zucchini questions

[rile]

Once again the dreaded zucchini has stumped me. I did an all out effort to thwart the vine borer and might have succeeded. Now, other problems are cropping up. I think I'll have to hand pollinate the plants. One plant has all kinds of blossoms and has had them for several weeks but no fruit. That plant grew from seed from last year's harvest. Is it possible that it will only produce male flowers? When I do hand pollinate, do I have to do it from one plant to another or can I do it within one plant? Another plant that did produce one zucchini has another problem. It keeps looking very wilted. We have had 5 or 6 days of about 90 degree temps and at one time, it looked so bad I thougt the vine borer did get it. After watering, it seemed to come out of it but looked bad the next day. Also, some of the stalks seem to be dying off with the leaves turning brown. I noticed that some of the dirt around the base had eroded it away. Would this cause the wilting problem?

[Steve Newport]

I believe that Zucchini are the American name for cucumber? If so it sounds as if you have the same problem that am am experiencing. See Cucumber - Picture (posted above). One reply has suggested a shortage of potassium but I am feeding. (Although I dont know if its enough)

[cloud dreamer]

They're close but not the same thing. Not apples and oranges as such...more like Red Delicious and Granny Smith.

..

Zone 5a in Canada's Tropical Storm Free Far East.

[The Cook]

Zucchini is the same thing as courgette in the UK. Same family as cucumber.

[Deb Hayes]

.actually, although they are in the same family, zucchini are a summer squash (courgette), while cucumbers are, well, cucumbers.

HTH,

Deb

[William L. Rose]

Sorry ol' chap. A zucchini is what the folk across the channel call " une courgette". Sigh, if only local "regime change " was that easy.

[William L. Rose]

I wish you luck. I had my own period of hand wringing as my squash season started to unfold but it ended-up being much to do about not much of anything. I'm guessing, and I haven't been particularly good at it, that pollination comes in fits and starts as the season begins and then settles down into a predictable routine, I hope. For a week, I ran fertility clinics for my "zuch" and my crook-neck but they seem to have no further need of me in their private lives.

The wilting, the positive response to water, and disturbed dirt at the base of the other zucchini makes me think that the roots have been damaged, possibly by dogs or cats running amuck.

I have dogs and cats, and I try to protect some of my more exposed plants from them by using strategically placed tomato trellises. You may want to give the wilting "zuch" some B1 or bone meal to help it scab up.

We're also having hot weather high 90s, low 100s (not desert hot but hot none the less, and a nice change from the cool summers of the last six years) along the north coast of California but the tomatoes seem to be loving it.

Good luck

[simy1]

The wilted plant got blight. Take it out and burn it or throw it in the trash. It got infected by cucumber beetles, which next year you can control with an occasional pesticide spray (I started using rotenone this year, and so far no damage).

You can see yourself if the plant is producing male flowers only. Males are on a thin stem, females are on a thick bulbous stem. If you see males only, eat the blooms with abandon since the flowers are so much better than the zucs. If you see females as well, you got a pollination problem. You can pollinate within the same plant.

[Netter]

Eat the lowers raw or cook them somehow?

[Netter]

sorry: flowers not lowers

[Jim Elbrecht]

Thanks for clarifying that. Here's how I deep fry the blossoms-

I use a simple batter of 1 cu. flour, salt, pepper, 1 Tbl olive oil & water enough to make a runny batter.

Cut cubes of mozzarella & stuff with a cube of mozzarella and a basil leaf. Dip in batter and fry until golden.

I leave a piece of the stem on as a handle.

Jim

[Netter]