I have a lot (dozens) of squash plants, mostly hubbard and a few spaghetti (and a few watermelons too). I actually planted them right into topsoil bags cut open (with holes poked in the bottom for drainage). I have heard of this gardening method but never tried it before. I started planting right into my soil but quickly found it was very bad, clay soil, so I switched to the bags of topsoil.
They are not thriving. A few have died, most I think will live but just aren't thriving. Most are flowering but so many leaves are turning yellow/brown and the stalks don't seem to be growing in length.
They do not have 100% sun - simply not possible in my yard - but many of them are within feet of tomatoes that are doing fine. I figure enough sun for tomatoes would be enough for squash.. right?
I don't think it's a pest problem. I examine them every day. There are slugs that appear on the soil (which I pick off) but they are never on the plants, just the soil. And the plants have no holes that indicate anybody munching them. Just yellowed then browned leaves.
I don't think it's a water problem either. The soil always feels moist but well drained. I water when needed.
So the last possibility I can think of would be bad soil. The soil was cheap, but at least it's not clay. It's dark and reasonably friable. The bag advertises that it contains organic material. Dunno what that means, worst case scenario is probably sludge, right? I compost but don't have a finished batch yet. If people think that adding compost is a pretty good bet, I'd be willing to buy a bag. (But I am really low on money so don't want to go crazy buying this and that just to try to figure this out).
They are not thriving. A few have died, most I think will live but just aren't thriving. Most are flowering but so many leaves are turning yellow/brown and the stalks don't seem to be growing in length.
They do not have 100% sun - simply not possible in my yard - but many of them are within feet of tomatoes that are doing fine. I figure enough sun for tomatoes would be enough for squash.. right?
I don't think it's a pest problem. I examine them every day. There are slugs that appear on the soil (which I pick off) but they are never on the plants, just the soil. And the plants have no holes that indicate anybody munching them. Just yellowed then browned leaves.
I don't think it's a water problem either. The soil always feels moist but well drained. I water when needed.
So the last possibility I can think of would be bad soil. The soil was cheap, but at least it's not clay. It's dark and reasonably friable. The bag advertises that it contains organic material. Dunno what that means, worst case scenario is probably sludge, right? I compost but don't have a finished batch yet. If people think that adding compost is a pretty good bet, I'd be willing to buy a bag. (But I am really low on money so don't want to go crazy buying this and that just to try to figure this out).
It could be that your soil is nutrient deficient
