Understanding Zucchini / Courgette
 

Hi Everybody,

Please understand that this is my first year with vegetables.
(And I live in the southern hemisphere, where we are just getting
into summer.)

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.

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.

Is this an issue of male vs. female flowers? Should I expect
these stem thingies to become vegetables? How do I see if
pollination/fertillisation has happenned (there are plenty of
bees, etc here)? If my gues is right, how many weeks untill I
should harvest?

Thanks in advance! All of your advice and info is appreciated!

-V

--
Guide To DIY Living
http://www.self-reliance.co.nz
(Work in progress)

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)

Understanding Zucchini / Courgette
 

g'day v,

might be better if you only had 1 plant per container that size, but
so long as you keep the water up to them they could do ok.

that is the difference between male and female flowers, as you
described if you have plenty of bees around then pollination will take
effect. you will most likely only know if pollination hasn't been
success ful when it is too late that is when the very immature fruit
goes yellow and drops off.

once pollination is complete you should be picking fruit farely
quickly usually for me up here 2 to 3 days depending how big you want
them i like them younger. mine get full sun.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://home.dnet.aunz.com/gardnlen/

Understanding Zucchini / Courgette
 

If the females don't mature to edible size you'll have to hand pollinate
with a paint brush or, easier yet, just tear the male flower off and give
the female flower "some action" with the male flower.

Joel K.

"len gardener" wrote in message
...
g'day v,

might be better if you only had 1 plant per container that size, but
so long as you keep the water up to them they could do ok.

that is the difference between male and female flowers, as you
described if you have plenty of bees around then pollination will take
effect. you will most likely only know if pollination hasn't been
success ful when it is too late that is when the very immature fruit
goes yellow and drops off.

once pollination is complete you should be picking fruit farely
quickly usually for me up here 2 to 3 days depending how big you want
them i like them younger. mine get full sun.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the
environment
http://home.dnet.aunz.com/gardnlen/