ashsaves1005
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:10 am

Help! I'm afraid that I ruined my squash plant!

I'm growing crookneck squash and I'm growing it vertically in a pot. Two squashes are developing but I was noticing the leaves towards the bottom of the plant were turning yellow and shriveling, so I decided to cut them. I got a little too into cutting the leaves that I think I cut off too many. I cut them about two and a half inches from the stalk. This is my first time really growing anything at all and I didn't realize that the stems were hollow and I feel like bugs are going to get into them. I only cut under where the squash are growing and there were a lot of tiny dead female parts that just shriveled up that I cut off too. I cut off the male blossoms that never fertilized anything too. I read more about it after I did it, and I didn't see a whole lot of people in favor of cutting off as many leaves that I did. While I didn't touch the new growth that's happening at the top (a whole new set of leaves and male/female blossoms are beginning to grow), I feel like since I cut too much at the bottom, my whole plant will die!
Is there a way I can prevent more damage, if I did any? I'm really excited about my two squash that are growing and I don't want them to die but I definitely want more squash to grow. Will that happen being that I cut a lot of leaves off so close to the stalk? (again, like 2 1/2 inches but I know it would have been better if I had just cut the leaf off of the stem) :(

FlowerPowerGirl
Full Member
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 7:36 am
Location: In the garden.

All you can do is wait and see now. It's not bad, even if there are only 2 squashes they get all the nutrition from the leaves and can grow bigger.

ashsaves1005
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:10 am

I hope so. One of the squashes just actually started rotting. I'm not sure if it's because it didn't get pollinated or what. It wasn't very big but I don't know how big they get without pollination. I have one thriving squash now. :( All of the female buds are dying now from what I can see. I read somewhere that this can happen if the plant is focusing all it's energy on growing a mature squash and I hope this is the case. :?



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