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Old 05-12-2003, 11:32 AM
Pat Kiewicz
 
Posts: n/a
Default Understanding Zucchini / Courgette

Down Under On The Bucket Farm said:

I have a pair of zucchini/ courgette plants, in the same 10-litre
(2.5 gal) bucket. There have recently been a few flowers (light
orange), along with several buds looking ready to bloom.


Sounds crowded in there! I should think that either water a couple
of times a day or have some sort of rig to do that for you. Squash
plants get big, and those big leaves pump a lot of water through them.

My question is... some flowers have a thin stem, but a couple of
them have a thick stem, which I am thinking might be a zucchini-
in-progresss? They are a couple of inches long, dark green,
slightly ribbed in a length-wise direction (i.e. the long
direction), and slightly fuzzy.


The thin-stemmed ones are male (pollen producers) and the thick
stemmed flowers are the female flowers. The stem on the female
flower is the future zucchini.


If my guess is right, how many weeks untill I should harvest?


Once the female flowers open and get pollinated, it will be days
(one or two) rather than weeks until harvest. Ideally, you don't
want them to get any longer than your hand before picking.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)