Earlier this year one of our squash plants suffered from blossom end rot. The end of the small vegetables began rotting long before the fruit was ready to harvest. The squash plant grew from an heirloom hybrid seed we saved from last year. It is an acorn squash crossed with a spaghetti squash. The fruits are quite delicious!
The hybrid squash may be more susceptible to blossom end rot because of the line’s genetic heritage. All that aside, the blossom end rot was happening to every one of the little developing squash fruits.
Blossom end rot is usually caused by deficiency in water or calcium. The water is on a timer, and there was a lot of slow release calcium in the compost so we looked for more information.
Sometimes calcium deficiency is caused by an abundance of nitrogen. Too much nitrogen blocks the plants’ ability to absorb calcium.
In this organic garden, nitrogen sources are a mix of fresh compost and waste produced here on the homestead, bolstered by crop rotation. So, the blossom end rot was not caused by an additional application of mis-measured commercial nitrogen. Instead, the abundance of nitrogen was in the soil. Not wanting to disturb the root structure we decided to focus on increasing calcium absorption.
There are probably calcium testing kits out there, but instead of buying one we increased the calcium at a steady rate for 10 days to see if there was a problem with the calcium to nitrogen ratio available to the squash plant. It worked. The end blossom rot diminished and the squash fruits grow to maturity.
The Fix
If you have dry soil, water more. Watering slowly and deeply is key to success in any garden. Get some soaker hoses or make your own by puncturing small holes at one foot intervals in a regular water hose.
If you have too much nitrogen either by accidental application, or by too much in the soil, apply calcium. Add liquid calcium directly to the plant for a quick recovery. Milk or foliar calcium spray are easy fixes. Lime, gypsum, ground eggshells, wood ash, or ground sea shells are also sources of calcium but these are slow acting. Add any of the aforementioned to your compost or to new soil to prevent the problem the following year.
Milk was the easiest fix for us. We poured about a half a cup a day, working our way slowly around the squash plant, for 10 days.
If the end blossom rot comes back, resume the milk treatment. Just keep an eye on the baby squash, and let the garden be your guide.
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