growing squash with few bees
 

A while back I was trying to identify whether I had cucumbers or
melons. Looking at the growing plant now, I'm thinking it must be
squash, it's not vining and the leaves are getting big. (shared seeds
with neighbor)

I grew zuchini last year and had a lot of flowers but little in the
way of the vegetable itself. I think this was a pollination problem as I
don't have many bees here. What to do? I had no intention of trying
squash again!

Jeff

growing squash with few bees
 

In article ,
Jeff Thies wrote:

A while back I was trying to identify whether I had cucumbers or
melons. Looking at the growing plant now, I'm thinking it must be
squash, it's not vining and the leaves are getting big. (shared seeds
with neighbor)

I grew zuchini last year and had a lot of flowers but little in the
way of the vegetable itself. I think this was a pollination problem as I
don't have many bees here. What to do? I had no intention of trying
squash again!

Jeff

If you do grow squash again, you may have to get up close, and personal
with it (Q-tips ;O) also, check out
http://gardening.about.com/od/attractingwildlife/a/Bee_Plants.htm
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

growing squash with few bees
 

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
Jeff Thies wrote:

A while back I was trying to identify whether I had cucumbers or
melons. Looking at the growing plant now, I'm thinking it must be
squash, it's not vining and the leaves are getting big. (shared seeds
with neighbor)

I grew zuchini last year and had a lot of flowers but little in the
way of the vegetable itself. I think this was a pollination problem as I
don't have many bees here. What to do? I had no intention of trying
squash again!

Jeff

If you do grow squash again, you may have to get up close, and personal
with it (Q-tips ;O) also, check out
http://gardening.about.com/od/attractingwildlife/a/Bee_Plants.htm

After thoughts:
(1) male squash flowers are at the end of a long stem.
(2)
http://gardeningwithwilson.com/2008/02/23/pollinating-cucumber-flowers/
(3) http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/c...239016127.html
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

growing squash with few bees
 

Jeff Thies said:


A while back I was trying to identify whether I had cucumbers or
melons. Looking at the growing plant now, I'm thinking it must be
squash, it's not vining and the leaves are getting big. (shared seeds
with neighbor)

I grew zuchini last year and had a lot of flowers but little in the
way of the vegetable itself. I think this was a pollination problem as I
don't have many bees here. What to do? I had no intention of trying
squash again!

Squash is a whole lot easier to hand-pollinate than cucumbers or
melons would be! Male squash flowers are big enough to use by
themselves to do the pollinating.

Either use the male blossoms (stripped of their petals) directly, or
use a Q-tip to transfer pollen to the female blossoms. Best done
in the morning.

Were they summer or winter squash you had problems with?
Winter squash are likely to only set a few fruits per plant.

Either type will throw fewer female and more male flowers when
growing in less than ideal situations, as pollen is less costly to
produce than fruit.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Vegetables are like bombs packed tight with all kinds of important
nutrients..." --Largo Potter, Valkyria Chronicles

email valid but not regularly monitored

growing squash with few bees
 

"Jeff Thies" wrote in message
...
A while back I was trying to identify whether I had cucumbers or melons.
Looking at the growing plant now, I'm thinking it must be squash, it's not
vining and the leaves are getting big. (shared seeds with neighbor)

I grew zuchini last year and had a lot of flowers but little in the way
of the vegetable itself. I think this was a pollination problem as I don't
have many bees here. What to do? I had no intention of trying squash
again!

Use a fine haired paintbrush such as you'd use to do a watercolour painting.
Shove it into the flowers and move from one flower to the next. It doesn't
take long to do and it works.

growing squash with few bees
 

In article , says...
A while back I was trying to identify whether I had cucumbers or
melons. Looking at the growing plant now, I'm thinking it must be
squash, it's not vining and the leaves are getting big. (shared seeds
with neighbor)

I grew zuchini last year and had a lot of flowers but little in the
way of the vegetable itself. I think this was a pollination problem as I
don't have many bees here. What to do? I had no intention of trying
squash again!

Jeff


Since it doesn't look like anyone has suggested it...

Think aheadto next season and plant flowers to attract bees for next.

growing squash with few bees
 

In article , phorbin1
@yahoo.com says...
In article , says...
A while back I was trying to identify whether I had cucumbers or
melons. Looking at the growing plant now, I'm thinking it must be
squash, it's not vining and the leaves are getting big. (shared seeds
with neighbor)

I grew zuchini last year and had a lot of flowers but little in the
way of the vegetable itself. I think this was a pollination problem as I
don't have many bees here. What to do? I had no intention of trying
squash again!

Jeff


Since it doesn't look like anyone has suggested it...

Think aheadto next season and plant flowers to attract bees for next.


Woke up incoherent this morning...

Think ahead to next season and plant flowers to attract bees now.