Normal Die-off inevitable yellow bottom leaves?

[Lmbauer2017]

For almost every plant that I plant, the bottom leaves begin to yellow. This zucchini is doing it rather quickly though… is this “normal die-off”? The cucumber seedling is also looking a liiiittle yellow. You can also tell it is 100+degF right now… In the evening this plant perks right up and looks much better BTW. I water in a circle around the edges of the fabric pot at least every other day right now. I’m terrified of overwatering because I seem to do it a lot to these vine plants… Maybe even that is too much water even with this heat?

 

[Chuck]

For almost every plant that I plant, the bottom leaves begin to yellow. This zucchini is doing it rather quickly though… is this “normal die-off”? The cucumber seedling is also looking a liiiittle yellow. You can also tell it is 100+degF right now… In the evening this plant perks right up and looks much better BTW. I water in a circle around the edges of the fabric pot at least every other day right now. I’m terrified of overwatering because I seem to do it a lot to these vine plants… Maybe even that is too much water even with this heat?

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With the super hot weather we are all enjoying this yellowing is about normal. Squash, tomatoes, peppers, just about everything we grow either slows growing, stops growing or dies. About the only thing you can do is drape them with shade cloth or move them into a little cooler spot. I water my fabric containers in the center, very slowly until the entire surface is saturated. Water, in soil drains downward in a cone shape. I water mine now every 3 days but it is hotter here than in Houston. My temp yesterday was 106F and the long range forecast forecasts the same until at least the first of Sept.. Do not get discouraged by your plants not producing or even growing well. This has been a strange unusual year.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

That’s comforting… yea I’ve been kind of taking a step back and letting everything blow over as best I can. Interesting you water your fabric containers every three days though. How large are they? The first inch of the edge around the pot dries out for me by the end of the day and it makes me uneasy thinking that I should be wetting it down (hence the perimeter watering lol).

 

[Chuck]

That’s comforting… yea I’ve been kind of taking a step back and letting everything blow over as best I can. Interesting you water your fabric containers every three days though. How large are they? The first inch of the edge around the pot dries out for me by the end of the day and it makes me uneasy thinking that I should be wetting it down (hence the perimeter watering lol).

I have 7 gallon and 10 gallon containers. Drainage is not a problem and I completely saturate all of the soil in a container. The fabric breathes and that is why the edges dry quickly but in the root zone it stays damp as long as I water as I do. When you water with a hose, keep turning the flow of water down until the water does not puddle on the surface. It may take 1/2 hour or more to completely water a plant. Remember that you have a good quantity of perlite to hold moisture and compost also retains water well. And if you have peat or coir these also retain moisture. I really wouldn't try to save the squash while it is still this hot as it probably won't set fruit. I would direct sow seeds about mid August.