Just a guess but is too much nitrogen a possibility? That often results in lush rapidly growing plants with few blooms and the blooms can be sterile.

Otherwise are there signs of pests or injury of any kind? You don't mention variety or type but if a vining type have you tried trimming the vines to stimulate more blooms? Sometimes that works.

Dave

Thanks for your suggestions. Excess nitrogen is not the issue here, I don't think. I am careful about that. My squash plants are not particularly lush or fast growing. No signs of pests, either. This is a vining squash, yes.

Where we live, pests tend to leave the squash alone. One thing: one of the plants has a yellow leaf at the bottom, ie, close to where the stem reaches the ground.

Could these seeds be inferior in some way? I collected them from my squash fruits last year. Tks!

If they are seed you saved then yes. If they cross-pollinated with some other squash in the same family last year then they could easily be inferior is many ways - all depends on the cross.

Squash crosses so easily with all the other members of its variety family - even over distance - that saving seeds from them is a crap shoot at best. If they do produce it often isn't what you expected to get but some sort of weird hybrid.

Dave

Hi. I never considered that. However, I am so careful about pollinating. I assess things in the evening then get up early before the bees are out, pollinate, then close up the female flower. (Of course, stuff happens, doesn't it...)

Also, would an unwanted cross produce a pollen-less male? Do you know if such is possible? Tks. for your interest and help, DD2. Isn't the internt something; a person in Arkansas can immediately advise a person in Manitoba...

It is all speculation of course when it comes to a specific case, but yes some crosses can and have produced sterile males. As for insuring no crossing that is truly only possible with bagged blooms as all sorts of insects can contribute to pollination. I grow all my squash under insect barrier row covers where in theory no insects can get to them. And I hand pollinate. But I still get a strange cross now and then. I'm resigned to only saving seeds from really unusual or hard to find varieties. For common varieties it just isn't worth the time and effort.

But do keep in mind that we don';t know for sure that is even the problem here. Only time will tell for sure and unfortunately you are running out of time for your season. If you can find someone nearby also growing squash in the same family see if you can bum some good males from them. You can do several females with 1 male.

Dave