I have read that it takes a lot of calcium to support the cell structure of such a fast growing vegetable and the young plant sometimes does not have enough leaf and roots to support the first few. I'm not a plant expert, either. I enjoy your videos and your book immensely. We are just getting started with selling produce. Up until now, we've just done broilers, eggs, turkeys and rabbits. Keep up the good work!
For summer squash I grow Black Beauty zucchini, Golden zucchini, yellow crookneck, and white bush scallop. The Golden zucchini is usually only half as productive, but I like it. I'll probably grow some Sunburst scallop squash like you have there; I like the white just for a contrast in colors. For winter squash I grow Table Queen acorn, Waltham butternut, Spaghetti, Jack-O-Lantern and Baby Bear pumpkins. The butternut is ridiculously productive. I'll grow luffas too, but as a gourd; I don't particularly like it as a young edible squash (or since it's in the cucumber family I guess it's technically a melon?).
the "bad" zucchini deveolping first haven't been pollinated. There are male flowers and female flowers on a plant, and if there's no open male flower to pollinate the female, the zucchini will not develop properly and eventually rot away. It's also possible that the small amount of flowers early in the season don't attract pollinators enough.
Thanks for the info. Someone gave me a pattypan squash plant and I have grown giant squashes. I figured I better learn what they are, and now I know they are fabulously overripe.
In Florida you have to use netting to control those bugs and its still a battle. Use lots of BT but get the powder BT if poasible. I like growing golden zucchini and spaghetti squash but I too just do not have enough space to grow very many plants. I have been experimenting with going vertical. Curtis have you thought about doing more things vertical since space is so limited on your farm?
I am just starting a project of Patty Pan pumpkins in Mexico in a backyard of a rural house, it is quite bigger than what you have right now, I am a little nervous, but very excited. Greetings from Mexico City.
I’m growing my first patty pan, sunburst. Apparently I need to buy another couple plants, since it says it requires four plants for proper pollination. But now I want some more of the summer squash to make a nice vegetable medley as you were mentioning.
I've only had pattypan twice in my life. I love them. I just found two plants in little pots so I'm looking at videos about how to get a good yeild and seeds. we just don't have those around here!
nice gloves, though they are no protection against wasps I found. Not planting in the frost pocket this season... This year my squash are mostly planted in between the rows of my blackberry patch - it's destined to be a huge mess I'm sure but I had other priorities earlier in the year... like building a fence to keep the deer out. To add insult to humiliation After a super early frost I lost a couple hundred pounds of pumpkins.
To avoid those odd fruids you‘ve got to plant some zucchini plants 10 days earlier. The first flowers are always feminine, so they dont get pollinated. When you plant some plants earlier, you dont have to throw them away🤓
Curtis, thanks for all your videos. How are you storing your squash? Walk in or room temp? I want to pick every day, but worry about them turning soft. Thanks!
Seeing this video from a few years back knowing you have switched to sprinklers: have you dropped the crop, found they work okay with sprinklers, or continue with drip for these?
great vid. i love to pick mine small but most of the time the bloom is still attached and I have to cut it off maybe it's just my variety does this ever happen to you
The first few duds may be due to poor pollination as those will be the first few female flowers. On the topic of pollination, do you rely solely on natural pollinators such as bees / wind or do you intervene at all with hand pollination/shaking the plants? As usual great content and excellent book!
I grow powdery mildew plants(zucchini/squash) in large pots and locate them in hot sunny,breezy corners,usually on cement paths away from the veg patch,in isolation ,and use drip irrigation..rarely have any problems...obviously not a farming solution.
A persistent problem for me here in south eastern virginia is Vine Borer Worms. I have had a 100% crop wipe out 3 years in a row. Any help for this problem would be greatly appreciated. Also effects all the rest of my squash family plants. They get into the base of plant and eat and destroy the plants.
I USE TO USE AN OLD METHOD, I lot of people don't use this one because it's labor intensive. But her goes, I saved hundreds of soup cans and used the cans to stick in the ground surrounding the seed plant or soil seed " in ground " the worm what ever it is will not climb over the ten can to get to the plant. PS especially good for tomato plants also. Do it when you first plant them the plat grows inside of the can ring. let the can stick up about 3 to 5 inches, the taller the better. that's right worm will not climb the wall of the can to get to the plant. lol
A lot of organic folks swear by spraying or injecting BT. I haven’t tried it yet, but will this year. I got one fruit last year before the vine borers wiped me out. I’ve also seen some folks claim success using traps, but it seems less reliable.
hello Curtis, If I want to have Summer Squash each week of the year, how many time I need to re plant Summer Squash? and, how many weeks this plant mantain production?
hello Curtis, I've enjoyed your videos thanks,and the online course is next, but curiousity raises a question. I'm in Houston TX,and I'm sure a great place to farm and sale for a newby ,hearing how much you sale your product for it seems high compared to prices I see in stores. any enlightenment on this,or is there that much difference in U.S. and Canada? Here organic lettuce and squash runs $4 per lb about when out of season.what is the bigger picture I'm missing? thanks for reading.
Hey Sparaxis7, Seems to me Curtis misread the word and simply asked for clarification and you snap and give Curtis a right hook to the face. I think you need to take some time out to compose yourself. The answer to Neal's question is simple. The produce in store in the USA is in US dollars. They are worth more than Canadian bucks. In addition store crops are agribusiness crops. Not necessarily what discriminating consumers want. Folks are willing to pay more for quality!
Everyone seems to know that it's lack of pollination that gets the zucchini like that. DAMN. And here I was thinking that I was the only certified online expert around here!
I have such a horrible time growing any of the squashes, I cant seem to keep the vine borers and squash bugs off them. Powdery Mildew is also a royal pain. I live in FL though, not sure if that makes a difference. What are you doing for pest control? I've tried Neem Oil & Sal Suds soap to keep the powdery mildew and some of the bugs off them and BT to control the worms with little to no success.
Wow. That's incredible. It's very difficult to keep squash disease free and alive for that long. I'm in southern NJ. The prices you realize are incredible too. Thanks for the reply. Great content, great book. I imagine you would be successful at whatever you put your hand to.
Urban Farmer Curtis Stone zucchini flowers?! Okay Curtis, you've got to make a video out of this. Never heard of this. P.S. thanks to you successfully sold my first batch of baby kale at Farmers market today.
alan Withers you want to start them earliest 5 weeks before the last frost date for your area. I'm in Bristol and I started mine start of may under cover. You can sow them up until about mid July
sorry , "enlightenment" meaning can you shed some light on how your pricing seems higher than what I see at my local markets.how can lettuce or squash sale for those prices? however I did find one of your videos on that subject after I asked the question,go figure .
sorry , "enlightenment" meaning can you shed some light on how your pricing seems higher than what I see at my local markets.how can lettuce or squash sale for those prices? however I did find one of your videos on that subject after I asked the question,go figure .
I am already overloaded with squash this year. Love it!
The reason certain squash and zucchini turn like that is because it didn't get pollinated and the flower died and it starts rotting away
I have read that it takes a lot of calcium to support the cell structure of such a fast growing vegetable and the young plant sometimes does not have enough leaf and roots to support the first few. I'm not a plant expert, either. I enjoy your videos and your book immensely. We are just getting started with selling produce. Up until now, we've just done broilers, eggs, turkeys and rabbits. Keep up the good work!
For summer squash I grow Black Beauty zucchini, Golden zucchini, yellow crookneck, and white bush scallop. The Golden zucchini is usually only half as productive, but I like it. I'll probably grow some Sunburst scallop squash like you have there; I like the white just for a contrast in colors. For winter squash I grow Table Queen acorn, Waltham butternut, Spaghetti, Jack-O-Lantern and Baby Bear pumpkins. The butternut is ridiculously productive. I'll grow luffas too, but as a gourd; I don't particularly like it as a young edible squash (or since it's in the cucumber family I guess it's technically a melon?).
the "bad" zucchini deveolping first haven't been pollinated. There are male flowers and female flowers on a plant, and if there's no open male flower to pollinate the female, the zucchini will not develop properly and eventually rot away. It's also possible that the small amount of flowers early in the season don't attract pollinators enough.
Ah too bad I wanted to be the first to tell him it's a pollination issue. Grats!
haha :D
bummer, I guess I'm a month too late with this info.
I’ve been growing lemon Squash this year and I’m loving them. My customers do too. I sell out every week.
Thanks for the info. Someone gave me a pattypan squash plant and I have grown giant squashes. I figured I better learn what they are, and now I know they are fabulously overripe.
In Florida you have to use netting to control those bugs and its still a battle. Use lots of BT but get the powder BT if poasible. I like growing golden zucchini and spaghetti squash but I too just do not have enough space to grow very many plants. I have been experimenting with going vertical. Curtis have you thought about doing more things vertical since space is so limited on your farm?
Yes, I've definitely looked at it.
I am just starting a project of Patty Pan pumpkins in Mexico in a backyard of a rural house, it is quite bigger than what you have right now, I am a little nervous, but very excited. Greetings from Mexico City.
Good to hear. I’m always surprised on how few people grow food for themselves down there. We go every year, sometimes twice.
I’m growing my first patty pan, sunburst. Apparently I need to buy another couple plants, since it says it requires four plants for proper pollination.
But now I want some more of the summer squash to make a nice vegetable medley as you were mentioning.
I like the medicinal plant right next to the bed ;)
Love the crop focus videos! Thanks!
I've only had pattypan twice in my life.
I love them. I just found two plants in little pots so I'm looking at videos about how to get a good yeild and seeds.
we just don't have those around here!
Thank you so very much for what you are doing. I purchased you book and look forward to reading it.
nice gloves, though they are no protection against wasps I found. Not planting in the frost pocket this season... This year my squash are mostly planted in between the rows of my blackberry patch - it's destined to be a huge mess I'm sure but I had other priorities earlier in the year... like building a fence to keep the deer out. To add insult to humiliation After a super early frost I lost a couple hundred pounds of pumpkins.
Thank you for the video!
love squash :) yummy nice update
To avoid those odd fruids you‘ve got to plant some zucchini plants 10 days earlier. The first flowers are always feminine, so they dont get pollinated. When you plant some plants earlier, you dont have to throw them away🤓
Curtis, thanks for all your videos. How are you storing your squash? Walk in or room temp? I want to pick every day, but worry about them turning soft. Thanks!
In the walk-in cooler. I've got videos for that.
Seeing this video from a few years back knowing you have switched to sprinklers: have you dropped the crop, found they work okay with sprinklers, or continue with drip for these?
Just cause I’ve dropped them doesn’t mean they aren’t a good crop. I never state that my way is the only way.
I think Curtis misunderstood your question 😙
But apparently he dropped the crop 🤔
great vid. i love to pick mine small but most of the time
the bloom is still attached
and I have to cut it off maybe it's just my variety does this ever happen to you
The first few duds may be due to poor pollination as those will be the first few female flowers. On the topic of pollination, do you rely solely on natural pollinators such as bees / wind or do you intervene at all with hand pollination/shaking the plants?
As usual great content and excellent book!
I have never had to worry about pollination.
Love your channel. Just started reading your book. What are your thoughts on snap peas and green beens? They grow really well in my area.
I grow powdery mildew plants(zucchini/squash) in large pots and locate them in hot sunny,breezy corners,usually on cement paths away from the veg patch,in isolation ,and use drip irrigation..rarely have any problems...obviously not a farming solution.
A persistent problem for me here in south eastern virginia is Vine Borer Worms. I have had a 100% crop wipe out 3 years in a row. Any help for this problem would be greatly appreciated. Also effects all the rest of my squash family plants. They get into the base of plant and eat and destroy the plants.
I USE TO USE AN OLD METHOD, I lot of people don't use this one because it's labor intensive. But her goes, I saved hundreds of soup cans and used the cans to stick in the ground surrounding the seed plant or soil seed " in ground " the worm what ever it is will not climb over the ten can to get to the plant. PS especially good for tomato plants also. Do it when you first plant them the plat grows inside of the can ring. let the can stick up about 3 to 5 inches, the taller the better. that's right worm will not climb the wall of the can to get to the plant. lol
A lot of organic folks swear by spraying or injecting BT. I haven’t tried it yet, but will this year. I got one fruit last year before the vine borers wiped me out. I’ve also seen some folks claim success using traps, but it seems less reliable.
noche zucinni is a really good one very vigorous
hello Curtis, If I want to have Summer Squash each week of the year, how many time I need to re plant Summer Squash? and, how many weeks this plant mantain production?
Looks great!
Hi Curtis!
I wonder, why and for which crops you use the black fabric (with the round holes) and why?
Thank you!
+Alexey Tovbin keep watching my videos. I've addressed this many times.
hello Curtis, I've enjoyed your videos thanks,and the online course is next, but curiousity raises a question. I'm in Houston TX,and I'm sure a great place to farm and sale for a newby ,hearing how much you sale your product for it seems high compared to prices I see in stores. any enlightenment on this,or is there that much difference in U.S. and Canada? Here organic lettuce and squash runs $4 per lb about when out of season.what is the bigger picture I'm missing? thanks for reading.
I'm not sure what you mean by entitlement for a price variation.
Poor guy. Asks a good question and gets a swift right hook to the face ;) (He wrote, "Enlightenment" not "Entitlement")
Hey Sparaxis7, Seems to me Curtis misread the word and simply asked for clarification and you snap and give Curtis a right hook to the face. I think you need to take some time out to compose yourself. The answer to Neal's question is simple. The produce in store in the USA is in US dollars. They are worth more than Canadian bucks. In addition store crops are agribusiness crops. Not necessarily what discriminating consumers want. Folks are willing to pay more for quality!
Everyone seems to know that it's lack of pollination that gets the zucchini like that. DAMN. And here I was thinking that I was the only certified online expert around here!
Thank you great advise.
I have such a horrible time growing any of the squashes, I cant seem to keep the vine borers and squash bugs off them. Powdery Mildew is also a royal pain. I live in FL though, not sure if that makes a difference. What are you doing for pest control? I've tried Neem Oil & Sal Suds soap to keep the powdery mildew and some of the bugs off them and BT to control the worms with little to no success.
I agree I have problem with Squash vine borer.
Spread diatomaceous earth on and around the plant to stop the bugs, seems to help.
Thank you I ordered some yesterday.
This is the one I ordered, pricey but it will last me maybe 10-years. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00025H2QS/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and the duster www.amazon.com/Gilmour-D1-1-Pound-Capacity-Application-Garden/dp/B000BX4R8W
Do you sell the flowers too?
Hi Curtis, love your work, read your book just , wanted to know what you are using for the video clips?
What do you mean what am I using for video clips? There's a lot of things to factor into the whole process.
Sorry I meant what device/camera equipment from Australia here.
I'm using a Canon Rebel EOS. I think I might get a better camera though.
The videos are great better than most I watch, have you ever been to Oz?
Here in memphis area alot of squash bugs in my yellow crooked neck squash, any suggestions so i can have a good crrop?
exactly, optimal size zucchini, 4-5 inches, its more about how you use it not so much how large they grow.
Curtis How do you store your squash? How long can you store it for from your experience?
In the walk-in cooler. Summer squash doesn't last much more than a week. I never sell it if it's over a few days old.
Thanks for getting back!
Do you have any problems with powdery mildew? How long does the crop last?
Yes. It usually starts to come on pretty strong into September. I just let it run it's course. We're picking into the 1st or 2nd week of October.
Wow. That's incredible. It's very difficult to keep squash disease free and alive for that long. I'm in southern NJ. The prices you realize are incredible too. Thanks for the reply. Great content, great book. I imagine you would be successful at whatever you put your hand to.
Baking soda and H20 mist application 1-2x /week seems to hold back the onslaught of pwdy mildew. Extra work for sure, but its worth it
Can’t these be grown vertical??
The reason why there are odd shaped fruits, mostly in the beginning , is that the flowers where not pollinated.
From the one you picked it looks like blossom end rot (calcium deficiency). Foliar spray can help to solve this.
Is that cannabis beside the zucchini Mr Curtis the urban farmer 😉 keep it up. I like your channel
I'm growing gagat squash right now.
those pattypan look like my handpan
Do you ever sell zucchini flowers?
+Luc Heuer yes. $.75 each
Urban Farmer Curtis Stone zucchini flowers?! Okay Curtis, you've got to make a video out of this. Never heard of this. P.S. thanks to you successfully sold my first batch of baby kale at Farmers market today.
l live in England and was just asking when do I start plants my sunburst squash please.
alan Withers you want to start them earliest 5 weeks before the last frost date for your area. I'm in Bristol and I started mine start of may under cover.
You can sow them up until about mid July
sorry , "enlightenment" meaning can you shed some light on how your pricing seems higher than what I see at my local markets.how can lettuce or squash sale for those prices? however I did find one of your videos on that subject after I asked the question,go figure .
why pants and long sleeve?
Daniel C they're prickly lol. You'll end up with abrasions and rashes
You could always pickle batches and sell to Russian communities. Not a Russian, but I would buy 40lbs to pickle if there were that many where I live.
I like black beauty
Thank you so very much for what you are doing. I purchased you book and look forward to reading it.
sorry , "enlightenment" meaning can you shed some light on how your pricing seems higher than what I see at my local markets.how can lettuce or squash sale for those prices? however I did find one of your videos on that subject after I asked the question,go figure .
It's hard to say. Prices are different everywhere.