British Columbia: Help my Squash are rotting and dropping

I bought a couple of vegetable marrow to grow for a friend who fondly remembers it from his WW2 Victory garden. The plant is blossoming fine. First the small squash would drop off at about 1 1/2 in. Now they are stay attached to the vine but start rotting from the tip about 3 in. I would really like to get him his squash, so any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

 

Could be blossom end rot. Caused by calcium deficiency, exacerbated by dry conditions/uneven moisture, acid soil. Probably too late to help squash this year, but if you take action now next year's will benefit.

 

Many thanks. Do you have any suggestions for correcting it?

 

Test your soil---pH of 6-6.5 is optimal for calcium uptake. If pH too low, add lime.

Use a low-nitrogen fertilizer before you plant. Too much nitrogen will lead to leaf growth, and what you need is roots to suck up the calcium.

Add gypsum for calcium.

Some folks mix in a tsp. or 2 of epsom salts into the soil---you can mix a tablespoon of this (salts, that is) with a gallon of water and spray it on the plants once a month.

Most important, be sure that the plants are evenly watered! All the above will be worthless unless the chemicals are well-dissolved and well-absorbed, and water is the key ingredient to all of this. You could put down some mulch to retain the moisture---just be sure that it is not harboring bugs, fungus, or keeping the plants soggy. Evenly moist is the goal.