What would cause my zucchinni fruits to be deformed like this?

10 years ago

Hello folks,

This is my first year gardening and a brand new garden location. I am full organic and am using semi-raised beds (5.5" tall with 2' into native soil). My soil is very rich, actually too rich according to my soil report but things are growing and producing well!

I have two Black Beauty zucchini plants that are huge and producing nice zucchini frequently. However, I also frequently get fruits that are like the one on the right. I have a drip system and think I am watering properly and I spray seaweed often. I also spray BT with the seaweed and have soaked the base of the zucchini plant and soil with spinosad to hopefully prevent the dreaded SVB. So far, I am having very little pest problems. I have found and killed 3 cucumber beetles and see and SVB moth that I killed. I also have some home made yellow tangle foot traps up that have not caught much of anything bad. Everything looks great and healthy and the squash grows fast.

We did get a 3.75" rain last weekend after the one on the right was half way ready. Could that have done it which may indicate I am not watering enough previously? I water 1.5 hours once a week and each plant has a 2 gallon per hour dripper at the base.

Any suggestions? The fruits taste just fine so it is not really an issue but, like many, I would like to grow pretty fruits as well!

Thanks for any and all replies and tips/suggestions!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

klem1
10 years ago
I believe the fruit on the right is a crook neck hybrid.
Did you plant certifyed seed or aquire the seed in a swap?
As you stated,taste is ok so why not just enjoy having cute if not large fruits?
This is a minor pitfall of saved seed. In many cases the outcome can be much worse.
mesquiteman
Original Author
10 years ago
These two plants were transplants I bought from an organic nursery. Both the squash in the photo came off the same bush, actually right next to each other. I am by no means complaining about my squash! I am more curious than anything and wanted to see what folks thought could be the cause in case I am doing something wrong! Remember this is my first garden so I am learning quite a bit as I go!
Related Discussions
What is this jelly-like substance on my fruit trees
Q
Comments (17)
Whatever it is it must have been a fruit borrer insect first and then fungus or parasite. I am in Toronto Canada and my young frost peach tree was doing this and it literally infected my hole tree. jelly was even coming out everywhere. It usually happened after a hard rainfall. someone gave me a suggestion not sure if it was this site. They said crush garlic tabs and mix with hydrogen peroxide. Here is what I did. I took lots of granulated garlic mixed with hydrogen peroxide and put in a large bowl. Then I placed my hand in the bowl and cupped some of the solution. I guess you could use a turkey baster as well. Placed it on the affected areas. If you are doing this while it is wet and jelly is coming out. The sugesstion was to take out the jelly with your hands before applying the garlic-hydrogen peroxided solution. Anyways I placed the solution on the affected areas and massaged the damaged area to try to get all the solution. The remaining solution I placed around the ground around the tree trunk. So far no more Jelly. You need to do this monthly until you see no more jelly. I believe the garlic-hydrogen peroxide solution killed whatever parisite was growing there. I believe a lot of fresh garlic finely crushed from a blender would possibly work too.
...See More
causes for an ornamental tree to fruit
Q
Comments (9)
Thanks dibbit, I guess we will see what we end up with in the coming weeks. I have not sprayed to keep insects or fungus away. So no telling what will happen to the fruit. I would enjoy harvesting some to eat fresh, but that might be asking too much if I have not done any of what I just mentioned. Prof. Werner suggested that, next late Winter or early Spring just about at bud break time, I should prune some of the inner branches out to give this tight columnar tree a little better air circulation. I also saw that planting Garlic beneath the tree will help prevent leaf wilt problems that are so commonly seen in some peach trees. Both those ideas seem good to me, but that is likely the most I want to do with these trees. Of course time will tell, if I change my mind and later am motivated to begin spraying lime/sulfer treatments just after leaf drop in the fall, and just prior to bud break in the following late winters or early springs for preventing fungus infestations. After all, we, like many others in the country have had lots of excessive rain periods this Spring, we also have received so much over the the expected during periods of rainfall we have encountered, so that as of today, we are only 5 inches away from receiving a normally expected year's worth of rainfall for our local area. With all that moisture in the air and short durations of sunny days in between, It possibly could take a miracle for my peach trees to not begin showing the need for the anti-fungal treatments in the fall and again in the late winter.
...See More
what is causing this deformation?
Q
Comments (12)
If there is a possibility that it is Rose Spring Dwarf, you are fortunate to have gotten rid of it as this rose virus has been shown to be spread by aphids. ---------------------------------------- A recent Davis full paper concerning Rose Spring Dwarf is available for general viewing: http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1094/PDIS-92-4-0508 See Table 1 for the results of their aphid spread tests. Also, of interest is that it appeared in their virus indexed plantings: "In this test, RSDaV was detected in many different rose species and cultivars from the Foundation Rose Collection at FPS. In all, 129 plants in this collection were tested, and 77 were positive for RSDaV. Some of the hybrid rose cultivars tested positive for RSDaV included Queen Elizabeth, China Doll, Heirloom, Lowell Thomas, Jack Frost, New Dawn, Uncle Joe, Bridal White, Butterscotch, and Cynthia. It is interesting that the virus was detected in more than 69 plants in two rows (total number of plants in these rows was 89) of the collection which were planted in the mid 1990s. In all, 162 samples of R. multiflora from the virus indexing rose blocks also were assayed in the spring and RSDaV was found in 94 plants. The majority of RT-PCR-positive R. multiflora plants were symptomatic. Another 40 additional plants from the same virus-indexing blocks were tested in the summer and 6 were positive." Here is a link that might be useful: link for above
...See More
Seed Coat is Causing Cotyledon Deformity
Q
Comments (11)
I second the mist and tweezer method. Wire sounds interesting. In my experience, the ones that get deformed seed leaves generally don't do quite as well. Part of that might be that the plant is less vigorous to begin with. Sow redundantly if you can. (With tiny seedlings like petunias, helmet head is often fatal and I haven't found a solution. It's especially frustrating given the cost of the seed and the amount of seed per packet.)
...See More
feijoas
10 years ago
Spells of dry and rain are often reflected in skinny, then bulging zucchini.
Radishes do it dramatically too, with bonus splitting!

Or it could be a cross...
Kimmsr
10 years ago
Most likely the extra growth is the result of that rain.
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
10 years ago
Here is a good recipe you might want to try.
I don't deep fry and only dredge on one side and place in a skillet in a bit of hot oil/butter fresh side up, and do not turn. Delicious.

Here is a link that might be useful: stuffed zucchinni flowers
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
10 years ago
That looks like mine when we get a fews days in a row of heavy rain. If you are getting an over-abundance and more than you or your neighborhood can eat, haha, just pick it much younger and enjoy a much more tender flavor. I actually grow mine just for the flowers for stuffing. Once it takes off i have more than i can handle. And if out of town a few days...
Those babies grow fast!
Growing organically will have its oddities but once established overall, the good takes care of the bad, soil tends to balance itself, and so much more flavor in your produce.
User
10 years ago
Erratic water supply.

Mulch deeply and try to even out the watering.
jean001a
10 years ago
Incomplete pollination = a billy club.

What would cause my zucchinni fruits to be deformed like this?

Comments (8)

klem1

mesquiteman
Original Author

Related Discussions

feijoas

Kimmsr

sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)

sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)

User

jean001a

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

What would cause my zucchinni fruits to be deformed like this?

Comments (8)

klem1

mesquitemanOriginal Author

Related Discussions

feijoas

Kimmsr

sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)

sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)

User

jean001a

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

mesquiteman
Original Author