my friend's cukes are doing the same thing. I anxiously await the answers of the experts.

I'm no expert, but I've heard many people say on here to be sure they are getting fully pollinated by trying hand pollination. You would notice a remarkable difference in just days if that is the problem. At least it would narrow down the possible problems by trying it to just be sure.

~Angela

I would think they would not be making the baby ones at all if they weren't getting pollinated? They start growing normally then turn yellow then brown and fall off. Only the larger ones showing in the first pic have kept growing and all are on the same vine. We have never grown more than one vine at a time so I assumed they were either self pollinating or bug were doing the job, lol. I wouldn't know how to go about hand pollinating. Any ideas?

They aren't getting pollinated. Unpollinated flowers will seem to grow for a little while and then die, exactly as you have seen.

Female flowers are the ones with tiny gourds. Male flowers are at the end of a long skinny stem.

To hand-pollinate, go out early in the morning and pick a wide-open male flower. Carefully peel the petals away from the center pollen-coated stem. Then use that stem like a paintbrush and paint the inner part of an open female flower. Try to get as much of the center part of the female flower covered in pollen as you can.

Thanks Sami I will look at the flowers in the morning and see if I can find the male ones and try it. I noticed that all the squash seem to make in one area nearest the main stem. The ones at the far end of the runner make flowers and never make the baby goards so maybe thats where the males are? I will see if I can tell them apart and if not I will post a pic of some of the flowers and maybe you can tell me which is which, lol.

Well crap. I haven't had any more flowers since you told me what to do. I told hubby to go ahead and harvest the two large ones that survived and hope that gives the plant some more energy to produce more flowers. Do you think that will help?

I think it probably will. Please, give us an update as you try this with the new flowers that come on. As for telling them apart, that's easy as the ones that look like a gourd, are the females. As you mentioned, the males were on the end that didn't produce any fruit at all.

~Angela

Can you believe I have not had another flower since I posted this. Do you think I should give them bloom booster?

One more question. I was able to collect some nice mature looking seeds from the squash I harvested. Can you plant fresh seeds and grow another crop now or do you have to dry them and wait til spring?

Fool, I planted cukes and loupes a couple of weeks ago, and they are okay, but not growing too too fast. I'm afraid they are in too much shade, plus it's been shady with rain clouds. Might be too late this year to plant heat-lovers.

These usually stop producing when it gets hot so I thought they might do good with the cooler weather of fall. I'll try a couple and see. My main question was if you can plant fresh collected seeds or if they have to be dried first?

I don't know. But I think fresh is usually best.

Ok, my plant is weird. I got new flowers finally and they all look female. I must have 12 or 13 on there and they each have a baby squash on the end. I hope some of them live to make the squash. These edible gourds are sooo good. They take up the flavor of whatever you cook with them. None of the fresh seeds I planted have germinated yet.

So, what is the official name of these squash for others that may want to get some seed for them? You make them sound great! :-)

As for the seeds, sometimes there are a couple of steps to saving seeds, but in almost every case that I've seen so far, you should be able to plant them fresh, and they would do best then. If you're saving them to use later, visit a couple of other forums here on seeds where they could help answer your questions better.

Now, you're only getting females? Uggggh... I have no idea why that would be, but give it another week and keep checking for males to use for pollination. I bet they're coming...

~Angela

Hubby says he saw a couple of male flowers this morning but he didn't tell me til tonight, lol. I will check in the morning. There are loads of females but many have started turning brown already. I wish I knew the name of it. I have tried every search I could think of and none are a perfect match. They are very fuzzy when babies and a little prickly when they are grown still. I would guess some type of edible gourd. I thought they might be opo squash but I found some at the grocery store and tried one and they are more bitter. These are very mild in flavor. I have one I am letting dry in the garage and one I took fresh seeds from and am drying them. I planted two but so far they haven't germinated. They are soo good in stir fries and soups and take on the flavor of other things in the dish. Someone gave one to my husband about 4 or 5 years ago and he dried it then kept the seeds. He kept planting the same seeds he had saved each year and didn't save new ones so they aren't germinating now that they are getting old. I only got one plant out of about 20 that I tried to get to sprout this year.

Oh, wow... well, I guess I can't just go order some seed then to try them out. If you're up for a trade, let me know. I'd sure like to have this unnamed squash. I'm presuming your husband got it from someone who was growing it in their garden originally, right? Well, I'd sure be happy to try to germinate them using the baggie / paper towel method. I get more seeds to germinate that way than just directly planting them.

~Angela

Send me your address Angela. I sent some of the older seeds out to a few people hoping to get some new seed from it. I will be happy to send you some of the old and some of the new and keep the plant growing so the seed won't be lost. He doesn't remember who he got the squash from. He used to grow it in a large pot up the telephone pole at the shop and we had people coming and asking for them all the time, lol. Nobody saved the seeds. EEk.

That really looks like my bird house gourd vine and gourds.

I know they are edible also.

{{gwi:1369088}}

I am wondering if it was a cross between two kinds that he gathered the seeds from. They look like a cross between the bottle gourd and yours. Mine are always more bowling pin shaped even when I let them grow really large. Yours does look very similar. The closest thing I have found at least.

Last year I had some that were "bowling ball" shaped. I mixed the seed in one bag, so am not sure which is which.
Do a google on how to make a birdhouse. Several friends and family now hoave bird houses I painted.
This spring we had a pair of wrens set up housekeeping in one that was up less than a week.

Here is the last pic I took before I picked them. These are the only two that survived. I have a lot more small ones on there now but some are dying already since I haven't had any male flowers that I can find. I also saw a lot of ants on the vine today. Should I try and kill them?

I think the ants are pollinators.
Mine produce tons of male blooms, want me to overnight some to you. LOL!
And very few female blooms. The same thing with my luffa vines, aka Chinese Okra. You can eat luffa too, while they are small. Just fry it like squash or okra.

{{gwi:1369090}}

I will be happy to send you luffa seeds for next year.

Ok, that would be great. I have some other types as well that I am going to try to grow next year. I can share those with you if you like but don't know what they are, lol. It was squash from other people that didn't know what theirs were. I need to make a real garden to put them in, lol. Do you soak your gourd seeds? I was trying to remember what I did to the one that germinated, lol. I know I soaked some and some I didn't. I never had to do it before but the seeds are getting old. I thought the ants might be pollinating the flowers but wasn't sure. I wish they would do a better job in that case, lol. Do you cut off the ones that start to turn brown or leave them? My husband told me to leave them but it seems like they would take energy from the ones that might have a chance to grow.

Last year (07) I planted them. I did not soak them, but got the soil soupy before I planted the seeds. This year a squirrel planted a seed. Once they really took off growing, I rolled a roll of fencing over there and stood it on end. Now they are growing across the flower bed.
I was cleaning them out for birdhouses and I assume a squirrel got on the patio.
I planted the luffa seeds in pots until I thought they were large enough to transplant. They have now gone over the back fence. I had yet to meet that neighbor. I stood on a step stool and asked if they wanted me to pull the vine off their side. The neighbor was excited that they had a "zuccini" I told him what they were and how to dry them.

I have a question about squash i'm growing or that were suppose to be yellow squash. The are running like a pumpkin plant and are white in color and look like a butternut squash. I am giving what I grow to the local church people and would just like to know what they are and if they are safe to eat. If anyone can help me I can send a picture. You can email me at jstuder85@yahoo.com..........Thanks