I just checked and today it's just the opposite. I have about a dozen male flowers open and only two female flowers open. I cut a male flower off and cut away the petal part and used it to pollenate the two females. You can see the orange colored pollen laying in the bottom of the male flower. I did this two days ago and see one zuke about six inches long has formed already. I see many ants inside the flowers, what are they after, the pollen or the nectar? I also saw one lone bee go inside one of the flowers but it apparently died right before my eyes as it just sat there immobilized. I saw a dead bee inside one of my asian pear flowers a month or so ago too. I wonder whats killing them. I don't use any pesticides so it isn't me.

Don't force it. Mother nature knows when the plant is ready. There is normally a flush of female blossoms and/or male blossoms that bloom without pollination occurring for the first 2-3 weeks when blooms start producing. It's entirely normal. Search the forum, there are many other threads on this topic.

The boxes are 4x10x1 ft. I used a mushroom compost mixed with coarse vermiculite and peat moss. I neglected fertilizer this year since the compost was new. It was very wet in May and these boxes are getting less direct sun than my previous gardens. So, I am guessing all of these factors could have been my problem? All of my veggies seem to be doing a little less well at this new location than I've previously grow (lower yields and disease problems earlier than I've seen before). Unfortunately, this new house has limited areas with really good sun exposure (I planted a pepper and a tomato in the front of the house yesterday where there is great sun... waiting to see if the neighbors complain). I am wondering if I try again with zucchini in the same location next year or save the space for other veggies? Thanks!

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