Do you have any questions about growing squash or pumpkins, flowering and fruiting? Let me know your experiences 🌱
@saponify6677
2 жыл бұрын
Nature is amazing. The early male flowers also attracts pollinators and "train" them were the food is, and by the time female flowers appear there are enough pollinators around for nature to take it's course.
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Absolutely amazing, isn't it 🌱💚
@lazygardens
Жыл бұрын
Which means that almost anything you do will "fix" the problem and make female flowers show up because you don't have a problem!
@joeearley3351
Жыл бұрын
It's important to plant flowers near your garden that attract pollinators and don't water too much when they are doing their thing use more soaker hoses I don't like to get the garden plants wet because of the flowers are delicate and subject to rot. Water in the early morning a little this attracts butterflies especially flowers. Farmers have to have pollinators too many have beehives.
@rabbbitfeatherface5820
2 ай бұрын
Ty for that info, last video I just made that comment ,nothing but males
@formation1now517
Жыл бұрын
Of all the gardening videos I have watched - yours is the only one I have seen address this situation so clearly!!! Great information! Thanks - your new subscriber here!
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Wow, thank you so much. Such kind words 💚 I'm so glad to hear you got value out of watching this video and hopefully there is lots more value coming your way 🌻
@wordupezine7956
Жыл бұрын
Finally found a SA, and even more specific, a Cape Town gardener! Now I know the advice will be actionable.
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Yay, thank you so much and I am so glad I am able to help out locals also trying to grow more of their own food and live more sustainably. Looking forward to sharing lots more local content and learnings 🌻
@kathyfry1821
2 жыл бұрын
YaY!!!A South African gardener at last!
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Yay 😁 hopefully you can get some value from my learnings and local experiences 🇿🇦
@SirSkippy87
3 ай бұрын
I’ve been gardening and growing my own food for 25 years. I’ve been infatuated with plants and growing them since I was 12 years old. In high school I took 4 years of horticulture, green house management, landscaping, agriculture and all other required classes to get my vocational seal in horticulture to attend a vocational school. After high school I attended Chattahoochee Tech… I’ve grown pretty much everything you can think of, with the exception of pumpkin! So the issue I’m experiencing is, my youngest daughter asked if we could grow our own pumpkins this year for Halloween. So we planted two plants, each in a separate hill, in their own 30’x30’ area on bare soil so that the roots would take at each leaf node to provide more nutrients. However, I have fruit already growing on everything, squash, watermelon, cucumbers, and all my other cucurbits. However the pumpkin plants female blooms before the flower opens, shrivels and falls off! Each pumpkin plant is around 20’ long (main vine), and lateral growth at 10’ long at the base, and shorter as it goes toward the growing tip. And they look very healthy! It has been very hot here for a while now here in central Georgia, hotter than normal for this time of year! 92 F - 100 F with a heat index of 100 F - 110 F with high humidity. I’m thinking the heat is the issue!
@grimeymeliver9575
Жыл бұрын
Thank you from Texas USA! GREAT INFORMATION!!
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Wow, thanks so much for the compliment and the comment! I hope you are enjoying your summer and getting great harvests 🌻
@grimeymeliver9575
Жыл бұрын
@@MySustainabilityJourney Well, some bumpy roads but, it is producing! Well done channel sir!!!
@shikontrini5220
2 ай бұрын
Thanks for a very informative video I’ve subscribed and look forward to seeing your channel I live on the Caribbean and we too have the issue of that harsh heat so I put my newest plants in the shade they will sprawl and get the sun but hopefully all will be balanced learnt a lot and will follow through and see what happens thank you again😊
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 ай бұрын
Ah, thanks so much for those kind words and I'm really happy that you found this video informative! I'm also glad you have figured out what works best for you with the part-day sun and it's a really good one too. I hope you get a massive and yummy harvest 🌻
@SirSkippy87
Жыл бұрын
I’m having the opposite issue, my female butternut squash flowers are maturing first with no male flowers for me to pollinate them…
@annalovesJesus22
Жыл бұрын
Me too! This happened to me this year and last year. A gardener from the UK said he always grows them buy he has had the same problem this year and last year. I have male flower stems but there are no flowers yet. So i have been using pollen from other plants to pollinate the butternut, which means that I cant save those seeds. Not sure why this is happening. But i see i have one male flower about to bloom so I am happy
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment with your experience! Yes, I have also experienced that before and for this reason I never have standalone plants or only the same variety. Squash and pumpkin have not issues with cross pollinating, unless you re wanting to save seed that is true. If you don't then you can use any other male flower to pollinate if you only have females on a specific plant 🌻
@jamessquibb7433
3 ай бұрын
Great Video....I'm in East Tennessee and have some really nice Squash and Pumpkin Plants. All producing male flowers. Ill try the fertilizer and adding shade. What about Pruning? Are you pruning or letting nature take its course? Thank You in Advance
@David-r7z8c
Жыл бұрын
Perfect explanation! Thank you!
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Yay, I'm so glad it helped you out and thanks for leaving your thoughts 💚 Hope you get(ting) some decent harvests this year! 🌻
@cathywhite1470
2 ай бұрын
Thank you so much. Here in western SD , we have had EXTREME heat and very little rain. I try to water but perhaps not deep enough or long enough. I have been pulverizing egg shells and will try to add them to the soil until I can find a fertilizer w minerals you suggested. They do get partially shaded morning sun. Thank you for your video. Let you know if I actually get some zucchini😀BTW, I do have mint that volunteered behind the squash raised bed w lots of various bees!
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 ай бұрын
@@cathywhite1470 thanks so much for taking the time leave me a comment with your thoughts. I love hearing from my viewers 💚 Yeah, extreme heat makes squash plant suffer a bit and it's great that there is some shade, but in future growing seasons I would try to get them morning and early afternoon sun with late afternoon shade. The harsh afternoon sun really drains them after a long day of heat. I have also found that their roots are quite shallow and spread out A LOT so rather than less frequent, deep watering I go for more frequent shallower watering. For the rest of the growing season you can consider adding a 40% shade net cover for your squash plants to protect them from the sun and extend your harvests. It all sounds amazing and I hope you are managing to enjoy the fruits of your labour 🌻
@criptofinanzas1117
Жыл бұрын
I live in California now, but we'll be moving to Central America, so your experience will be applicable to my future gardening down there. Thanks.
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Yaaaay, I'm so glad to hear this video will help you out in you gardening journey down the line and thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment. Wishing you all the best for the move and happy growing in your new climate 🌻
@susanpharr6809
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for a wealth of guidance! Although I grow in a northern zone, your rich menu of suggestions for squash, pumpkins and the like is so valuable right now!
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Oh wow, thank you so much for your lovely feedback 💚 I'm so glad you found value in watching this video and it helped you with your growing season 🌻
@Cozmo544
Жыл бұрын
You explained perfectly why my zucchini plants are producing male flowers only. You mentioned a balanced fertilizer and I’m just wondering how much bonemeal I can give each plant? TYIA.
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Ah, thank you very much and I'm so glad you got value out of watching this video 💚 I add half a handful (probably half a cup) of bone meal when I feel I need to add and then just roughly scratch it in with my hands. Give it a good watering to get rid of smells and to soak in. I hope this helps 🌻
@rachelallen7511
2 ай бұрын
Thank you! Awesome video! 💓💓 🌱
@meiinbudapest751
2 жыл бұрын
Very informative, thanks! Me being the first time squash planter this is a real help. Especially I have been wondering if it is at the right corner of the garden. Hungarian sun (continental) is brutal too. I'll keep my plants where they are and change the way I water it and see what happens. Thanks again!
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Hey Mei, how exciting this being the first time growing squash 💚 They can handle the harshest of sun as long as they stay hydrated. They will also droop and whilt very quickly if the doubt have what they need. Wishing you an abundant harvest 🌻
@lindawoody8501
Жыл бұрын
Good to know. I took out a Crookneck Squash plant that only bore flowers while the next to it plant Zucchini bore fruit. Both were in different side by side pots with same bagged compost and soil mix. Both got same fertilizer.
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
I'm glad you managed to get some value from watching this video! Yeah, I always recommend having multiple varieties around so you can cross pollinate and get more change of equal male and female flowers. If you want to save seed for planting next summer then you can't cross pollinate, but if you want it for eating only then that's a fail-safe way of growing squash 🌻
@estherbuff7504
Жыл бұрын
It was interesting. Never thought of those reason. I have another question. How do you conquer the fruit fly? Many of my pumpkins start growing and when about 2 cm big fall off. Am in Pretoria area. Thanks
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
I am thrilled to hear found this video interesting and thanks for dropping me a comment 😀 That is a really good question and I have done a video on some preventative measure you can take which you can find here and that really work well - kzitem.info/news/bejne/un2MrYGOqHWTqII Then, what you need to do is start VERY early in the season with fruit fly.pumpkin fly prevention. You need to get the product called Ceratrap from Inteligrow and get those out into the garden in early August. This way you catch the baby flies as they start to hatch. You then need to keep the traps topped up and hanging throughout the year (even winter) and in a season or 2 your garden will have significantly less fruit flies. Hope this helps 🌻
@nancyzimmerman246
6 ай бұрын
Wonderful site. Is it possible to hand polinate Srawberries ? I recently purchased a revolving plant holder. Unfortunately, I live in a gated community that sprays for insects. Of course that eliminates the natural polinaters . .I am so bummed by that. Any information you can give will be greatly appreciated.
@MySustainabilityJourney
6 ай бұрын
It's amazing to hear that even with your challenges and restrictions you are still trying to make a plan 💚 Yes, you can 100% hand pollinate strawberries and the best way would be to take a small paintbrush and gently get pollen on it and brush each flower. All the different flowers' pollen should then mix to give you good cross pollination 🌻
@limaethan1113
2 жыл бұрын
I am from India so one can imagine the condition of my pumpkin plant from the heat. Thanks, very useful source.
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the great comment Lima 🌻
@sunflower6434
10 ай бұрын
Good pointers, especially regarding temperature, and what is a good a temperature range, compared to extreme heat.
@MySustainabilityJourney
9 ай бұрын
Thank you 💚 personally I have found that once temps start getting above 27 odd degrees Celsius then the plants start going into defensive mode, but also if the soil isn't moist enough which in turn also increases soil temp and that's really what you want to try and keep as low as possible 🌻
@vanessaadams9145
2 ай бұрын
My patty pan plants are massive, as are my pumpkins and zucchinis, very healthy and not exposed to extreme heat as they only get the sun the first half of the day, they've had well balanced feed but the patty pan is the ONLY plant that is still not producing females...tonnes and tonnes of males and we're nearing the last month of our grow season.
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 ай бұрын
Oh yaaaay, I'm so happy to hear that and I'm super impressed that you have found what works well for you in your local climate with half day sun. Sounds amazing and yummy and I hope you get to enjoy many a nutritious meal from your garden 🌻
@avrilfarrell8671
2 жыл бұрын
How do you tell the difference between male and female flowers? One of my zucchini plants is fine and producing fruit but the other one, has dry dead leaves, flowers but no fruit... they are side by side.
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Hey Avril, I have done a video on male and female flowers in depth and show quite clearly the difference, which might give you some valuable insights. As for the dead, dry leaves and no fruit with the plants being side by side, they is just super weird! I tend to not grow an squash side by side as they are hungry plants, but most certainly shouldn't die if planted next to each other.
@kimhefler
Жыл бұрын
I live in Nova Scotia ,Canada. My daughter livesFish Hoek South Africa. She and her husband are gardeners. Thankyou for the info because I have so many male flowers on my squash and zucchini. I will try your suggestions.😊
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Oh wow, thank you for leaving my a comment from the other side of the world 💚 That's awesome that your daughter is just down the road and that she loves gardening so much. Makes me so happy to hear this! I am also thrilled to her my video helped you out and here's to hoping my future content continues to add value for you 🌻
@talapeanutbutter4250
2 жыл бұрын
My cucumber and yellow squash are doing great but my zucchini are producing only male flowers. I started all indoors and planted them in march. I live in north Florida, USA. Should I just wait? All organic
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Hey Tala, thanks for your comment and I'm so envious of you heading into summer as we head into winter! Yes, it is still very early days for you and it is very normal for them to only produce male flowers early on, so sit tight and play the waiting game for now. You could also: 1. Remove all the male flowers so the plant doesn't waste energy 2. Make sure you have a few other squash or zucchini plants and then you could cross and hand pollinate them. This isn't an issue, unless you wanted to save seed I hope this gives you some of the info you were searching for 🌱
@talapeanutbutter4250
2 жыл бұрын
@@MySustainabilityJourney - Thank you so much! I did remove some of the leaves as well as male flowers. I have have many bees that have been pollinating the other squash but with all the excess leaves, I was concerned about them pollinating the zucchini and some of the under leaves were getting white patches. Hence, removing leaves. BTW… my name’s Karen.
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
@@talapeanutbutter4250 nice to e-meet you, Karen 😁 Yeah, powdery mildew is such a pain with the squash family so good call on removing the leaves! I hope your lady flowers come along soon and give you a bountiful harvest 🌻
@talapeanutbutter4250
2 жыл бұрын
@@MySustainabilityJourney I found two females last night as I was routing my drip tubing! The flowers are not open and are small, about the same size zucchini (1 inch). I don’t know if they’ll mature but we’ll see! Thanks again!
@avakinzerochill
6 ай бұрын
@talapeanutbutter4250 I am in north Florida and having this same issue. How long did it take for a female to appear? I planted in late Feb. The leaves are pretty and green, but only male flowers. I may have too much nitrogen in the soil.
@johnk5778
Жыл бұрын
Hey you can pick the male flowers clean out the inner parts so just use the yellow part add a egg some peppermint and or onion others herbs milk and beat like a thin pancake batter fry in a little olive oil spot with catsup enjoy
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Oh my word that sounds amazing!!! I need to give that a go and thank you for sharing 🌻
@MsLaurieWatts
Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
It is only a pleasure and I'm glad you found value in watching this video 🌻🌻🌻
@garden--23
Жыл бұрын
Awesome
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Thank you 🌻
@whatever-ql5ns
9 ай бұрын
Excelllent. Really helped me.
@MySustainabilityJourney
9 ай бұрын
Ah, that's great to hear and I'm so glad this video helped you out 🌻
@soutpilaar
2 жыл бұрын
I had this problem with the flowers this summer. I figured it was the heat that let only male flowers bloom. By the time it got cooler I had no male flowers and a lot of female flowers. So I had no haven't at all. This time I will make sure to plant them in the shadiest spot and not in full sun. Powdery mildew is also a pain. But it seems it attack only leaves and not fruit. So is it really bad? I just cut of the leaves.
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Hey Heila, I have heard of this before where a squash or pumpkin only has male flowers but I have personally never seen or experienced this, so it's really interesting to me how this happens. I hope doesn't happen to you again! As for powdery mildew, you are correct in that it does not damage the fruits. It will damage the leaves and cause them to die off, but as long as there is new growth the plant will be fine so you removing infected leaves won't be too much of a problem 🌱
@annburge291
Жыл бұрын
Learn how to make LAB Korean Natural Farming solution from rice water and milk. You remove the obvious mildew leaves and then spay the rest of the plant with LAB mixed one tsp to a litre of water. It changes the microflora on the leaves making it less desirable for mould. The mould spores come from the soil, so having covered soil with straw, wood chips, very old compost mulches helps. In my case, being in the desert, the dust blows in from the neighbours tilling their soil into dirt.
@memibrowne1945
2 ай бұрын
I have only green leaves, I don’t any flowers and can’t figure out why.
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 ай бұрын
@@memibrowne1945 hmmmm...that's quite odd. I wonder if there might not be an issue with cross pollination that could have messed things up? I always wait patiently for them to decide to come into flower as I have found that they tend to have a mind of their own 🌻
@lindag9975
Жыл бұрын
Thanks! I spent time in Cape Town for work and love it there. So beautiful. I live in the US, currently in the Arizona low desert but have lived in Southern California, also a Mediterranean climate and about the same distance from the Equator as Cape Town.
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Ah, that's so cool and I am really happy that you enjoyed your stay here because it really is a beautiful place 💚 I am glad you managed to get some value out of watching this video and I hope you have massive harvests this summer 🌻
@forrestdoody2059
Жыл бұрын
Great video !!
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Wow, thanks so much 💚
@sonnyamoran7383
2 жыл бұрын
Just what I wanted to know. What fertilizer should I use? I have a general 10-10-10. Is that ok to use?
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Ah awesome so glad this video helped you. Yes, a balanced fertilizer like that is perfect! You could go even lower on the N but if you have that then your ant will love it 🌻
@matiasishere1487
2 жыл бұрын
Not ok if you want real food
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
@@matiasishere1487 out of interest sake, what do you mean by that?
@@MySustainabilityJourney Real food has to come from healthy living soil
@me1747
Жыл бұрын
My five squash (zucchini) did well from seed and grew nicely for a few weeks. Then there was nothing at the base. Just looked like bare roots sticking out. The leaves looked ok, the male flowers are blooming. It is stunted at this point with bare stem from ground to longer stems with the male flower. I see no bugs. Never saw any zucchini at all. :( I can't find any pictures on the internet of anything like that.
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Wow, this is a first I hear of this happening. That is seriously bizarre! For this reason I always plant multiple varieties so if one or more fail I have backups. Sorry to hear you struggled so this growing season 🌻
@stcl29
Жыл бұрын
But my cucumber plant only produced female flowers 😢 ? What’s the reason ?
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Shame, so sorry to hear this ☹️ they are also in the cucurbit family so the same reasons would apply. My best advice is to plant a few different varieties and more plants than you think you need to ensure you always get a good balance of male and female flowers across all your plants 🌻
@michaelfranks341
Жыл бұрын
Try Beit Alpha cucs with 90% being female flowers are perfectly fine because that variety doesn't need to be pollinated. Its why I grow Beit Alpha and party time cucumbers. 160 cucs off of four plants in 4 weeks
@Mantras-and-Mystics
4 ай бұрын
@@michaelfranks341 Hi! What temperature did you grow them at? Where I live it's about 50°F (10°C) at night and 74°F (23°C) during the day. Is this suitable for growing them? Thanks! 😊
@Raul28153
3 ай бұрын
Maybe it wants you to experience the joy of culinary squash flowers. I grow squash solely for the flowers.
@MySustainabilityJourney
3 ай бұрын
Lol, good point 😂 they are pretty amazing and yes, if you are growing them for the yummy, edible flowers then it's not necessary to have male or female flowers 🌻
@amyjanegardner9908
2 жыл бұрын
It's as if u know my problems and then do a video to help
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Haha, that's awesome to hear. Let's see what next week holds 😂🌱
@NurseyPooh59
2 жыл бұрын
Awwww…I just ripped out my plants! The weather had been uppers 90’s then pouring rain then powdery mildew…
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Oh no 😔 I hate that feeling but yes, I feel your pain! Summer heat combined with rains never play into the hands of squash and powdery mildew. I hope your next squash growing season is kinder 🌻
@Ethan-qy5ji
6 ай бұрын
My pumpkin was producing female flower but before it opened the flower died
@MySustainabilityJourney
6 ай бұрын
Yeah, this sometimes happens and it just means the plant is not yet ready to handle fruiting. It's very much like fruit trees dropping fruit 🌻
@Ethan-qy5ji
6 ай бұрын
@@MySustainabilityJourney thank you
@karenm9748
2 жыл бұрын
Why is my pumpkin plants only producing Female flowers?
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
Hey Karen, thanks for your comment and that's a great question! Firstly, I would need to know if you are in the Northern or Southern Hemispheres as the seasons could influence things. That being said, I am assuming you are in the northern Hemisphere as you are growing them, so, what often happens is that the first flush of flowers are all female flowers. This isn't an issue as the male flowers will catch up. A great way to overcome this is to have different varieties of squash planted then you can cross pollinate. If you are wanting to save the seed then you shouldn't do this, but cross pollination will give you a perfect fruit. I hope this helps 🌻
@amandaelaine2805
Жыл бұрын
Its funny, my summer squash zuccinis first flower was female. I had to get pollen from my yellow zucchini to pollinate it. Its now doing great and both female and females are showing up! Its produced at least 6 pounds already with more on the way!
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Yay, this is so awesome! Cross pollination is an incredible way nature accounts for ups and downs. So glad this worked for you as a cover until both the males and females showed up 🌻
@catswambo9706
2 жыл бұрын
No music pleeeeeeeezzz
@catswambo9706
2 жыл бұрын
Cannot watch to end because too irritating, sorry
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 жыл бұрын
You will be happy to know that I have removed music in all my recent videos 😀 That being said at the time of the comment this video had 5k+ views with 99.7% likes and this is the first mention of music being a struggle, but I hear you and take your feedback to heart, thank you 🌻
@kalenaglory2483
2 ай бұрын
Full Texas Sun… 😢.
@MySustainabilityJourney
2 ай бұрын
What happened? Is your sun too hot? 🌻
@ourv9603
Жыл бұрын
SO, if my melon plants develop only male flowers, its, Gay? !
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Lol!
@bobbydookhie7297
Жыл бұрын
Too long bud. Show effects. Show how it looks like. Show scientific data and supplements to use. Will help a lot.! Thanks
@MySustainabilityJourney
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the feedback. I'll def take this into account for future videos. I'll have to skip the scientific evidence part as I'm not a scientist and 'science' and 'stats' are both pretty much bottomless pits if contradiction but I can 100% share stats from my own growing experiences 🌻
@Thepokedek
4 ай бұрын
Oh one thing that just popped to my mind, my Italian neighbor would pick the male flowers and deep fry them and we would eat them.
@MySustainabilityJourney
4 ай бұрын
Oh yes! It is a very well known delicacy that tastes amazing. Yum yum 🌻
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