by Leslie Cox; Thursday; July 30, 2020

I was going to write about a disease this week but then I encountered something very strange when I cut into a zucchini. The entire seed cavity was brown and going rotten. Never, ever seen this before. 

And what made it really strange was there were no unusual growths on the outside skin of the zucchini…nor was there any evidence of an entry point from the stem or blossom end of the curcubit. In short, no outside point of entry for such a nasty looking disease to make its way in and develop in the seed cavity.

A garden mystery which demanded research just in case more of the zucchinis developing in the garden should become afflicted. Hours later…none of the reference books in my library mentioned this weird phenomenon. An internet search did not turn up anything even looking remotely similar either.

When all else fails…resort to your fellow vegetable growing friends. The first friend to reply was as mystified as me. As was the second friend who wrote back…although she presented a very plausible theory after admitting she had encountered the same phenomenon in a crookneck squash earlier this month in her own vegetable garden. It was just the one and the damage to hers was not as extensive as in mine.

The theory: a physiological disorder caused by the unusual spring weather this year or a problem in calcium uptake or uneven irrigation…

Who knows? In her words, “sh*t happens”! And that is so true. It does not matter if you are a beginner gardener or a well-seasoned one…there is always something we encounter in the garden which has us scratching our heads.