Currently_Planted
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Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:18 am
Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Troubleshooting potted zucchini plant

Hello all,

This is my second year trying to grow yellow zucchini. Last year, my plant suffered from what I later learned was vine borer. This year, I'm using the same container, but I thoroughly scrubbed it (inside and out) with a bleach solution prior to filling it with fresh potting soil.

Purchased a 4-5inch seedling and potted it about 10 days ago. I'm afraid it isn't doing well already; as you can see in the pictures, "something" was chewing on one of the leaves, one of the baby-leaves has some kind of powdery-looking film on it, and the other leaves are getting dark soggy-looking spots. I'd found a few (maybe 5 total) pale aphids crawling around several days ago; I smushed them and sprayed with veggie-friendly pesticide, but just now, I saw a few were back.

The pot is positioned to get full sun, but we've had a LOT of rain recently (about 5 days in a row). Temperatures have also been unseasonably cool; I've taken the plant inside when nighttime temps are forecast to get below 50degrees F, but daytime-temps, some days, have hovered in the mid-50s (other days have been in the 60s, other days, low-70s; gotta love April). The plant is clearly not on the imminent brink of death, but I'm worried about it - and darn it, I want zucchini this year!

My questions: a) what's wrong, and b) what can I do about it? Thank you so much for any advice!
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imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

You can spray the plant with a sulfur based fungicide. 3 in 1 garden spray will also take care of the aphids. Warm season crops don't like cold weather, but 5 days of rain may bring on fungal issues so you do need to start a fungicide program to get ahead of it. It only takes a couple of days after the rain stops for fungal spores to get a death grip on the plant. 3 in 1 does contain pyrethrins and sulfur. Pyrethrins will knock out the aphids and sulfur is an ancient fungicide and bug killer. Otherwise you could use some other fungicide and insecticidal soap for the aphids. If you use an oil instead, you have to get to the plant before any fungus appears and you will not be able to use sulfur at all for at least a month.

Try to keep the plant in the warmest spot you can find and out of the rain. It won't grow very fast in the cold.

It is a little early for the squash vine borers to come out of the soil. They usually come out in force in June. Other than using a net and hand pollinating, they are hard to control. Sometimes planting later is better after they have moved on.
https://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/in ... ne-borers/

Currently_Planted
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Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:18 am
Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Thank you for your help! I'll buy some 3 in 1 garden spray today!

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kayjay
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Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:14 am
Location: Southern Ontario

Hi. I can't comment on the aphids or vine borers; I don't seem to get them here *knock wood*. But something you might want to do right now, since it's so early in the season, is grab some seeds. Plant your own. They sprout and grow so fast, it's ridiculous. My packet of zucchini seeds was 33 cents from the dollar store, and I've had good success with them. OTOH, it would cost me 2 bucks to buy a seedling... and they don't like to be transplanted. I transplant them anyway because I'm impatient ;) but at least I'm controlling the conditions. It might be worth it to stick a few seeds in the ground (or another pot) once your weather is reliably warm (if it isn't already.)

Good luck! I love zucchini. I'm one of those people who WISHED I had the lucky neighbor who would just leave it on my porch. :D

DM me for my address, I will take everybody's excess zucchini. ;) (JK)

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jal_ut
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Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

When grown in the soil the roots of plants go from 3 to 8 feet deep and spread as wide as the plant above ground. This is why I can't imagine growing a zucchini in a pot. Have you got a garden bed you can plant it in so the roots can spread out and go down?

imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I also grow zucchini from seeds. Mainly because as stated they are cheaper, but also because I grow parthenocarpic zucchini. One seeds costs way more than 33 cents though. If you grow a lot of zucchini, seeds are a better buy and you have more choices of varieties. If you have friends who want some seeds it is way cheaper. However, at least for me zuchhini seeds lose vigor fast, so they don't keep as long as some other seeds. I only need a couple of plants, and sometimes I do buy a plant instead but I look for a young one and plant it out as soon as possible.



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