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Vegetable Gardening

Summer squash blossoms

15 years ago

Hi there! I am new to vegetable gardening and am having a problem with my squash. The plant itself looks very healthy, but I am noticing that the male squash blossoms seem to be getting decapitated right at the top of the stem/bottom of the blossom.I am finding the blossoms intact but laying on the ground. It is only happening to the males. Does anyone know what can cause this? Is it slugs perhaps?

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Comments (3)

htimsgem
15 years ago
Don't know where you are, but the same thing happens to me...caused by the pounding the blossoms get from the rainstorms we've been having. Could be rain, or perhaps your method of watering? Blossoms fall off eventually anyway, so its really not a problem unless you need them for pollenation.
fritz_monroe
15 years ago
My understanding is the life of a male blossom is only a couple days. After it blooms a couple days, it falls off just like you describe.

I've never used them, but I've heard that they are pretty tasty. There are several recipes out there for stuffed zucchini blossoms.
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Thanks from a newbie!!
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Wow nice of you to comment on all the old timers here...MA has it's own climate for gardening.....I move to TX after living in Chelmsford, MA for 6 years..... Killing your babies is hard but I have finally gotten to the point where I can do it...but more importantly...I have reached a point where I am better able to plant with out having them so thick or more cautious in planting cells... Hope you have wonderful success...but remember that failures are learning experiences....when I lived in MA I was patiently waiting for my first tomato to ripen...everyday it got a little redder and looked so amazing...On the day I thought,....this is the day I'll pick it, I went out to my garden and a big old woodchuck (I think that is what they are called) was sitting there eating my tomato....
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Comments (8)
Oh, yeah sorry.. The culprits are the ones that I listed above. I saw 1 cucumber beetle and squised it, but could not find any more. I've seen the birds in there a bit and judging by the picture I shared, it shows more of a laceration than bug chew damage (I think at least). As for zone, I am in South Eastern Michigan.
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no female blossoms on summer squash
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Comments (1)
don't know any answers to this, but am having the same issues, so would definitely appreciate some advice if anyone's got something to offer. No fruit production and mildew/fungus constantly... ??
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Comments (34)
LOL! What fun to come in here and find such entertainment :) And an award!! You can be sure the trophy will be proudly displayed along with my eight "West Virginia State Quack Grass Digging Championship" trophies. For those who tuned in late, this is the thread that started all this: zucchini as winter squash? So I see that moschata was not originally specified -- no wonder I began the autumn with a spare bedroom full of cartoon-like over sized squash resting on plastic sheeting in case they explode! I'm always looking for ways to extend the garden produce through the winter, so this has been fun and motivating, if not quite yet successful. My personal opinion about Trombocino: insipid as summer squash, deliciously sweet as winter squash. Could it be that it is simply a winter squash that's a summer squash wannabe? Sponges for dinner! (my dog likes them too)
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dangould
15 years ago
squash blossoms taste great. You can pick them in the evening before they open or the next morning after they open. Do not wait too long or they lose their appeal.

The blossom is only good for one day. After that it is done. Actuually it is good all night and early morning and then it gets hot and dry or wet and it is no good.

Being a male blossom is not about being a flower. It is about getting its pollen over to the female.

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