| Tthe plants are very healthy and seem ready to produce large vegetables, but the blooms turns brown and the zucchini does not grow. We have watered regularly and tried to do everything possible. The weather has been 90 or 100 for the last couple of weeks. Could that be the problem? |
| Summer squash is normally very prolific, if the weather is not too hot or too cold. The first blossoms to develop on squash plants are male flowers, followed in a week or two by female flowers. So, it's normal for the first flowers to wither and die without producing fruit. When the female flowers begin developing, the male flowers will still die, but the female flowers will set fruit if the blossoms are pollinated. If the weather is too cool - or too hot - for insect activity, the blossoms will not be pollinated. Check the flowers on your plants. Female flowers will have a slight swelling on the stem just behind the blossom. Male flowers will have the same thickness of stem from the base of the flower to the vine. You can't control the weather, but you can help things out a bit by removing a male blossom and "visiting" each female blossom as it opens to ensure pollination. Continue to apply water as the plants need it. Some plants thrive in the heat - others stop growing until things cool down a bit. Just be patient. Your zucchini will soon provide more squash than you'll know what to do with! |
