Squash

My squash plant pot is tilted as I read that they like to grow on hills. The blooms come on and look beautiful and a day or two later they're drying up. It is watered twice a day from an automatic watering system. I think I overwatered it in the beginning. It's in half soil and half mulch.

sandij to the forum. If this is the first blooms your squash is having it is somewhat normal for them to be short lived. The plant begins blooming with the male flowers later on the female blooms will come(notice the mini fruit between the flower and the stem). I am a first year gardener so cant help you with the squash. My first group did not make it( pest and disease killed them). My second replacements are just starting to flower.

It's been blooming almost from when I got the plant. Big beautiful blooms! I have had one small squash and I think I picked it a little too early and another one which seems to be staying the same size for almost 1 1/2 weeks and the blooms will show so pretty in the AM, then the next day they're toast. I am new to squash as well so not sure how many blooms should produce and how many will shrivel up and die.

Hi sandij,

I have 3 squash hills that gave me a little concern in the beginning also. For several weeks I saw a lot of male flowers, but very few female flowers and very few bees, so I would hand pollinate female flowers just to make sure, because I didn't know how many blooms to expect. (You can also tell if it's a male or female flower by looking at the stamen. There are some good pictures on the internet to make it clear for you.) The plants have now been flowering for over a month, and things have really picked up in the past week. They are covered in flowers, and the bees are on the job, so I don't feel the need to monitor every flower any more. In fact my neighbors have received their first "garden gift" of squash. I still see some that aren't pollinated - in fact a couple looked like they flower never opened, but it seems like as the plant gets bigger and spreads outs, the flowers get pollinated. I don't know how big your plant is, but mine got really full (bushy) and are now sending out runners...these things are monsters.

Sounds like your plant just needs a little more time. And if you want squash sooner, hand pollinate!

Happy gardening!

Jill

Welcome! Glad to have you, sandij. I second the idea that all your squash plants need is more time. In the meantime, though, check those blooms when they first open in the morning and if most are male blossoms, pick a bunch to eat. There are lots of delicious recipes online from squash blossom pizza to Italian stuffed squash blossoms. Tasty little gems. Leave a few for pollination, and eat the rest!