super thirsty summer squash

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

I decided to try a little experiment this year with summer squash. First I purchased container-variety seeds (Buckingham Patio yellow squash), then I direct sowed them into 20 gallon GeoPot fabric containers with the same 5-1-1 mix I use for tomatoes/eggplants/peppers. The growth has just been phenomenal and the budding fruit is looking very healthy.

The only problem is if I fail to water the squash at least every other day (regardless of any rainfall), it droops pathetically. Below are photos of what the two containers looked like last night before I watered (heavily as I usually do for all 5-1-1 containers). This morning all the leaves were perky and it was business as usual. At the current pace of growth I should be able to harvest by this weekend.

In contrast, I only water my tomatoes/eggplant/peppers about every 4 days depending on how moist the mix feels when I stick my entire index finger into the container mix.

Any recommendations for next year to improve water retention? The 5-1-1 mix has been fantastic for growth but probably could use at least one more extra part of peat moss. Or maybe I just need to replace the GeoPots with cheap plastic 20 gallon containers to prevent water from draining out so quickly? What do you think?

Also could use advice for a short term solution. This watering schedule is preventing me from taking even a weekend getaway. I've tried drip irrigation in the past but it never worked out in my garden so I abandoned that approach last season.

By the way....the cages I put in the containers were probably not a good idea. The weight of some of the leaves is causing them to bend over the wiring resulting in me having to cut them off since they are permanently damaged. I've had to cut off quite a bit of leaves (daily pretty much) even though I've been trying to use tomato stem hooks as a preventative. I'm not so sure this experiment will last too much longer at this pace.

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Comments (4)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
11 years ago
Looking at the size and the amount of foliage you can almost see the water being transpired away. I read that 98% of the water the roots pickup is transpired away. I believe you are forced to keep watering, and do not think a more water retentive mix would be much help. Calistoga Al
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Original Author
11 years ago
Not really what I wanted to hear but thanks
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Pyewacket
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Personally I have found that the fabric pots are often problematic - they dry out a lot faster. Under some circumstances, that's a good thing. Like in Oregon where they get over 60" of rain per year (well, WESTERN Oregon, not around Bend and places like that). They might be a good thing in Florida as well.

But not in the dry arid High Sierras Desert, which is where I am for now.

How they perform in-between is going to be variable. But I wouldn't use a fabric pot for most garden veggies in most parts of the USA. It's not the draining - its the drying out along the sides. Drainage is good, you don't want to stop that.

Might be a good idea for lavender, rosemary, thyme, or other Mediterranean herbs if you've had trouble NOT overwatering them in a moister clime, though.

However you should be able to overcome the problem by watering more often.

Also 5-1-1 is too dry for my tastes for this purpose. Plus, I can't get decent bark anyway. Anyway, next time try a 3-1-1.

And yeah, the cages for bush squash were not a great idea. Remove them if you can.

BTW - you could cut down on the rapid drying out by wrapping plastic bags around the outside of those containers. I'd use white ones to keep the rootball cooler. The color may not matter that much if the rootball is already sufficiently shaded, but the thought of wrapping that in BLACK plastic does sort of make me cringe.
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Original Author
11 years ago

zensojourner......

I do have one of those plastic wrapping roll thingies (with a handle). Looks almost like a masking tape pet hair roller brush. Wondering if a few of wraps of this might be beneficial or will only create problems.

BTW, the 5-1-1 mix and the fabric pots are PERFECT for my tomatoes/eggplant/peppers. Like I said..... I water every 4 days and I never get droopy leaves on them. From last year's fruit production point of view I would grade the tomatoes an A, the eggplant a B minus, and the peppers a C minus. When I water them I literally just stick my shower head nozzle just above the surface of mix and crank on the water which makes a slurry of the mix. I then let it drain through and move on to the next plant. During heat waves I might make a second pass of each plant in the same manner. When I go away on week-long vacation, I'll have a relative water them halfway through my vacation. Only problem this year is that the squash requires a watering about every other day depending on the weather.