Learned something...from the internet. So...my squash are flowering but not fruiting. Why? Evidently, according to a page, because they're not being pollinated. Squash produce male and female flowers on the same plant. The females produce a bumpy little pre-fruit. Bees are supposed to come along, morning only, and get the fruit fertilized. From there, the fruit grows very quickly. But if the plant isn't fertilized, the flower dies and drops off. Same with the male flower, it doesn't last long. So today I tried to pollinate one flower that I thought was female. Most flowers are male, only about 1 in 4 or 5 are male, apparently. So, if you're not a bee, you take a paintbrush or Q-tip and play god. Hopefully it will work. We'll see.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/a...es/squash.html
5. Q. Why won't my squash set fruit -- they bloom and the blooms fall off?
A. Squash have male and female blossoms on the same plant (monoecious). The male blossom is borne on a slender stalk. The female blossom has the swollen embryonic fruit attached at its base. The blossoms of both sexes are open and fertile only during the morning hours of one day. During this time pollen must be transferred by bees or by a person using an artists paint brush or Q-Tip, the female blossom will close without being fertilized, the squash will not enlarge and in a few days it will drop from the plant to the ground. The male blossom may open a second day, but the pollen will no longer be fertile and the blossom will close, wilt and drop from the plant that day or the next. There are many more male blossoms than female blossoms on a squash plant. There may be 3 to 4 male blossoms opening for several days to a week before the first female blossoms open.
new word:
monoecious
moˇnoeˇcious [muh-nee-shuhs] Show IPA
adjective
1. Biology . having both male and female organs in the same individual; hermaphroditic.
2. Botany . (of a plant, species, etc.) having the stamens and the pistils in separate flowers on the same plant.
(Good word for insulting people, eh? sort of alt-hermaphrodite)
Back in the seventies, monoecious scrawnster Bowie sang beautiful music and appeared in strange films.