[BussinSpain]

PLEASE HELP! Most of my squashes are producing so many male flowers and no females   Butternut squashes, Patty Pans and normal courgettes are affected.  Is there anything that I can do to encourage the "girls" to put in an appearance?

[m1ckz]

maybe go around naked ,,can think of anything else

[BussinSpain]

naked? in this heat? Ok then, I'll give it a go

[arugula]

Overly hot, as well as cold, weather can cause problems in formation of female flowers.

[JayG]

In my experience you are unlikely to get two females to agree whether it actually is hot or cold! 

On the slightly safer subject of squashes  what you have observed is not unusual - I've even had all male flowers followed by all female, which is much less of a problem if you have more than one plant of that type!

I don't know of any way of influencing the flower production one way or the other - all you can do is try to make sure the plants are not stressed and hope for the best (they usually sort themselves out in the end.) 

[snowdrops]

JayG you only just redeemed yourself there

[JayG]

JayG you only just redeemed yourself there

That's me - living life on the edge.................of the norty step!!   

[BussinSpain]

In my experience you are unlikely to get two females to agree whether it actually is hot or cold! 

On the slightly safer subject of squashes  what you have observed is not unusual - I've even had all male flowers followed by all female, which is much less of a problem if you have more than one plant of that type!

I don't know of any way of influencing the flower production one way or the other - all you can do is try to make sure the plants are not stressed and hope for the best (they usually sort themselves out in the end.) 

My husband can't keep up with me when I say "ooooooo it's sooooooo hot" - must be hormones

[Kirpi]

grow two courgettes (or squashes etc) near each other so they can be cross pollinated by bees. If one plant produces all males, chances are the other will be more balanced.

[BussinSpain]

grow two courgettes (or squashes etc) near each other so they can be cross pollinated by bees. If one plant produces all males, chances are the other will be more balanced.

done that.  4 patty pans together, 3 butternuts together, and the courgettes together.  I might try and castrate most of the males (sorry boys :blink:) and see if that encourages them to sprout new buds which will be female.

[Yorkie]

It is typical early in the season for male flowers to be produced first.

Given that we are so late behind this year, it's not surprising.  It should sort itself out.

Each plant is separate, so the chances of one being 'more balanced' if the other is 'less balanced' is not supported by any evidence.

[mumofstig]

True, but  in my experience you don't usually get all of 'em misbehaving at once 

We've had it cold, but don't think the weather has been bad in Spain, so I would have thought they'd have sorted themselves out by now - obviously not! Obviously Spanish ones are just as naughty 

[arugula]

From at least one of our forum members in Spain I have been hearing how hot it is this year, which is why I pointed this out as a possible or even probable cause of the problem.

[BussinSpain]

From at least one of our forum members in Spain I have been hearing how hot it is this year, which is why I pointed this out as a possible or even probable cause of the problem.

you have heard correctly how hot and dry it is here at the moment, and will get worse as August approaches   I drip irrigate my kitchen garden twice a day - first thing in the morning for about 30 mins (to see them trhough the day) and then again late at night for about 45 mins (to soak in over night)  We have not had any decent rain since last November  (in this area anyway)

[brokenglass]

No Rain since November !   Well we have had hardly any rain since Wednesday although to be fair we did get 2" of rain on Wednesday