How to Manage Blossom-End Rot in Zucchini

23.06.2023 - 00:48 / gardenerspath.com / Lorna Kring

Renowned for its prolific harvests, zucchini is a beautiful and delicious vegetable that’s usually easily cultivated – but blossom-end rot can quickly turn your zucchini dreams into disappointments!

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Blossom-end rot is a disorder typified by fruit that softens and decays on the blossom edge, first turning yellow then brown and black as it progresses.

This ailment is most often associated with growing tomatoes, but it’s a common problem with eggplant, peppers, and summer squash as well.

The cause is a lack of calcium.

And counterintuitively, the solution isn’t to add more calcium to your soil because it probably has plenty already.

No, the main culprit is poor irrigation. This can be further complicated by overfertilizing and/or misuse of supplements, like Epsom salts.

Happily, this disorder is quickly solved with some basic maintenance, such as correcting the soil pH, proper fertilizing practices, and regular, deep watering.

So if you’re ready for an abundant harvest this year, let’s dig into the causes and treatment options for zucchini blossom-end rot.

Here’s what you’ll find up ahead in this guide:

Blossom-end rot starts as a deterioration in cell walls that makes the flesh above the blossom soft and discolored.

The scientific name, apical necrosis, says it all…

“Apical” refers to an apex, or the blossom end. And “necrosis” means the localized death of living tissue.

As the rot progresses, the tissue dies, starting with the lower two to four inches of the fruit. It turns yellow, then brown or black, and takes on a soft, mushy texture.

Quite often, the