MIA zucchini

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VeraBlue

Executive Chef
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
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3,683
Location
northern NJ
I planted a zucchini plant in early may. It's huge, vibrant and healthy, producing lots of flowers....but I don't see any zucchini:ermm:...It's as though the plant is sterile. I've got tomatoe and a few peppers already, and a nubby of eggplant...but I don't see any fruit on the zucchini plant. In fact, some of these flowers are growing on stems that look like tulip stems.

Any thoughts??
 
I planted a zucchini plant in early may. It's huge, vibrant and healthy, producing lots of flowers....but I don't see any zucchini:ermm:...It's as though the plant is sterile. I've got tomatoe and a few peppers already, and a nubby of eggplant...but I don't see any fruit on the zucchini plant. In fact, some of these flowers are growing on stems that look like tulip stems.

Any thoughts??



The long tulip type stems are MALE flowers. They have a single stamen which contains the pollen.

There should be other flowers too, with a roundish-type multiple stamen. These are the FEMALE flowers. With a small fruit attached.

The pollen from the male flowers needs to get onto the female flowers. If the female isn't pollinated it will abort its fruit. Bees are supposed to do this but sometimes the zucchini needs your help.

Get a Qtip and transfer pollen from male to female. Early in the am when the flowers are open.

THIS ARTICLE will explain it all with fabulous fotos
 
Just before the yellow flower, is the green stem bulbous looking, or a skinny stem? Skinny is male, the other; female. You may have only one or the other yet. You can hand pollenate to get the ball rolling by picking a male flower and rubbing the pollen on the inside of the female flower. But the ratio should even out, sooner or later &
You will be innudated with zucs sooner or later.​
 
ei yi yi....yes I have both types of flowers, apparently not overly interested in each other enough to prevent zucchini genocide.

Hand pollinate, huh?

Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.:)
 
That happened to me one summer. Finally at the end of the season a zucchini was growing. I was excited. One day, while I was at work, my father came by and picked it. I did give him an open invitation to pick veggies but I didn't mean that one.
 
Well, I gotta admit, the idea of artificially inseminating my plant isn't rocking my world at the moment:rolleyes:
 
Don't be silly. In laymen's terms, just take a Qtip, scrape the fuzzy pollen
from the male zuc, and dab that yellow stuff as deep down the middle in the female flower as you can. Done.

That's it. Takes 5 minutes.

Or don't! Let nature take it's course.

You wanted our thoughts, you got 'em.
 
My dad had to do that with his tomatoes one year....
There are so many places I could go with that but I will leave it alone.
 
VB, do you use miracle grow or anything?
I did....probably the reason the plant leaves can be used for umbrellas on the island of liliput. The tomato plants are almost as high as the garage...

Haven't seen a bee in a long time. What I really need is one very busy bee..:ROFLMAO:
 
Bring your TV outside and let the zucchini plant watch that flower part in Pink Floyds The Wall movie. LOL
 
Last year, when my kiwi's were in bloom, it rained for the full 2 to 3 weeks that they were in bloom. I was afraid the bees wouldnt pollinate them, so i went outside with q-tip and touched the male and female plants. Later that year i picked 856 kiwi's. I told my wide that if i had to do it again this year, I would do the same thing, but dress up in a Bee costume while doing it. Unfortunately, it was sunny this year, so I didnt get the chance to embarrass my family doing this. Maybe next year.
 
:) Ha,Ha, Ha, only on DC will you get advice on helping a vegetable or fruit have a sex life so it can procreate. :LOL::LOL:

ain't it the truth....

Hey, how many times can I use the guy to deal with the women? Is it one guy, one woman? Or can it be like real life?? One guy, more women than he can name?
 
ain't it the truth....

Hey, how many times can I use the guy to deal with the women? Is it one guy, one woman? Or can it be like real life?? One guy, more women than he can name?
:LOL: I'm thinking one guy and one or many women it seems to work in nature. :LOL: Never thought of a vegetable as a donor I bet they never even had a cup of coffee together, just wait until the baby zucchinis start asking who their daddy is. What does mom tell them? Just two ships passing in the sea? :LOL::LOL:
 

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