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Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 13:17
| Hi all, I have a small veggie garden in Zone 3. I'm new to all of this, I even just googled the zones so I knew I was posting the right one! So I'm one of those people that likes to know the whole detailed process of stuff, so I apologize in advance for being detail obsessive lol... So I started my plants indoors w lights, the whole 9 and now I'm a full month ahead of most as my plants are starting to produce (I think) whereas harvesting time here is usually August. My first question is regarding my "zukes". I am just so confused about when a female flower opens and if the green baby zucchini looking things at the base of my zuke flowers mean they've already been pollinated? I know it sounds like a no-brainer but there are wayyy under developed female flowers with swollen bases... they couldn't have possibly opened and been pollinated yet, right? I mean they're only a few cm's long but the bases are swollen. Here's a pic of a female flower with one of the nobs I mentioned. Is she pollinated? I hope you all get my question here... I'm not asking how they get pollinated, or how to hand-pollinate which is how most have answered as I've asked a few before ending up here. I'm asking why do the 2 cm long BABY female flowers and the large female flowers both have swollen bases, and how to tell if they've been pollinated and when they female flowers are ready for pollination? The females have to get big and open to be pollinated, right... so the tiny, tiny females aren't ready yet... but they are swollen also behind the flower in comparison to the males. Like... the stems are "meatier" which I can see even though they're so tiny. Second Q- is there a way to tell crookneck yellow summer squash vs zucchini squash before they develop fruit? I'm asking for my own reasons, many ppl say they are the same plant because they're both squash, but I'm certain they can't be EXACTLY the same... leaf shape, texture, etc... there's got to be a way to tell. Does anyone know? Thanks so much in advance! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by theforgottenone1013 5b/6a MI (My Page) on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 13:39
| Female squash blossoms ALWAYS have a small fruit behind the flower (that's how you tell them apart from the males). They are there when the flower first starts to grow and well before the flower has been pollinated. You'll know if it was pollinated. If it's pollinated, the fruit will grow in size after the flower opens. If it wasn't pollinated, the fruit falls off the plant while still small. You'll be able to tell the difference between your squash and zucchini immediately by the fruit. The one in the pic is a zucchini. But technically, a zucchini is a squash. Rodney |
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- Posted by farmerdill (My Page) on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 15:50
Concur: The female squash blossom is only open for a few hours in the morning. However there are parthenocarpic zucchini, which do not require pollination. The fruit will grow without seeds. Knowing the variety is important. If you do not have a parthenocarpic variety, the fruit will size up in a couple of days when pollinated or shrivel up and die withot pollination. Most varieties of zucchini have larger plants than most crookneck varieties. Many varieties of zucchini exhibit silver veining in the leaves, which crooknecks do not.  |
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- Posted by Bloomin_Onion 3 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 1, 14 at 17:58
| Hi guys, so I finally saw my very first baby crookneck squash, and so I was able to compare the two. The plants have some very visible differences. Here's a picture that will explain the immediate differences better than I could. The main difference for me was the way the plants grew. The Crooknecks "crawl" a bit, shooting out leaves from the crawling central stem. The zukes sort of blossom out from the ground in one spot. Also, the leaves are a different shape and texture. There are a few ppl online in different forums who had this question for a variety of reasons, and yeah I guess I do think it's silly that so many people came across such a random question but anyways I hope the pic helps someone! Thanks everyone |
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- Posted by naturegirl_2007 5 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 1, 14 at 21:41
| Be aware that different varieties of zucchini may have different looking leaves. As they grow larger they also change in shape and texture. Farmerdill's photo shows one zucchini variation with the silvery coloration.....and no, that is NOT mildew or any other fungal disease. Your photos will help in telling your zucchini and yellow squash varieties apart but may not be applicable to different cultivars. It looks like yours are growing nicely. |
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