Squash decapitation
 

It's my first attempt at growing butternut squashes. I've been growing them
in the house from seed (from a fruit) and planted them outside a few weeks
ago. They're flowering, but what seems to happen is the flower opens for a
few days then shrivels up and drops off, leaving just the stalk sticking up.
My limited knowledge of school biology suggests that they're going to have a
hard job of producing fruit if all the technical terms I can't remember at
the bottom of the flower that turn into fruit have fallen off. The leaves
towards the base of the plants are shrivelling from the edges too but I
assumed that the plant allows the base to shrivel so it can grow leaves at
the tip instead - it's whats has been happening when they were inside.
They're getting watered every few days.

Is this normal? Is there any way to ensure my squashes go easy on the
guillotine in future?

Thanks
Theo

Theo Markettos wrote:
It's my first attempt at growing butternut squashes. I've been growing
them in the house from seed (from a fruit) and planted them outside a few
weeks ago. They're flowering, but what seems to happen is the flower
opens for a few days then shrivels up and drops off, leaving just the
stalk sticking up.

Gratuitous I'm-just-playing-with-my-camera picture he
http://www.harbinge.mine.nu:8088/photos/IMG_1365.JPG

A flower stem can be seen at the top of the picture.

Theo

In article , Theo Markettos
writes
Theo Markettos wrote:
It's my first attempt at growing butternut squashes. I've been growing
them in the house from seed (from a fruit) and planted them outside a few
weeks ago. They're flowering, but what seems to happen is the flower
opens for a few days then shrivels up and drops off, leaving just the
stalk sticking up.

Gratuitous I'm-just-playing-with-my-camera picture he
http://www.harbinge.mine.nu:8088/photos/IMG_1365.JPG

A flower stem can be seen at the top of the picture.

First thought - are you getting any female flowers yet? They tend to
produce male flowers first, and later female flowers which have a
visible embryonic squash at the base.

Your soil looks a bit dry and lacking in humus - I sympathise with you
having to cope with that!

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

The message
from Theo Markettos contains these words:

It's my first attempt at growing butternut squashes. I've been growing them
in the house from seed (from a fruit) and planted them outside a few weeks
ago. They're flowering, but what seems to happen is the flower opens for a
few days then shrivels up and drops off, leaving just the stalk
sticking up.
My limited knowledge of school biology suggests that they're going to have a
hard job of producing fruit if all the technical terms I can't remember at
the bottom of the flower that turn into fruit have fallen off. The leaves
towards the base of the plants are shrivelling from the edges too but I
assumed that the plant allows the base to shrivel so it can grow leaves at
the tip instead - it's whats has been happening when they were inside.
They're getting watered every few days.

Yes...

Is this normal? Is there any way to ensure my squashes go easy on the
guillotine in future?

Yes. The first flush of flowers are often male only - your plants are
probably practising.

Begin to worry if you don't get ant female flowers (with tiny squashes
behind them) in a fortnight or so. It's early yet.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Kay wrote:
First thought - are you getting any female flowers yet? They tend to
produce male flowers first, and later female flowers which have a
visible embryonic squash at the base.

That's probably it. I didn't know the difference. They look like male
flowers (according to Google)

Your soil looks a bit dry and lacking in humus - I sympathise with you
having to cope with that!

It's heavy clay. I dug in some manure to most of the veg plot over the
winter, but left that bit because there was some dried foliage that looked
like it might sprout (it's my first year here). It only sprouted weeds, so
I dug it up and planted the squashes there, but had no more manure left.

I've sunk a pot in to help watering as it was just running off the surface,
which should help. Some of the undug ground is like cement in this weather
though :(

Thanks
Theo