Zucchini fertility

Male Zucchini flower

It is the second week of January and we have experienced cool weather conditions around the end of December followed by extreme hot weather and now a cool spell with some (not enough) rain.The zucchini seedlings planted in November are bearing fruit but I am finding that there are very few bees around this year and pollination has to be done by hand. This is best done in the morning when the female flowers are freshly open. Find a male flower (above photo), strip off the petals and press the pollen-laden stamen to the stigma at the center of  female flowers (photos below). By mid-afternoon the female flowers are starting to close over and within the next couple of days the fruit rapidly begins to expand. Within a week the fruit are big enough to harvest; left longer than a week and you will be harvesting whoppers only suitable for soup or a gratin. Fruit that fails to develop is generally not pollinated but sometimes this is the result of stress to the plant caused by uneven soil moisture resulting in a condition called Blossom End-rot. Another cause of Blossom End-rot is lack of calcium in the soil. Apply Dolomite lime to the soil  before planting Zucchini seedlings to prevent calcium deficiency.

Female Zucchini flower

Female Zucchini flower after pollination