BAD SQUASH YEAR

peppero · August 4, 2018

This is the worst squash year I have ever experienced.Many beautiful plants and large amounts of male blossoms. Total count; two. All have been pulled and replaced; hoping for different results but,expecting the same results. O how I would like to be proven wrong.

I would like to know why I have almost ZERO male blossoms.

Jon

saltmarsh · August 5, 2018

Hi Jon.

Which squash varieties are you growing.

I grew Trombocini squash for the first time this year on a trellis so they would grow straight rather than in a circle when grown on the ground. Pick them when they are under 20 inches for use as a summer squash. All the seed are in the bulb so the neck is seedless. Used this size and smaller they taste better than yellow straight-neck or crook-neck when fried or stewed. I use a mandolin to slice them. Also slice 1/8 inch thick and substitute for pasta in no boil lasagna. You won't believe it until you try it. Left on the vine it matures to a winter squash up to 4 feet long that keeps well. PM your address and I'll send you some seeds. Claud

peppero · August 6, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by saltmarsh

Hi Jon.

Which squash varieties are you growing.

I grew Trombocini squash for the first time this year on a trellis so they would grow straight rather than in a circle when grown on the ground. Pick them when they are under 20 inches for use as a summer squash. All the seed are in the bulb so the neck is seedless. Used this size and smaller they taste better than yellow straight-neck or crook-neck when fried or stewed. I use a mandolin to slice them. Also slice 1/8 inch thick and substitute for pasta in no boil lasagna. You won't believe it until you try it. Left on the vine it matures to a winter squash up to 4 feet long that keeps well. PM your address and I'll send you some seeds. Claud

Thanks for the response. As for the varieties: Too many to list. I have grown trombocino with varying degrees of success. They didn't even sprout this year and they were the last I had. I will be
happy to accept your kind offer. I may have something you want, so let me know.

Jon Polvado
202 Byrd Lane
Selmer TN 38375

Nan_PA_6b · August 6, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by peppero

This is the worst squash year I have ever experienced.Many beautiful plants and large amounts of male blossoms. Total count; two. All have been pulled and replaced; hoping for different results but,expecting the same results. O how I would like to be proven wrong.

I would like to know why I have almost ZERO male blossoms.

Jon

Confused here; do you have a large amount of male blossoms, or only two?

peppero · August 7, 2018

[QUOTE=Nan_PA_6b;710795]Confused here; do you have a large amount of male blossoms, or only two

That should have been female blossom. My bad

Jon

Nan_PA_6b · August 7, 2018

So lots of girls & few boys? Zucchini for me starts with a bunch of male flowers and the gals come along later. Starting over was probably a good idea. I don't know why it happened, though.

Worth1 · August 8, 2018

Probably gender neutral blossoms.
Worth

peppero · August 8, 2018

I may have caused some confusion so let me start over.
I had a super abundance of male blossoms and ONLY TWO FEMALE BLOSSOMS, resulting in ONE SQUASH.

My cucumbers had jillions of male blossoms but only 9 FEMALE BLOSSOMS, RESULTING IN 8 CUCUMBERS.

Jon

Worth1 · August 9, 2018

Poor female blossoms surrounded by all those lurking male blossoms.

Worth

October 31, 2018

I also had almost no female flowers.

JerryHaskins · November 4, 2018

I had a similar male/female problem with yellow crook neck squash. [strike 1]

Squash vine borers and lack of honey bees also kept me from getting much squash this year. [strike 2]

I planted it late, as well. [strike 3]

MikeInCypress · November 4, 2018

On the Cukes = Plant Sweet Success. You will have more cukes than you can use. On the other hand, I never do well with Squash.

MikeInCypress.

peppero · November 4, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeInCypress

On the Cukes = Plant Sweet Success. You will have more cukes than you can use. On the other hand, I never do well with Squash.

MikeInCypress.

Thanks for the suggestion Mike; they do taste good.

Jon

b54red · November 5, 2018

I have never run into that problem with all my squash in a season. I have however had it happen to several varieties in the past so I no longer plant them. The variety that has done the absolute best for me is a yellow zucchini named Butta. It is so productive that I have reduced the number of plants that I set out every year for the past three years so I don't have to spend so much time giving it away. As to cucumbers the most dependable varieties I have found are Sweet Success, Tender Jade and Orient Express. I had a bumper crop of cucumbers and squash this past summer as well as a good crop of fall cucumbers until the hurricane destroyed them.

I have found a few tricks that help a great deal with these type plants. The first is to use a good heavy mulch and I use cypress mulch. The second is to use Urban Farms Vegetable formula weekly as a fertilizer. For both crops use a copper spray or a mild diluted bleach spray to keep mildews at bay. For cucumbers always give them a tall fence to run on. For squash keep the lower stem coated with a bit of Sevin dust to prevent SVBs. Keep an eye out for squash bugs and kill them immediately if you see them. Grow some basil plants to encourage bees into your garden and be careful if you need to use any pesticide to spray late in the evening to avoid killing bees.

Bill

August 4, 2018	#1
peppero Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: selmer, tn Posts: 2,944	BAD SQUASH YEAR This is the worst squash year I have ever experienced.Many beautiful plants and large amounts of male blossoms. Total count; two. All have been pulled and replaced; hoping for different results but,expecting the same results. O how I would like to be proven wrong. I would like to know why I have almost ZERO male blossoms. Jon

August 8, 2018	#8
peppero Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: selmer, tn Posts: 2,944	cucumbers I may have caused some confusion so let me start over. I had a super abundance of male blossoms and ONLY TWO FEMALE BLOSSOMS, resulting in ONE SQUASH. My cucumbers had jillions of male blossoms but only 9 FEMALE BLOSSOMS, RESULTING IN 8 CUCUMBERS. Jon

November 4, 2018	#12
MikeInCypress Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 963	On the Cukes = Plant Sweet Success. You will have more cukes than you can use. On the other hand, I never do well with Squash. MikeInCypress. __________________ "Growing older, not up"

August 5, 2018	#2
saltmarsh Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: 2 miles south of Yoknapatawpha Zone 7b Posts: 662	Hi Jon. Which squash varieties are you growing. I grew Trombocini squash for the first time this year on a trellis so they would grow straight rather than in a circle when grown on the ground. Pick them when they are under 20 inches for use as a summer squash. All the seed are in the bulb so the neck is seedless. Used this size and smaller they taste better than yellow straight-neck or crook-neck when fried or stewed. I use a mandolin to slice them. Also slice 1/8 inch thick and substitute for pasta in no boil lasagna. You won't believe it until you try it. Left on the vine it matures to a winter squash up to 4 feet long that keeps well. PM your address and I'll send you some seeds. Claud

August 7, 2018	#5
peppero Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: selmer, tn Posts: 2,944	[QUOTE=Nan_PA_6b;710795]Confused here; do you have a large amount of male blossoms, or only two That should have been female blossom. My bad Jon

August 7, 2018	#6
Nan_PA_6b Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 3,194	So lots of girls & few boys? Zucchini for me starts with a bunch of male flowers and the gals come along later. Starting over was probably a good idea. I don't know why it happened, though.

August 8, 2018	#7
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Probably gender neutral blossoms. Worth

August 9, 2018	#9
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Poor female blossoms surrounded by all those lurking male blossoms. Worth

October 31, 2018	#10
LDiane Guest Posts: n/a	I also had almost no female flowers.

November 4, 2018	#11
JerryHaskins Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Mississippi Posts: 166	I had a similar male/female problem with yellow crook neck squash. [strike 1] Squash vine borers and lack of honey bees also kept me from getting much squash this year. [strike 2] I planted it late, as well. [strike 3]

November 5, 2018	#14
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I have never run into that problem with all my squash in a season. I have however had it happen to several varieties in the past so I no longer plant them. The variety that has done the absolute best for me is a yellow zucchini named Butta. It is so productive that I have reduced the number of plants that I set out every year for the past three years so I don't have to spend so much time giving it away. As to cucumbers the most dependable varieties I have found are Sweet Success, Tender Jade and Orient Express. I had a bumper crop of cucumbers and squash this past summer as well as a good crop of fall cucumbers until the hurricane destroyed them. I have found a few tricks that help a great deal with these type plants. The first is to use a good heavy mulch and I use cypress mulch. The second is to use Urban Farms Vegetable formula weekly as a fertilizer. For both crops use a copper spray or a mild diluted bleach spray to keep mildews at bay. For cucumbers always give them a tall fence to run on. For squash keep the lower stem coated with a bit of Sevin dust to prevent SVBs. Keep an eye out for squash bugs and kill them immediately if you see them. Grow some basil plants to encourage bees into your garden and be careful if you need to use any pesticide to spray late in the evening to avoid killing bees. Bill