Knowledgebase
A friend grew summer squa... #223158
Asked December 27, 2014, 8:59 AM EST
A friend grew summer squash in pots last year because they don't have much room. Many of the fruits had a bitter taste and were enlarged at the blossom end and sharply curled to a very narrow stem end. They used 14" pots, good potting soil, had plenty of sun, and watered at least daily but got very few good fruit. I didn't hear about their problem until recently, and never saw the problem fruit. Were they perhaps over-watering the plants and not letting them breathe? I've grown squash in pots before with no problems.
Grayson County Minnesota
Expert Response
It is a little difficult to determine what the problem (s) was after the fact but can provide some resources for your friend. There are many factors that might have played a role in the difficulties seen last summer.
I recommend using the U of MN website "what's wrong with my plant?" to help identify problems with plants as they occur. I included the link specific to summer squash below.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/plant/vegetable/summersquash/
Bitterness of squash can vary and may be triggered by stressful situations such as uneven watering or insect problems, or can be genetic. See the link below for a more detailed discussion.
http://www.aces.edu/counties/StClair/documents/NRBitterCucumbersSquashGover10.pdf
General references on growing summer squash that may be useful:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/vegetables/growing-zucchini-and-summer-squash/
And
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/vegetables/suggested-vegetables-for-minnesota-home-gardens/
And
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/containergardening/herbveggie.cfm
