Steve Bender aka the Grumpy Gardener from Southern Living Magazine has a very informative (and funny!) article about growing zucchini. You may read it here.
Did you know that the plants of cucumbers and zucchini have male and female flowers? It is the female flower (of course) that bears the fruit. On a zucchini plant, the large showy yellow flowers toward the end of the stalk are the male flowers, the female flowers are towards the base of the stalk and are smaller...that is where the zucchini squash will be! There are always more male flowers on the plant than are needed. Have you ever heard of people eating fried squash blossoms? That would be the male ones! Hey, better to eat them than to just let them wither on the vine, right? (Sorry, but I usually do not like the idea of eating flowers, I just don't but in this case, it makes sense to me.)
I found another thing for you...Hand pollinating. There, that link will explain how to help things along, it involves a small artist's paint brush! We have not had the problems that we have read about here, maybe we have so many plants and flowers that the bees in this area just can't wait to see what we have for them. Come on, bees, you are always welcome here!
(Of course, it might also have to do with the amount of rain in your area...we have had more rain than normal, so it took a while for the bees to even find our garden!)
Our flowers are pretty in the bright sunshine of June...
Thank you Kay, this is a very interesting post and your photos are lovely. I especially loved those gorgeous flowers in the last one. They look like a different kind of petal but are these a type of blanket flower? The colors are extra vibrant, beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Denise! The flowers in the last photo, that is a new pot of flowers that Richard got this year, it is called "Daybreak" Coreopsis and we love it! We have blanket flower, Richard calls it by its botanical name, Gaillardia. :-)
DeleteEducational again. I love keeping the fresh vegetables all summer. I'm not sure about eating the flowers but I would probably be willing to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI daresay if someone stuffed squash blossom with cheese and fried it and then offered it to me, I wouldn't say no! :-)
DeleteI've eaten zucchini flowers fried in batter, they are nice but I suspect it has a lot to do with the batter ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy parents grow vegetables on their allotment, as you know. I have had raspberries fresh from their garden this week, what a treat to add to my muesli in the mornings!
Lovely pictures of summery flowers - and the one at the top of you (on Eastbourne pier?) is great!
Fresh raspberries on your muesli, that sounds wonderful!
Delete(By the way, I remember the muesli in England, it is so much better than what you can get here, I bet yours in Germany is better too!)
The photo of me looking out over the water, that IS in Eastbourne, it is at a spot they used to call "Splashpoint", that used to be the end (or beginning!) of the seafront walkway beside the sea, now they have extended further along.
I love to go to that spot and look out to sea!
I would love to grow my own plants but time has shown me again and again that my green thumb brings nothing but death to plants. I could keep bees at least. If I wasn't so scared of being stung. Man, I am useless at this.
ReplyDeleteI am very lucky in that my husband is an outstanding gardener! We make a good team, I can grow plants from seed, and I can help to water them but the best thing that I do, is eat the vegetables and enjoy just looking at the pretty flowers!
DeleteMaybe I need to hand pollinate my zucchini plants. I'm getting all blooms and no fruit. 😩
ReplyDeleteCheck out that link I gave you and go and buy a small artist's paintbrush! Good luck!
DeleteYou always provide us with interesting information, Kay.
ReplyDeleteI did plant a cherry tomato plant, it is doing well and we've already gotten a few from it.
Cherry tomatoes! I love them, send me some! :-)
DeleteLove your flowers. Can't wait to have some fresh veggies from the farmers roadside stands. Don't do any gardening here.
ReplyDeleteYes, best to look at the roadside stands if you don't grow them yourself. The produce at the stores now are...well, not very good!
DeleteMy friend Chip is quite the chef and he puts edible flowers on risotto and such, as a garnish. And I've eaten stuffed squash blossoms - pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI know it is trendy to eat flowers but something about it, I don't know, I really love flowers! Still, the squash blossoms, I think I could eat those!
DeleteYes, I've heard about zucchini plants being male/female. That's why you should always plant two, apparently. All I know is that, if the zucchini does produce, you end up with a ton of zucchinis.
ReplyDeleteI wish I have a ton of zucchinis! Alas, we only have ours in pots, so the poor dears don't have much room!
DeleteOh well, we enjoy what we are able to harvest!
You've taught me something new! No, i don't grow plants to eat, i'm blessed that i haven't killed the pet geranium yet.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you are able to buy good produce there though. Here, we are struggling these days to get good fruit and vegetables!
DeleteI managed some zucchini a few years ago but this year I've planted no vegetables at all. The flowers are all beautiful though. I might even be able to find some of them under the weeds when I get back to Lewis in another couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteHey Graham!
DeleteI bet your flowers are just waiting for you to get back and the weeds have respectfully kept their distance. Oh well, we can dream, can't we? :-)
Hi Kay - thanks for the visit ... I love zucchini flowers - usually stuffed with some goats cheese - there are a variety of recipes - not sure I'd bother now ... but sometime ago I would have done. Fresh veg and fruits are just wonderful - sadly I live in a flat - so no opportunity to grow anything ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThen I forgot about the Eastbourne comment ... does your husband come from this area? Not sure from the header photo! Cheers Hilary
DeleteHello Hilary! Very pleased to find your blog!
DeleteYou have great fruit and veg in England! I have fond memories of the strawberries and apples. Don't even get me started on the lemons from Spain!
I love Eastbourne! My husband's parents live there and have done since the mid 80's, they retired there and love it. We try to visit as much as we can...look at my blog and you might recognize some scenes from there! My header photo just now is on the seafront, you know "Splash Point" they used to call it, it is right in front of the Redoubt.
Thanks very much for your visit, please stop by again!
Nothing like homegrown! Maybe next year for us. This year we're cleaning/painting/updating the inside of our home. Next spring it's all about the garden! In addition to some veggies, I also want to plant some berry bushes.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I know you are busy doing the INSIDE things right now! :-) Next year though, I will be expecting to see great photos of your veggies!!
DeleteOh, and I adore blueberries, they are the best when they come from a bush that you have planted!
I usually stir fry my chopped zucchini with shrimp in a wok. Your flowers are very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteShrimp and zucchini, that's sound really good. You are such a good cook, I bet anything you put into a wok comes out great!
DeleteYour flowers are so bright and beautiful. Yes I have heard of people eating squash blossoms. I've never have, but I have eaten sugared violets. We aren't growing anything because we are traveling so much. Tomorrow we're off on a three-night trip to a place I've wanted to see for at least thirty years. So I am excited! I hope that you and Richard have a great weekend.
ReplyDelete