|
|
|
Hardiness Zone: 5a
By Wing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
By
08/02/2011
Pollination should be your first consideration. We don't have enough bees anymore to do all the work; I go out first thing in the morning and look over my zukes and other squashes. Oftentimes, a single plant will produce both male and female flowers. Mostly male early on, but the female (fruiting) flowers should come on shortly.
I hand-pollinate by removing the male flower from the stalk, peeling back (every so gently so as to not disturb the pollen) the flower petal part (eat this, its subtle flavor is yummy!) and leaving just the base and the center. Then stop by one or two female flowers and pollinate them by hand. They should go on to produce fruit as long as they are getting enough water.
The flowers should be new that day; older flowers tend to be too far past prime.
Works for me in AZ most every time. Good luck!
By
06/14/2011
I'm having this problem now, and suspect pollination. How can I fix it? Can I put on my butterfly wings and use a toothpick and move pollen from one flower to the next, or does it need to be shared between 2 different plants? If the latter, is there a male and female plant? (sorry, I love gardening, but don't know much about how to garden.)
Thanks Becky Jaine Raleigh NC
By
08/16/2010
Thank you so much for your feedback. You were right about pollination issue as there could be no pollination if the female flowers wilted before blossoming. I read elsewhere that it may be the lack of calcium. So I added a different fertilizer with calcium and magnesium. I also put in lots of crushed egg shells and some lime powder to increase calcium content in the soil. After 2 or 3 weeks, 2 out of the 4 plants have produced fruits. The other 2 are still stubbornly infertile.
By
07/20/2010
Pollination is the issue. You have no male plantings going on. This happened to me a couple years ago, Master Gardeners said it happens. Lots of beautiful flowers, no fruit on the vine. And you don't know till too late to eat the blossoms that it is not the one.
I have several of zucchini plants this year and they are huge! My problem is that they bloom with flowers and then all of the sudden the flowers close up and then eventually fall off. I do not have any animals getting inside the garden and I have checked for any pests and there are none. I water ever other day usually as long as it's not extremely hot and in that case every day! Can you help me with any suggestions? I have managed to only grow one zucchini so far.
By Shelly
By em47
08/03/2011
Believe it or not, zucchini flowers are considered a treasure. For years, Italians have made zucchini flower fritters. Please let me know if you care to receive the recipe.
I live in New Jersey and have a problem with Zucchini plants. The plants are huge and healthy and producing an enormous amount of flowers, but no Zucchini.
I have planted a zucchini and it has started producing a lot of male flowers (a month ago), but it hasn't produced a single female flower. What can I do to encourage my zucchini plant to produce female flowers, too?
Hardiness Zone: 9b
By Araz from Aleppo, Syria
Like ThriftyFun on Facebook
