Container Zucchini Plant - Sick - Not sure what is wrong.

myfirstgarden

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I am having trouble with my container zucchini plant. Treated it for nitrogen deficiency, gave it a bigger pot with new soil, and now it looks like this:


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Carol Dee

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Check for Vine borer. S hole is stem about 1 inch above soil and sawdust looking debris around it.
 

ninnymary

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That looks alot like my zuchini that is in a 15 gal. container. My problem is that I overwater. I am being very strong and just watering once a week. The plant still looks crummy but at least the squashes are staying on.

Mary
 

myfirstgarden

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ninnymary said:
That looks alot like my zuchini that is in a 15 gal. container. My problem is that I overwater. I am being very strong and just watering once a week. The plant still looks crummy but at least the squashes are staying on.

Mary
How did you find out you were over watering? Is it recovering? I have found both sides: over water/under watering as answers to the problem. It's horrible confusing. I don't know if I should stop watering or give more water...
 

thistlebloom

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Generally it isn't too easy to over water in containers as long as they have a drain hole, but it depends a lot on your climate and the type of soil you have in the pot, and also the size of the root system. I was guessing at over watering judging by your picture. The soil looks soggy. Of course, it may be that you watered right before you took the picture.

Did you use a commercial potting mix, or is it garden soil?

There really is no way to tell you how often to water because of all the variables, but if you wait until the top two inches of soil are dry, and then apply enough water that it comes out of the bottom you should be close to what it needs. A lot of it is trial and error, and just learning from mistakes.

Don't be discouraged, you're obviously already learning a lot.
 

ninnymary

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Myfirstgarden, the leaves were turning yellow and the fruit was rotting. I have a tendeny to water whenever I see a wilted plant. The gal at the nursery said "wilting" was ok, not necessarily bad. I also believe it was Hoodat who said that if it looks ok the next day that it didn't need water. I daily stick my finger in my pots and am amazed that they stay moist a whole week! Before I was watering every couple days because I believed pots dried out. I'm also watering my garden just once a week now and my yarrow, lavendar, herbs, and other low water plants are doing much better. I believe that alittle stress helps some plants such as tomatoes.


Mary
 
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