Yes, cactus corking is normal! It’s like your cactus growing tough outer skin as it ages or faces stress. It might not be pretty, but it’s usually harmless. Here’s why it happens and how to take care of it!
28.05.2024 - 16:35 / gardenerspath.com / Kristine Lofgren
Reasons and Fixes for Hollow Zucchini
I love hollow zucchini. I slice them in half, scoop out the center, and stuff them with cheese and herbs.
What I don’t like? Zucchini with hollow heart, where the fruit develops with a hollow center.
Not only are they often funky looking, but sometimes the fruit will even deflate, like a punctured football, if you leave them too long on the vine.
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Hollow zucchini is a disappointing problem that you might not even be able to identify until you heat up the skillet and start to slice up your zukes. That’s when you realize something has gone horribly wrong.
Unlike some issues, which can spell the end of your harvest, you can fix hollow heart and still have plenty of fruits to fill your (and your neighbor’s) refrigerator.
There are three main causes that we’ll go over. Here’s the lineup:
To understand why zucchini might develop with a hollow center, we need to do a quick rundown of zuke morphology.
Zucchini are classified botanically as fruits, which are mature ovaries. In all squash, the ovary forms below the floral parts, which is known as an inferior ovary.
Once the ovary matures, or the fruit forms, it is comprised of a mesocarp, or the flesh, the exocarp, or the skin, with seeds at the center.
When the fruit is hollow, it’s usually because the seeds didn’t develop properly, but there can be other causes as well.
In our guide to growing zucchini, we cover how to properly cultivate these plants in your vegetable garden.
And now let’s talk about why the fruits of your labor may end up with hollow heart, and what you can do about it.
1. Lack of or Incomplete PollinationZucc
Yes, cactus corking is normal! It’s like your cactus growing tough outer skin as it ages or faces stress. It might not be pretty, but it’s usually harmless. Here’s why it happens and how to take care of it!
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