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Post by diane on Nov 30, 2018 21:45:32 GMT -5
This year I had no female flowers on many of my squash plants.
I'm just reading The Ever Curious Gardener by Lee Reich, and have discovered a possible fix for the problem.
"Cucumber or melon plants respond to being caressed by bearing a greater proportion of female flowers"
I wonder if this will work for squash too. And how long does one do this? Just while the plants are young?
Unfortunately Lee did not put footnotes and a bibliography in his book, but maybe Google could find out more about this.
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Post by philagardener on Nov 30, 2018 22:10:30 GMT -5
Ever curious indeed! We'll see if Lee gets the last laugh on that one . . .  |
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Post by walt on Dec 1, 2018 15:45:53 GMT -5
I have read that secondary branches give only male flowers, and tertiary branches give both male and female flowers. Or was it primary and secondary?
Anyway, one might remove tips of the vines and see if that gives females sooner.
Don't know about stroking.
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Post by fliver on Dec 6, 2018 10:24:00 GMT -5
I noticed a similar lack of female flowers on my squash plants this summer. I read where high temperatures cause more male flowers than female flowers (I don't remember where I found the article, sorry). This summer was very hot and dry around here. When the temps started cooling off, I did notice a lot more female flowers.
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Post by diane on Dec 7, 2018 19:26:54 GMT -5
On to the next chapter of Lee Reich's book, which provides more information.
"Ethylene has effects other than hastening fruit ripening. It also can slow rampant shoot growth - sometimes, in so doing, diverting the plant's energy into making flowers and fruits. .........Fruit ripening and ethylene itself are not the only stimuli to ethylene production in plants. If a leaf is damaged, or even gently rubbed, the cells start emanating ethylene."
OK. Next year I'll set up a leaf-rubbing experiment with my squash and melon plants.
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Post by jocelyn on Dec 8, 2018 7:56:16 GMT -5
For what it's worth, I put out squashes when they already have male flowers. It is usually cool then, and it's 3 weeks most years till things get hot. By then, there are female flowers. I can't rule out slight physical damage to leaves as the purple finches and my hens like to hatch eggs under the squashes. When I have a vine or two that have males only till some time in August, it's the same seedlot.
Observation only, no conclusions yet.
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Post by walt on Dec 8, 2018 14:51:08 GMT -5
I wonder if ethylene would make fruit trees bloom younger. I'll bet it's been tried. I'll google it.
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Post by diane on Dec 8, 2018 15:55:21 GMT -5
Apparently yes. From The Ever Curious Gardener again, "commercial apple trees which are growing only wood sometimes are sprayed early in the season with Ethrel to get them to settle down and start fruiting."
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Post by walt on Dec 9, 2018 15:31:53 GMT -5
I'm going to have to try it. Thanks for the info.
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Post by triffid on Jul 14, 2019 11:42:06 GMT -5
Any results from the leaf-strokers?
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Post by jocelyn on Jul 15, 2019 17:31:18 GMT -5
No hens in the squashes this year and small fruits already.
Stroking and/or physical damage not necessary if the transplants are well started in good soil.
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