag
"You can lead a dummy to facts
but you can't make him think."