yellow squash blossom end rot .

[Snag]

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 .

[songbird]

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

[Snag]

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

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

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 .

[T]

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

[Snag]

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 ...

[T]

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

[Snag]

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 !