Well, I have two decently large sized waiting to be picked for dinner tonight. I haven't given them anything since I planted them. So I'm assuming a feeding and picking the two should help? I have Bonnie's herb and vegetable plant food. Think that should suffice? Or do you or anyone, recommend anything else? They are all in potting soil less soil and have been since early April. Lots of rain since then and plenty of drainage!

IMHO, squash are the most perverse plants in the garden. If you put in a dozen plants, each plant will produce enough for the neighborhood. If you grow 1 or 2 plants, they won't produce enough for a good meal. (Not exactly true, but it sure seems like it some years!) The weather has been pretty awful this summer with part of the country being extremely hot and dry and part not having much summery weather at all. Squash are tropical and like heat, but not desert plants either. So they don't like either extreme we've had. Some varieties may do better than others. Hopefully next summer will be better for those who have had such bad luck with them this year. Sandy

Good info from Ed above. The plant is telling you it is stressed in some fashion so it isn't inclined to add the stress of reproduction and pollination. This past summer was VERY stressful and from what I heard about Texas was all very dry and very hot. So I wouldn't be surprised if you had heavily stressed plants. Were they well mulched, well fed, properly watered, etc. Since it is already so late in the season give it a try - removing some and see if it really will give you some females. Dave

Hi Gardenerenthusiast, I am glad you asked this question because the same thing has been happening to me, on both my zucchinis and my spaghetti squashes. Along with rotting blossoms that don't open, I've been getting female blossoms where the squash has shrivelled up before the flower even opens. My plants are otherwise healthy, though I have just started to see some yellowing on the leaves. Unfortunately I have no idea what is causing this, though I've narrowed it down to blossom end rot (which would mean a lack of calcium in the soil) or under watering (it's been very dry here and I've been watering shallowly and regularly, instead of deeply), or some kind of virus/fungus etc. I can't see any trace of pests on my plants, save for a few black aphids, and there are no signs of squash vine borers. One of the strange things is that it suddenly affected my zucchini, spaghetti squashes, and now my delicata squashes all around the same time, even though they are in different garden beds. This makes me think it is either the weather or a virus. My current theory is that I haven't watered them deeply enough, and also that they might need more plant food since they are quite close together and fruiting heavily. Sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I would be curious to know if any of that sounds familiar to you. Good luck!