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Post by templeton on Jan 25, 2014 17:36:14 GMT -5
My go to zucchini-like cucurbit is Tromboncino, but the last couple of seasons fruit set has been poor, and I'm wondering if it's the line of seeds I'm now using. Anyone notice variation in production in this variety? That most recent packet of seed is now empty, and I need a replacement. Any recommendations? And yes, squash seed is an allowed import to Aust at least for the moment.
Additionally, I seem to recall someone mentioning somewhere that a less rampant form of this exists. Any hints on where I might chase it up for next year? T
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Post by rowan on Jan 25, 2014 19:25:15 GMT -5
I had two years of poor performance from mine then this year they are going crazy with setting fruit. too much for them to hold. It seems like they have more fruit than leaves - I should take a pic, lol.
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Post by canadamike on Jan 25, 2014 19:34:01 GMT -5
I much prefer moschatas when it comes to summer squash, nuttier flavour...but I think we all have to admit that for this purpose they are not very productive.Poor fruit set?? Is there a common thing that happened in your neck of the woods in the last years, like very cold nights, droughts....
To other crops the usual first answer is too much nitrogen, it makes leaves and leaves and leaves, but it is sooooo rarely the case with cucurbits. Since we tend to be mostly organic around this forum, I doubt that there is a need for more phosphorus, manure and compost usually do the job very well...but phosphorus deficiency is the first thing to look at, even if it is only to conclude that there is none...
I suspect environmental stress, you should try to foliar spray with seaweed a lot.
We had severe drought here last summer. I worked with 2 cucumber farmers, one of them in a research and development project, the other one, his team mate ( frenchie writing in english here) having done the R and D in the previous years.
I have created a seaweed based complex, with other organic ingredients, and in the farm where it was tested ( in trials), cukes and squashes performed beautifully despite the drought.
At the other farm, much smaller with only 45 acres of cukes, the R&D had been done, the guy went full scale seaweed. They were partners in a cannery contract with another guy.
The buddy only doing R&D failed to achieve his share of the contract, the other one too »(I do not know him) and the third, now in full swing with foliar seaweed spraying got, in the same drought, «I repeat, in the same drought, 800 tons of cukes, his share of the contract was for 500....
So,a 60% increase over average in a year where others where at 70% of normal production or so....
Same region, buddys, neighbours, and very different fate...
Start looking at unlocking the genetics of your plants with seaweed my friend...
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Post by templeton on Jan 25, 2014 23:26:31 GMT -5
The reason I suspect genetics is a few years ago I got great production, ran out of that seed packet, bought a new packet from the same supplier, then a decrease in production. Maybe they replaced their wholesaler. Rowan, is your seed also from diggers? Michel, I will certainly try the seaweed spray - a compelling example. And your english is way better than my mostly forgotten schoolboy French!
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Post by rowan on Jan 26, 2014 0:55:49 GMT -5
Nah, I try not to buy anything from Diggers. My seed originally came from Baker Creek years ago and is all descendant from those same seeds
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Post by allyh on Jan 28, 2014 0:23:23 GMT -5
T, I've got seed from The Lost Seed if you want some. Grew it for the first time last year and got quite a few. I let one fully mature and it's still sitting in the spare room. It is only just starting to deteriorate now, nearly a year on so I was thinking about cracking it open this weekend anyway and getting the seeds out. Let me know if you wants some. Ally
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Post by templeton on Jan 28, 2014 16:16:29 GMT -5
Yep, if you get some spare seed, I could cross it with the seed from the one I've left to grow on, and maybe get a bit of vigour back in the line. Can't believe I just implied that tromboncino is lacking vigour...I think I meant fecundity.
and Mike, I gave everything a good spray with seaweed yesterday, with a touch of fish emulsion poured in for good measure. They had semed to slow their growth a bit. T
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Post by steev on Jan 28, 2014 22:01:54 GMT -5
Personally, I find Tromboncino much inferior to many zucchinis, as well as many immature Winter squash, thin-flavored, in my experience; thin-flavoured, for that matter.
Certainly not as productive, but Guatemalan Blue is excellent to ~9".
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Post by zeedman on Jan 28, 2014 23:36:11 GMT -5
Tromboncino is my favorite summer squash; it avoids the insect & disease problems that tend to plague zucchini in my area. It is certainly a space hog, so in terms of yield per area, it can't compare with the relatively compact bush zucchini... but given space, the yield can be huge. I get my best yield if the vines are allowed to trail, since they root heavily along the stem, and late summer pickings get very large. When I trellis the vines, the squash are straighter & better quality, but there are fewer of them. Many years, there is a period in mid-summer when the yield slows down. I've noticed that if I water heavily, this period is shorter. I maintain two lines; "Zucchetta Rampicante" (from Pinetree seeds) and "Tromboncino" (from Seed Savers Exchange), and alternate between the two. The strain from Pinetree has longer squash, and although there are fewer of them, it is my favorite. I call them "hoop squash", for obvious reasons.
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Post by steev on Jan 28, 2014 23:47:33 GMT -5
Well, the whole point is "grow what works and pleases you".
I'm curious what insects trash your zucchini, but not trombonzini.
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Post by rowan on Jan 29, 2014 4:09:41 GMT -5
Mmmm, it is my favourite too, and it makes a great talking point. Here is a pic of my neighbour holding one from a couple of years ago.
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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 30, 2014 19:57:02 GMT -5
I haven't had much luck with it yet but a fellow grower in the area had them do well. Trombocino, as a moschata, is resistant to squash borer - perhaps the pest that is begin referred to. That said, I'm going to try again this year.
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Post by zeedman on Feb 2, 2014 2:49:39 GMT -5
Well, the whole point is "grow what works and pleases you". I'm curious what insects trash your zucchini, but not trombonzini. Ottawagardener was spot on. SVB is very bad in my area. If I don't protect pepo or maxima squash during the egg laying period, I will get close to 100% infestation - usually with multiple larvae per plant. Most years, that means a total loss, and I nearly quit growing pepos & maximas for that reason. Now, when I grow those squash, I cover the young plants with spun polyester until they either begin flowering, or outgrow the cover... by that point, the egg laying is generally over. The cover discourages the first hatch of squash bugs too, so it is good practice. But I started growing tromboncino before I used row cover, because it needs no protection from SVB. They do try to attack it, because I see a few small holes with frass... but the plants seem to be able to defend themselves. If I check again in a week or two, the frass is gone, and there are no further signs of infestation. Some years I might lose a plant or two when they are still young, but once the runners are about 3 feet long or so, they seem to be immune to attack. Then all I have to do is watch for the first squash bugs attacking the young plants. I can tell when there is a squash bug, because it weakens the plant, which in turn attracts cucumber beetles... when I see a swarm of beetles, I look for the squash bug, and almost always find one. I carry a bottle of home made bug spray when I do this (water, dish soap, rubbing alcohol, cooking oil) and it kills both bugs (and their eggs) and beetles. Most years tromboncino is my preferred summer squash; I like the flavor, and the fact that it is 90% seedless. I freeze only the seedless portion, and cook the bulb at the end for fresh eating. But last year, a very wet Spring prevented me from planting in my rural plot until the July 4th weekend. That would have been too late to get much tromboncino, since they take awhile to get going... so I planted zucchini & yellow straightneck, because of their shorter DTM. I planted A LOT, thinking that bugs would get most of them, and that they would only bear for a couple weeks before frost. As it turned out, the late planting missed not only the SVB, but the squash bugs & cucumber beetles were no-shows... and due to the warm October extending the season, I was picking buckets full. Best year for zucchini I ever had, in spite of - and because of - the late planting. This year, though, it is back to tromboncino; I need to replenish my seed stock.
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