Zucchini blooms then booms fall

I need a little help again. I planted eight black beauty zucchini's, they are ggowing great, and have been blooming for two weeks plus. After A few days the blooms fall off closed. this leaves A realy healthy looking stim, but nothing else. I have taken A 1/8th. inch paint brush and dusted aruond the flowers for the last week and A half, no change. I use Midical Grow every ten days. I have great looking plants about 30 inches across, lots of blooms, and realy nice flower stems with nothing else. Any advice would be thankful. Ihave never tryed to grow Zooks before.

It is likely that your squash are only producing male flowers at this point.

LTilton is probably right, so don't worry. Zucchini are very prolific growers. Once they start giving you baby zukes, you might wish some of the blossoms would fall off - lol.

If all you have are blossoms on skinny stems, those are the males. The females will look like tiny zucchinis with the bloom on the end.

Kelly

This message was edited Apr 30, 2009 5:56 PM

crazyfish - Yes, as the other have said, your zooks are probably producing male flowers now - the females will come later. Last year, my yellow squash produced mainly male flowers all season - I only got 4 or so squash!

Thanks every one on the quick replyes. I don't mind to try and fell, but to grow for the first time a lush health plant with lots of blooms then nota. This stings A little. On the funny side (not to offend anyone ), I have been taking some good natured ribbing about me trying to polinate with a paint brush my homo sexual zooks. What do you wear, shoud we call the police , and daddy wants to change his lst name. Hey nobody else knew there were two types of squash flowers. thans for the new info and A good laughf for so many. My boat captin did not know about this web site and has a question or two. Again thanks each and all for the help and I do share with my family an neighbors.

LOL!! Last year I tried Zukes for first time. I knew about male and female flowers from Cukes, but week after week of waiting for a female flower to appear drove me nuts. Now as to planting eight of them, you better like zukes a LOT, or have tons and tons of friends. Don't be surprised if your friends hide when they see you by seasons end.

Ed

The females are coy, they don't want to show up for the date and be left hanging.

I just put on my long pants and waded through the follage to look for bugs and weeds. I fuond the swollen stems with unopened blooms as you all said,happy. Then I found A 5 inch long zook, real happy. Called my 82 year dad and told him not to change his last name. Thanks a bunch for all your help and I have two different set of crook naecks growing. I guess they have two sex blooms. Dont worry about any excess crop. They will get eaten by friends and family. Itold dad to eat squash thin sliced with raw with ranch dressing, He now eats this 5-6 times a week,then i mentioned zooks are good same way. He said grow them son grow them. Thanks again for everyones help and humor!

Good luck with your zukes. There's always zucchini bread, or leaving them on the neighbor's doorstep in the middle of the night - lol!!

Don't forget unlocked cars, you can fit lots in the back seat on the floor so no-one notices until they get home.....

Everything about this thread makes me laugh. I can't take more than 1 or 2 plants... even that usually makes me and my friends, neighbors, random strangers I meet, etc. completely sick of zucchini before it's over.

Which makes me wonder why I'm getting ready to plant about 12 different varieties of summer squash and still keep searching the sed catalogs for more.....

Squashaholics Anonymous, are you there???

LOL, I planted four crooked neck squash.. now I'm worried Imight have over planted...LOL, oh well, I got plenty of neighbors that go to bed early... I can always sneak a bag full on their doorstep if I need too ;)

Oh bless each and everyone of you. I have forgotten about zucchini bread and the neighbors they have several recipies. The one with wallnuts sounds the best. Now I'm scared about 14 crook necks that I planted. How well does squash freeze. I'm glad we can help each other out and have some good humor too! You all seem to be good folks and if you find a sack of sqush in your car, porch, or tied to your dogs collar, well could be?

Squash freezes well, but it also dries beautifully. In the cold winter months it adds a great summer memory to soups and casseroles:)

it's just darn good, that's all there is to it...ROTFL...

I am laughing so hard. This is great!! For two years I haven't been able to grow a single zook. so this year, I am planting more plants in the hopes of getting a few. Now, watch, this year they will grow like wildfire. but, I am getting great ideas of how to deliver them anonymously.

I've also planted a LOT of squash -- zukes, crookneck, calabasas, -- I've got my kids and neighbor families in mind ....IF they produce fruit as much as others here have experienced. I've NOT had very good luck in years past. [squash borer].

ANYWAY....just wondering about freezing any extra abundance: Is there anything special that needs to be done to squash in order to freeze it --??-- ....or do you just slice it up, seal-a-meal it, and then FREEZE. ???

Many thanks...
Jann


This message was edited May 4, 2009 9:14 AM

I did the hand pollination thing last year and it was both
funny and frustrating. There were either male blossoms
or females, rarely at the same time. I persisted though
and did get a great crop. One yellow squash plant and
two people goes a long way.

This year I am encouraging bees to do the work. They
disappeared for two years here but seem to be back and
my salvia plants and rosemary are filled with them. I planted
a salvia right next to the area where I have my 12-gal. veggie
containers and hope the bees will get the point.

I sliced up the extra yellow squash, sauteed it with some chopped
onion and fresh basil, and froze it in vacuum freezer bags. It
kept beautifully and we enjoyed some of it the other night. I peel,
dice and freeze extra tomatoes as well, without cooking them,
and they sure have come in handy.

speaking of tomato... I think something is wrong with my plant. it isnt getting any taller... and I keep having to remove the bottom leaves because they yellow after awhile. i may end up giving up on it and tending to the squash, peppers and cukes more.

Last week I finally had a male and female flower open at the same time and hand pollinated it. By Saturday that sucker was 9" long, so I picked it. It was big enough for TWO loaves of zucchini bread (3 cups grated) - lol.

woooow... a full zuke in a week?

Actually in about 5 days - lol.

*faints* Im new to the whole veggie thing.. I didnt even think that was possible. I thought it would take at least a few weeks of growth time on the vine before it was ready

Nope - they grow like weeds - lol. The smaller you pick them, the better they are. Plus, the more you pick 'em, the more they produce. That's why this year I only planted two - lol. That one I hand pollinated and by the next day it was maybe 2" long and just kept growing from there. Being the only one on the plant may have helped it's growth spurt, but they do grow fast. Once they start, you pretty much need to check and pick every day, seriously.

I see you planted 4 crooknecks? Hope you like squash - lol. Seriously, they are really good and if you get creative, you can find lots of uses for them. We love to make shiskabobs with marinated chicken and/or beef and fresh veggies (squash and zucchini included) and pop 'em on the grill!!

Kelly

P.S. Is your problem tomato plant in the ground or in a container?

well, I do love squash, but I wasnt sure how many fruits you get on one plant.. guess I'll be finding out soon...LOL.

my problem tomato is in the ground. its a variety called 'Better Bush'. I am pulling my hair out with it. I dont know what else to do. Ive done everything i can think of.. everything thats been suggested to me, but still... it just refuses to thrive. maybe try romas next year. a bit too late to start over with tomatoes now.

Did you ask about your 'mater problem on the tomato forum? I only grow Heirlooms, so have no experience with Better Bush. Here's a link to the plant file info on it:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/67065/

Without seeing a pic or knowing more, the yellow leaves would suggest some sort of nutrient deficiency or overwatering IMO. That variety seems to be resistant to most diseases. Do you have other 'maters planted or just that variety?

Kelly

P.S. Keep us posted on your adventure in squashland!!

I have only that mater.. and only that one plant. someone suggested putting crushed eggshells down around it as it might be lacking calcium, so i did that.. nothing changed. may back off the watering tho, but Ive always heard that maters loved alot of water. I dunno...LOL.

Not sure about the eggshells? I've heard that suggested as well, but I would think that if it does provide any calcium, it wouldn't be immediately available to the plant until the eggshells are broken down. Tomatoes love consistent water, not necessarily lots of water. You really don't want them to dry out between waterings. They don't seem to like that.

I use fish emulsion on my veggies, 'maters included, as a soil drench every 2 weeks. Basically mix it according to directions (usually about 1 Tbsp per gallon of water) and give some to each plant and water it in. You should be able to buy it in concentrated form at a nursery or even Home Depot should carry it. You can also use it as a foliar spray directly on the leaves. Might be worth a shot. If the 'mater doesn't make it, you can always try for a fall crop with a new plant. Good luck!!

Kelly

thanks for that advice, I'll try that.

LOL, funny thread. I'm reminded of one of my favorite cartoons. It's a picture of a farmer's veg stand and there's a sign on the front:

Free Kitten With Every Zucchini!

Or

Free Zucchini With Every Kitten!


LiseP

Too funny, LiseP, but soooooo true . . .

I think this thread will get even funnier once all those zucchini crops start rolling in!!

cue_chik - let us know how it turns out with your 'mater.

kelly

Lise -- Last year was my first ever in growing veggies in
containers and I wondered if one yellow squash plant was
going to be enough for the two of us. LOL

I have zucchini, crook neck, patty pan and tromboccino...what was I thinking.

I'm guessing 24'ish plants might produce a few more than expected?

24 plants? Yikes!! I'm glad Phoenix is faaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr away from Virginia - lol.

Kelly

24 plants.. hehe... HAHA... BEWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! *is thankful she lives in Florida*

I'd say, you'll probably have enough to host your very own County Squash Festival.... hee hee
I'm just teasing ya.

This message was edited May 4, 2009 4:17 PM

Well, I used to live in AZ and FL, so I know my way around! I wonder if the new people in the neighborhood like squash?

Hey, cue_chik - we better hope Qinx doesn't find out where we live. If some mystery squash shows up, at least we'll know where to start looking - lol.

Qinx - maybe you can do the 'ol "leave it on the doorstep and run" trick. If your neighbors start avoiding you on the street, you can safely assume they do not like squash . . .

crazyfish3 - see what you started? I'm supposed to be working, but instead I keep checking this forum for new posts - lol!!