[carolski]

Hello,
This is my first post; so happy to have found this forum!
We used to love to eat these spaghetti squashes when we lived in France. Now that we're back in the UK i have found them hard to buy in the shops so decided to grow them having bought the seeds in France. It has grown wonderfully and taken over a corner of our small garden. It has loads of large yellow flowers and has produced numerous fruit BUT when they get to about an inch long they seem to shrivel and die...Help please!!!

[ynysmonron]

Hi Carolski! Try hand polinating your squash, I have done this this year and have had great results ie; 16 good size fruit on one plant 

[carolski]

I had heard that thats what you do...but how?

[Yorkie]

The male flowers are the ones with the long thin stalk behind them, the female ones have the tiny fruit bulge behind them and do not have a long stalk like the male.

Two methods; one is to use a paint brush on the male flowers and then transfer the pollen to the female flower.  The other method is to remove the male flower, *ahem* insert into female flower and let nature take its course 

Of course with the former method the male lives to fight another day ...

By the way, I think you accidentally posted your question twice so I've deleted the duplicate thread so we only have one going at a time 

[karooba007]

Hi Carolski! Try hand polinating your squash, I have done this this year and have had great results ie; 16 good size fruit on one plant 

i only got 4 fruit from one plant. what can I do next year to get more?

[carolski]

Hello again
 

I am just so excited, I took the advice given re the pollinating trick with my old makeup brush..went away on holiday for 2 weeks and have come back to 8 good size fruits.....wonderful! Now i need to know what i do know as i'm concerned that they may get eaten or go rotton once this great weather spell has passed.
Help please!
Carole