squash problems

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Permalink Reply by Martha Hill on June 7, 2009 at 11:44am

I always have a few that do that throughout the growing season !! But it has never been enough that it makes a great difference in production !! I have no idea what causes it except for a theory that perhaps they are not getting the cross pollination they need to mature !! Perhaps yours are spaced a little far apart or not enough bees or wind to pollinate them properly !! Or could be inconsistant watering !! Mine seem to do best if a little on the dry side !! I usually raise both straights and crooked neck varieties as well as zuchinni and plant about three feet apart !! I have the most problems with the ones that do not literally intertwine with each other !!

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Permalink Reply by Tamra on June 8, 2009 at 9:35am

They are not getting pollinated. Either it is too cold, too wet, or you do not have enough pollinators. Next year plant lots of flowers near by to attract bees and other pollinators. This year you can hand pollinate. Take a tiny paint brush and collect pollen from several male flowers and spread it on the female ones.

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Permalink Reply by Tamra on June 8, 2009 at 9:38am

Just realized you are in Nashville, so am I. Because of the wet, cool spring I delayed planting of my squash. They are just now developing flowers. So I am sure that the weather has hindered the bees for you. I bet your next round of flowers will mature. Of course it never hurts to do the paint brush method.

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Permalink Reply by Marian Worley on June 8, 2009 at 9:43am

Hi,
I actually read about the hand pollination and did a little of that yesterday but I ran into this problem and was unsure of what to do. getting to the male pollen was easy, the flowers were open and I could easily get the pollen on the brush. But the females were so tightly closed that I was afraid of damaging the blooms. Do I have to open the blooms to pollinate the inside part or can I brush it on the outside of the bloom?

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on June 8, 2009 at 10:05am

no, it needs to be in the bloom. You need to get their male pollen into the female flower. You might have to pry them open a bit! Maybe they opened up today. :)

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Permalink Reply by Gary Gill on June 8, 2009 at 10:26am

Male flowers open in the AM and female flowers tend to open in the PM. A friend will collect a couple of male flowers in the AM and store them in a Ziploc bag untill afternoon and then he pollinates the female flowers.

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Permalink Reply by Tamra on June 8, 2009 at 10:48am

In my garden both male and female tend to be open by mid morning. sounds like your females are no yet ready. The plant makes male flowers before it starts making female. Thus the reason there are so many recipes for squash blossoms, they are only using the males.

When the female opens on it's own, get your brush and find a male.

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Permalink Reply by TAR HEEL on June 8, 2009 at 11:41am

1-800-NEED-BEES

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Permalink Reply by Marian Worley on June 8, 2009 at 11:57am

Thank you, all of you. very useful. I will report back. I also was a lillte concerned about the nutrients in my soil and read that a calciul defiency or imbalance in general can cause problems so I side dressed with a well balanced organic fertilizer, Hegetable Tone, and crusehd egg shells with water in my food processer and scattered about. I hear snalis do not like egg shells. So I will let you know.
Marian

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Permalink Reply by Marian Worley on June 9, 2009 at 9:36am

The cross pollinating is going well

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