Please Help

Chipsazoy · June 15, 2012

Planted a Zucchini plant about 3 weeks ago in a smart pot along with tomatoes, cucumber, crookneck squash and jalepeno. Zucchini was doing great and all od a sudden one morning i noticed that a few of the leaves and stems were wilting. Up until that morning leaves and stems were firm and upright, now drooping and leaves soft. I was watering 10-15 minutes twice a day using a drip system estimating about a 1/4 gallon of water a day for the plant. I'm in Southern California so the days were heating up to mid 80's, low 90's. My other plants seem to be doing fine, just the Zucchini wilting.

I took a look at some of the forums on here and thought i was overwatering. I would check with my finger down an inch or two and it would feel dry so hence watering twice a day. Went and picked up a moisture meter and when i put it in various spots around the pot to a depth of 6"+ the meter would show wet.

I've really been frustrated with trying to figure out how much to water and how often.

Any help would be appreciated as this my first time trying veggies.

RayR · June 16, 2012

Could be a number of things that have nothing to do with water. Squash Bugs, Cucumber Beetles spread Bacterial Wilt, Squash Vine Borers.

Chipsazoy · June 16, 2012

I took a look at the base of the plant and did not notice any critters or holes where they could have gotten in. No eggs. Only thing i've noticed are small hornworms on my tomatoes, which i pick off and destroy.

swinefka · June 19, 2012

I would have to say it is lack of water if you are only watering 1/4 of a gallon a day. My Zucchini takes almost 2 gallons of water in 24 hours in my 5 gallon bucket and if it see's less than that then my leaves start to droop as well. I have a 4" reservoir in my buckets and every 12 hours that reservoir only has a half inch of water max at the bottom of it.

Mine will be hooked up to an automatic watering system but just waiting for my tomatoe plants to get bigger before I do it. Once I do my automatic watering system on it I will post pictures in here to show how I did it.

June 15, 2012	#1
Chipsazoy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: California Posts: 14	Please Help Planted a Zucchini plant about 3 weeks ago in a smart pot along with tomatoes, cucumber, crookneck squash and jalepeno. Zucchini was doing great and all od a sudden one morning i noticed that a few of the leaves and stems were wilting. Up until that morning leaves and stems were firm and upright, now drooping and leaves soft. I was watering 10-15 minutes twice a day using a drip system estimating about a 1/4 gallon of water a day for the plant. I'm in Southern California so the days were heating up to mid 80's, low 90's. My other plants seem to be doing fine, just the Zucchini wilting. I took a look at some of the forums on here and thought i was overwatering. I would check with my finger down an inch or two and it would feel dry so hence watering twice a day. Went and picked up a moisture meter and when i put it in various spots around the pot to a depth of 6"+ the meter would show wet. I've really been frustrated with trying to figure out how much to water and how often. Any help would be appreciated as this my first time trying veggies.

June 16, 2012	#2
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	Could be a number of things that have nothing to do with water. Squash Bugs, Cucumber Beetles spread Bacterial Wilt, Squash Vine Borers.

June 19, 2012	#4
swinefka Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Gilberts, Illinois Posts: 27	I would have to say it is lack of water if you are only watering 1/4 of a gallon a day. My Zucchini takes almost 2 gallons of water in 24 hours in my 5 gallon bucket and if it see's less than that then my leaves start to droop as well. I have a 4" reservoir in my buckets and every 12 hours that reservoir only has a half inch of water max at the bottom of it. Mine will be hooked up to an automatic watering system but just waiting for my tomatoe plants to get bigger before I do it. Once I do my automatic watering system on it I will post pictures in here to show how I did it.