In article ,
Roger Tonkin wrote:
In article ,
says...

I'm growing a plant for the first time. Planted it in
the compost heap (last years!) and it has gone
berserk. However whilst I have 3 good sized squashes
slowly ripening, many others have seemed to set, start
swelling, then go brown and rot from the flower end.
Anyone know why this is please?

Also, how do you know when they are ripe?

The flowers were not pollinated, always a problem with one plant as the male
and female flowers have to be open at the same time. I just leave them on
the plant until either just before the first frost or if the plants dies and
then take them up and store in a frost free shed.

I wondered if that was the case, but the fruits had
started to swell, being about 2-3 inches long and 1
inch wide before starting to rot. Cougettes, which I'm
used to, do not do that, hence the question.

They do, dearie, they do - as the saying goes. No, I can't explain
why, but it also happens for C. maxima (hubbards) and can be caused
by at least drought and cold. I think that it's caused by any stress
after pollination that is enough to cause the plant to cut back on
new fruit to enable the existing ones to mature.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.