Today s Plan. Successful Squash! Wonderful Watermelons! Cool Cucurbits!

Transcription

1 Successful Squash! Wonderful Watermelons! Cool Cucurbits! Grant McCarty Local Foods and Small Farms Systems Educator Stephenson, Jo Daviess, Winnebago 1 Today s Plan Variety Selection Seed Starting/Transplanting Seasonal Management Introduction to family members Insect/Disease Management Harvest 1

2 Squash Family Cucurbit Plant Family Vining Plant Characteristic Yellow/Orange/White Flowers Many different shapes, sizes, textures, and uses Thrive in summer heat Similar diseases and insects These include Winter Squash Acorn, Butternut, others Summer Squash Yellow, Zucchini, Pattypan, others Cucumber Watermelon Pumpkin/Gourd Melons Cantaloupe, Muskmelon, Honeydew 2

3 Considering Varieties Choose based on Physical features Bush Types available Spacing Flavor Disease Resistance Storage Uses Maturity Considering Varieties Disease Resistance Many varieties with resistance Have a mixture of susceptible and resistant Major Diseases Powdery Mildew (PM) Downy Mildew (DM) Fusarium Wilt (F-F3) 3

4 Varieties Talk with others What they like what they don t like! AAS Winners U of Wisc-Julie Dawson Seed Catalogs Home and Garden centers Starting Plants/Transplanting Germination test on last year s seeds 5-10 seeds, wet paper towel, unroll after 3-5 days to make sure germinated Transplanting No more than a month Shock them week ahead before planting Direct Seeding Sow 1-2 weeks after last frost (mid-may) 3 seeds then thin to 1 Add 10 days to maturity Row Cover 4

5 Starting Plants/Transplanting Hilling? Creating a small area, planting seeds, and then thinning out weaker ones Helps the soil become warmer Commonly: watermelon, pumpkin, melons. General Planting Good drainage ph of General fertilizer ( ) May need more depending on what you grow Follow spacing requirements 5

6 General Management Weed free as much as you can Good air flow! Mulching Yes and No Irrigation per week, use rain gauge Trellising? Cucumbers, Melons? Follow in row spacing Get fruit off ground? Depends on your situation 11 General Management Zucchini Blossoms Male Flowers Only Seasonal Fertilizers Aim for a (NPK) but especially for the big pumpkins Companion Planting Nasturtium and Marigold Iowa State-Reisselman Cover Crops Buckwheat- a good attractant for pollinators, goes to seed quickly (45 days) Trap Cropping Blue Hubbard 12 6

7 Cucumber Slicing Seedless/thin-skinned Pickling Specialty Yellows, Lemon, Shape Greenhouse Avoid if you don t have a greenhouse 13 Marketmore 76 Lemon Cucumber Bush Hybrid May still want trellis Slider: Marketmore 76, Martini, Mideast Peace, Burpless, Straight 8 Long green slicing: Bush Crop, Fanfare, Salad Bush Pickling: Bush Pickle, Carolina 14 7

8 Cucumber 12 apart in rows 5-6 May benefit with netting to provide trellis Still follow spacing Maturity 48 to 65 days Harvest varies based on size and uses 15 Melons Ananas Sweet, aromatic, slightly spicy Asian Small, oblong, melons. Early to mature Butterscotch Small, round, superior flavor. Cantaloupe Charentais Small, French melons with and without netting Canary Attractive yellow fruits, white flesh Crenshaw Pale, oblong, creamy yellow Galia Fresh, banana-like aroma Honeydew Earlier maturity, sweeter taste, more attractive appearance Piel de Sapo Yellow and green mottled skin 16 8

9 Melons Butterscotch (78 Days) 2-3 apart in row, 6 between rows Maturity days Fruit number varies based on type Some good disease resistance for many varieties 17 Melons Orange Sherbert (80-85 Days) Divergent (70 Days) Ambrosia (85 Days) 18 9

10 Pumpkins/Gourds Blue-Jarrahdale (100 Days) Light Brown-Long Island Cheese (108 Days) Orange- Cinderella (115 Days) Cooking, display, both Various sizes, shapes, and colors Jack O Lanterns Giant Pumpkins White Pumpkins Pie Pumpkins Unique Color/Shape Edible and fantastic! 19 Pumpkins/Gourds Baby Bear (105 Days) Varieties Cooking: Jarrahdale, Long Island Cheese, Cinderella Small Orange (2-5 lbs): Baby Bear, Small Sugar, Sugar Treat Standard Orange (8-15 lbs): Harvest Moon, Spirit, Bushkin, Racer Large Orange (15-25 lbs): Ghost Rider, Happy Jack, Big Tom Racer (85 Days) 20 10

11 Pumpkins/Gourds Big Pumpkin? Atlantic Giant Variety Maturity of days Fruit per plant of 1-5 All depend on type 6-12 between row, in row of All depend on type 21 Summer Squash Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck, Patty Pan, Round apart in rows 6 apart Different shapes will dictate size Blossoms: Male Flowers Maturity: 50 days* 22 11

12 Winter Squash Good for baking, pies, roasting, etc. Wide ranging shapes, colors, textures, and sweetness Include Acorn, Buttercup, Butternut, Delicata/Dumpling, Hubbard, Kabocha, and Spaghetti Kabocha-edible skin Blue Hubbard (100 Days) Table King (85 Days) Tiana (95 Days) Butterscotch (100 Days) 12

13 Winter Squash Day Maturity 4-8 fruit per plant 18 for bush, large-fruited varieties Wide ranging storage ability and harvest May need curing Look at vine length 25 Watermelon Moon and Stars (95 Days) Seedless and seeded varieties Benefit as a transplant 1-3 melons per plant Keep in mind size of melon 6 in row, 7-10 between rows 26 13

14 Charleston Gray (87 Days) Crimson Sweet (80 Days) Sugar Baby (78 Days) Orangeglo (85 Days) 27 Watermelon Maturity of 75 to 85 days Harvest: yellow underside, Brown/dried tendril, Shiny nor dull color, and Insect damage? 28 14

15 Physical Disorders Rot Type Can be linked to poor pollination Solution: try to attract more pollinators Wilting Symptoms Heat or Insect damage 29 Disease and Insect Management Early plantings Trap plant Floating row cover Mulching Water in morning Egg cluster scouting Remove debris Crop Rotation Yellow Sticky Traps Disease Resistance 30 15

16 Squash Vine Borer 31 Squash Bug 32 16

17 Squash Bug What to look for: nymphs and adults, scout in flowers, base of plant, underneath black plastic and any debris, look for egg masses and juveniles Prevention: remove debris during growing season and after harvest, trellising, row covers before bloom Treatment: Sticky traps (yellow), trap cropping (hubbard gourds), handpick egg masses Chemical Control Conventional: cyfluthrin, permethrin Organic: Neem oil, Horticultural oil 33 Striped and Spotted Cucumber Beetle Can spread bacterial wilt and other diseases Prevention: sticky traps, crop rotation, floating row covers prebloom Treatment: Sticky traps (yellow), trap cropping (hubbard gourds) Chemical Control Conventional: acetamiprid, cabaryl, cyfluthrin, kaolin, Organic: Surround (light populations) 34 17

18 Striped and Spotted Cucumber Beetle Can spread bacterial wilt and other diseases Prevention: sticky traps, crop rotation, floating row covers prebloom Treatment: Sticky traps (yellow), trap cropping (hubbard gourds) Chemical Control Conventional: acetamiprid, cabaryl, cyfluthrin, kaolin, Organic: Surround (light populations) 35 Fusarium Wilt Crops: Peppers and cucurbits Spread: fungal airborne Damage: initial wilting symptoms, yellowing then browning of leaves Prevention: maintain moisture, do not over fertilize, crop rotate out of families if necessary 18

19 Powdery/Downy Mildew Spread: windborne Symptoms: Powdery Mildew- white spots on both leaf sides; Downy Mildew- angular leaf discoloration Damage: reduce yields through leaf damage Prevention: remove debris from fields (powdery), plant tolerant varieties, good air circulation 19

20 Downy Mildew Downy Mildew 20

21 Downy Mildew Powdery Mildew 21

22 Bacterial Spot/Specks Crops: cucurbits, tomatoes Spread: bacteria spread by splashing rain and moist conditions Damage: spots on leaves spreading to fruit causing fruit rot Prevention: clean seeds, crop rotation out of cucurbits for 2 years Fruit Rots Caused by fungus overwintering in soil Noticeable fungal damage Squash come into contact with soil and spread to the fruit May not show up until stored Solution: crop rotations, get squash off the ground, provide good airflow 44 22

23 Harvest Based on size Readiness Maturity Date Summer Squash Melons Pumpkins/Gourds 45 Harvest Summer Squash Based on size and color Harvest 2-3 times a week Cut or gently twist off fruits 46 23

24 Harvest Melons Depends on variety Cut or slip from vine (slight tug) Changes to a strong yellow Strong melon smell 47 Harvest Pumpkins/Gourds Fruit color fully developed, clip handles close to vine Cure 5-7 days outdoors Store at F 48 24

25 Storing Squash Temperature + Humidity 2-3 Months, F, 70-75% Pumpkins 5-8 Weeks, 50 F, 50-75% Acorn 2-3 Months, 50 F, 50-75% Butternut, Turban, Buttercup 5-6 Months, F, 70-75% Hubbard 49 Wrap Up Start strong and choose right varieties for your use Keep in mind spacing Try to get ahead of diseases and insects 50 25

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