[moonglow]

Well i should have known better but here goes .

Was offered some bags of horse manure free as id already done a favour for a fellow allotmenteer and decided to use them on my squashes .

Now they dont look thast healthy even after being in the ground for a few weeks and i was wondering if this could be down to the manure as i was told it was well rotted.

if so would it be possible to save the plants ie by digging up and trying to remove the manure .

Mark.

[mumofstig]

round your squashes or dug in under your squashed, just fresh horse poo or straw mixed in with it? (makes a difference IMO)

If it's any consolation mine look like they're dying and the rotted manure was dug in months ago 

[moonglow]

Placed underneath as id planted em, think there was straw mixed with it but it was mostly manure .

[mumofstig]

it's the straw with the pee in that's the problem, sometimes.

My money's still on the weather. Fingers crossed they'll make it.

[Kirpi]

If it's any use, I have squashes in three areas:

- soil which had homemade compost dug into the top of it last autumn

- a straw bale which has had coffee grounds added into the top and well watered. The squash was planted into the bale with a pocket of shop bought compost

- a bed which had fresh guinea pig (I take manure from a local breeder so that's as much guinea pig poo as if it were horse manure) manure and straw bedding on top.

Each squash looks wilted and yellow, but since having a few sunny days have all greened up a bit and started to grow.

I think the answer is the weather has come in patches of extremes this year - drought, heavy rain and wind. It is hardly surprising that plants like squashes, sweetcorn and even beans - and even potatoes - are all suffering.

I am hoping for a late summer to bring everything on.

[moonglow]

kk and thanks all

[Stevens706]

Some people grow pumpkins directly into compost / manure heaps with soil only in the planting hole, so I would think your problem is the weather