A steady supply of moisture is essential for squash to thrive, particularly when it comes to larger pumpkin cultivars. On the other hand, overwatering might harm your squash plant.
In this article, I’ll show you how to identify whether your squash plant is being overwatered and what you can do to fix it.
Why Overwatering is Harmful
One of the most frequent errors squash growers make is overwatering. Therefore, knowing how your specific plant reacts to overwatering is crucial.
Squash plants are mainly reliant on their surroundings for growth. Summertime overwatering of squash may result in the development of many leaves and blossoms, using up more energy and soil nutrients than the plant can utilize to produce fruit.
Additionally, oxygen-deprived soil prevents the roots of the squash from receiving any water, resulting in drowning and root rot.
Signs and Symptoms
Even when you water your garden correctly, complications and poor plant health are possible. Use the following five indicators to determine if your plants are suffering from overwatering or if another culprit may be to blame.
1. Wet and Wilting
A green but wilting plant may be overwatered. Refrain from watering your plants when the earth is wet to the touch.
2. Brown Leaves
It can be challenging to determine whether a plant is wilting due to ill health or inadequate water levels. A few more drops of water are often added by hastily reacting gardeners hoping the leaves will perk up.
Before doing that, inspect your soil to see whether it is wet. Do this by placing your finger at the plant’s base. If the ground still seems to be dry, it may need watering.
3. Edema
Edema is the third indication that your plant has been overwatered. A plant’s cells may grow and become stressed if it takes more water than necessary. These cells are often overstuffed to the point of rupture. By observing any blisters or sores on the plant, you may look for indications of burst cells.
These lesions will eventually develop into black or even white scar tissue. Indentations on the tops of the leaves are another indicator of edema.
4. Yellow Falling Leaves
There is a significant possibility that you are overwatering it if you see that the leaves on your plant are turning yellow and losing new growth simultaneously.
5. Root Rot
Water-logged soil may make it difficult for roots to breathe, which causes them to drown and start to decay. A fungal disease known as plant root rot may ultimately cause the plant to wilt by turning the roots gray, brown, or slimy. Removing any plant with root rot from a garden bed is recommended so the pathogen cannot spread.
How to Fix It
The damage may be repaired if overwatering is discovered in its early stages. Your squash plant may become healthy and happy with a bit of adjustment to watering habits and soil quality.
Adhere to the following recommendations.
- Take a break from watering if your squash plant is getting too much moisture. To check whether the earth is dry, dig 2 to 3 inches down to see if the soil has dried up. Water the plant with a significantly lower amount of water than usual.
- You must transplant the squash into the soil with good drainage if the soil is soggy.
- Always dig a one-inch hole in the soil before you water it to check if any moisture is present. When there is no wetness around, that is the time that you can go ahead and water the plants.
- Well-drained compost should be mixed into the soil to increase the soil’s aeration and water drainage. Compost supplies nutrients that are good for the dirt and slows the development of unwanted organisms like spider mites.
