Squash Stations 2018, my first Patty Pan.

[no_akira]

Going on from the success of growing out of a couple of Rotol (Daleks) compost bins last year.

Its more of a simplified "HugelKultur bed" this year, bottom filled with chopped branch logs & wood chips, middle section filled with Fresh manure to the top (a few weeks back). As the level drops due to settling / compost breakdown fill with soil from plot to the top.. Blonk x3 patty pan courgettes into soil. The clever part is that the soil level continues to drop but the plants are growing so always above the rim. Soil in Dalek nice and warm and retains moisture.

On the north side of the daleks I am growing Runner Beans.

The Dalek is a solid base for the Guardman stakes.

Squash Station 1 (Patty Pans x3)


A little Patty Pan


Squash Station 2 (Melon, Cucumber, Kuri & Beans)

[chillithyme]

plants look very happy, they've got plenty of warmth and you've fed them well with the compost materials, in return they should be feeding you soon
Nice photos

[no_akira]

Latest pics of the Kuri Squash Station No3



Not sure about winter squashes and all this hot weather though, scorcio!

There taking a full can of water every other

[no_akira]

Fruiting better this year, fruit setting seems more consistant, less failed fruits.

This Squash station 1 dalek is the better of the two, it was filled all the way with bedding rich horse manure.



This Squash station 2 was filled with half manure half soil, poorer soil mix.



Lessons learned...

Ideally It would be great if the daleks came in two halfs so as the soil settled I could lift the top half off. Give the shallower roots more of a chance to pick up moisture.

Less use of plastic has definitely helped with the fruit setting.

[Thelma Sanders]

Fruiting better this year, fruit setting seems more consistant, less failed fruits.

Less use of plastic has definitely helped with the fruit setting.

I would suggest this has more to do with the weather, than using less plastic (although less use of plastic is obviously better for the environment)

[veggiechicken]

Better fruit setting here too - so far 100+ courgettes compared to about 10 last year and its absolutely nothing to do with using less plastic.

[no_akira]

Didn't realise your were both seasoned chemists in the petrochemical industry as well, wow

There are a class of plastics which HDPE is part of that give off aromatic compounds especially in the hot weather, these arenes are very similar chemically to the subtle odours given off by male & female flowers of plants that attract the insects. For fruit setting success we need our little bug friends not to have their little olfactory senses confused.

[veggiechicken]

Sarcasm gets you nowhere.

[Snoop Puss]

Either way, looks like you've got some happy plants there, no_akira.

Is it possible they're taking so much water because the drainage is too good?

[Chris11]

There are a class of plastics which HDPE is part of that give off aromatic compounds especially in the hot weather, these arenes are very similar chemically to the subtle odours given off by male & female flowers of plants that attract the insects. For fruit setting success we need our little bug friends not to have their little olfactory senses confused.

That certainly sounds scientific, although I would be surprised if what you're saying is a major factor, if at all. I don't have any background in the petrochemical industry if you think it's important, but I do have a background in both Biology and Chemistry, so I will probably understand any evidence you can provide to back that up.

[Greenleaves]

They look no different to any other squash plants growing....i you want to believe it helps then thats great, i think its poppycock

[no_akira]

Either way, looks like you've got some happy plants there, no_akira.

Is it possible they're taking so much water because the drainage is too good?

Snoop, keen observation. However it is an "exceptional" (drought) year at my plot. I've got x3 plants with 6+ fruits between them and it the last growing quartile so their needing the water.


One of the older boys expressed an interest in my g.easel trellis thingy so i built him one. He set his up on a shorter 2/3 the size cut down compost bin. He waters everyday.

I think my heap might be a little too high for the shallow roots maybe.

As is typical his seems to be growing better than mine. Some people just have green fingers.

Could also be his were a month behind mine

[no_akira]

This is what happens when you give your idea to an "old hand" at your site They show you how it should be done.

Alan's Squash station g.easel (should have got a pic with him in it)



His got about 8 squashes successfully fruiting.

I wonder if its perhaps squash plants prefer to run along the West - East axis. They might like a sunny side and a shady side. My plants are set up pointing along the North - South axis so the plant gets less of a shady side.

[Bluenowhere]

Better fruit set this year definitely due to conditions on my plot as they were nowhere near any plastic in both years.

Also I don’t agree that they are chemically similar enough compounds to cause confusion or indeed it is even the odour itself that is the most important to attract the pollinators (although that is scientifically less well understood - as many elements of flower design, pollen distribution and ‘smell’ have been show to be individually sufficient to attract the specific target pollinator of different species - The International Jounal of Plant Sciences is a good read if anyone is looking for such articles - I don’t want to bore you all to tears with multiple links but perhaps we should have a separate thread) but perhaps my university chemistry/genetics education isn’t up to standard.

I’m glad we seem to have got this thread back on track as it was a shame that on what could otherwise have been an interesting thread discussing the advantages and disadvantages of this mechanism of growing squash that people apparently can’t express alternative viewpoint based on their experience without personal attack.

My theory would be that perhaps given the hot weather that your higher bin is more subject to drying out quicker that his, only a theory, the good old poking a finger into the soil might help define if that is possible

[no_akira]

Now I know the reason why retired Alan's Squash station setup (picture above) got x9 squashes compared to my 5.

Turns out he worked for Geoff Hamilton in his youth.