Vegetables - Squash
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  (February) For the past 2 years, I have planted squash in my garden, but all but the plants do is bloom, I never get any squash. What is my problem and what can I do about it?

  Does the area get enough sunlight? Keep in mind, that squash plants have separate male and female blooms. It can have male blooms even in partial shade. If you do have both blossoms, and no fruit, it means you have no bees, or pollinators, who can transfer the pollen from the male blooms to the female blooms. (You tell the difference in blooms, by looking behind the flower. The females will have a tiny squash on them, while the males have a straight stem). Use care when applying insecticides that you don't kill your bee population. If you can't get in pollinators, you can play the part of the bee, manually transferring pollen using a paintbrush -- but this can be tedious

  (June) I have wonderful looking patty pan squash plants growing with huge leaves and large yellow flowers. The problem is after a day or so the flowers are falling off and very little fruit is developing. I suppose it is a pollination problem but is there anything I can do to encourage the fruit to grow or should I just stuff the flowers, enjoy them and forget about getting any fruit?

  Check to see if they are male or female flowers. Often the first flowers to set on the cucurbit family (squashes, cucumbers, melons, etc.) are males. The flowers themselves look similar, but look behind the bloom. If it is a male, it will simply have a small stalk. If it is female, you will see a tiny patty pan squash (or cucumber, melon, etc). If you do have both male and female blooms, then pollination is a problem--no bees. You can play the role of pollinator using a paintbrush to transfer pollen from male flower to female. If the flowers are all males, just be patient, and as the plant matures, both sexed blooms should appear--provided you have ample sunlight.

  Last year squash bugs devastated our squash. What can we do, if anything, to prevent them from reappearing this year, or destroying them if they do reappear?

  Squash bugs are difficult to control, especially if they are allowed to get well-established. Try to keep weeds and debris cleaned up around the garden, and monitor weekly for outbreaks. At first sign of a problem use either Thiodan, Sevin or for an organic approach- Sabadilla. Squash bugs often lay their eggs in clusters on the tops of the leaves. Removing these can also help control populations. As the season progresses, you can trap squash bugs by placing boards at an angle in the garden. The insects will congregate under them at night and you can kill them in the morning.

  I have some yellow squash plants that are producing tons of big yellow flowers, but I have yet to see a squash. The flowers shrivel and are gone. I have plenty of sunlight, the plants are growing bigger every day. What can I do to help get some squash? (Yellville)

  There are lots of squash problems this year. Remember that all squash plants have both male and female flowers separately on the same plant. The male flowers are produced first, and they have a straight stalk behind the yellow blossoms. They won’t produce a squash. The female flowers have a small squash attached behind the blossom, that begins to grow after pollination. It sounds like you have the male flowers. Hopefully, female blossoms will soon be forthcoming. Many people have both flowers, yet the fruits are shriveling. When this occurs, it means there was no pollination. Lack of bees can be a problem, as can the weather. You can play the part of the pollinator by removing some pollen from the male flower with a small paintbrush, and transferring some to the female flower.

  If squash or cucumbers are blooming yet not setting fruit, remember there are both male and female flowers on the same plant. Males tend to bloom slightly earlier than the females. If the flower has a straight stalk behind it, it is a male flower. If there is a small fruit--cucumber, squash, cantaloupe, etc., that is a female. If you have both types of flowers and still the little fruits shrivel up, you don’t have any pollinators.

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