Is anyone having trouble making sure their vegetables are pollinating? My varied squash and cucumbers are not making any veggies to speak of and I don't see very many bees or anything around. Is anyone else having trouble. On top of that ... my squash vines have so far made one female flower to about 20+ male flowers. Almost sounds like TN doesn't it? LOL Anyway, I've got one Seminole Pumpkin (squash) actually developing while nothing else is happening. It's a little irritating but part of the deal. Anyone want to divulge their secret method besides getting out the wife's make up brush and moving pollen by hand? I've got almost pitiful vines that are growing a little but nothings happening. We'll keep on working it and see what develops as the weeks go by.
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- MEMemberJul 11, 2026
I do know that high temperatures reduce bee activity which affects pollination. Even here in the north woods we have had some periods of mid 90's weather and the pollination really suffers. Squash plants are easy to pollinate by hand and you don't even need the brush - just take the petals off the male and use the pistol to pollinate.
ReactReply - NK
Jul 11, 2026Hmm. I haven't noticed that...yet. Setting here (naked) in the AM on my patio looking at my trumpet vine, it is full of pollinators right now. so even if they slow down in the heat of the day, they are active when it cools down in the morning and evening. Our summer squash is setting a lot of fruit. We have a big bed of winter squash and cucumbers, 32 plants. They are a bit behind because we had some late cold snaps that made us cautious. The squash is doing great, but the cucumbers are really small, slow coming on. Is this typical? (90s are common in the summer here. We'll be in the high 90s all of the coming week.)
ReactReply - MEMemberOriginal PosterJul 13, 2026
"The squash is doing great, but the cucumbers are really small, slow coming on. Is this typical?" I haven't raised anything but Vine Borers on my generic squash in years so finally gave up. My cucumber crop was non-existent this year. My plants didn't grow well and the couple that did only made 3 or 4 cucumbers. It was very aggrivating but part of it. My buddy a couple of miles away had a good crop but even noted that his was down just a little. I'll keep at it and if I find anything that helps here in the Florida sand ... I'll pass it along.
ReactReply - TO
Jul 24, 2026There could be other reasons your not getting fruit set. Stressed plants tend to drop female buds for survival. This can be caused by a number of reasons including inconsistent watering, insufficient nutrients, or high temps.
For watering issues, I suggest installing a drip irrigation system on a timer. This gives a couple huge benefits. 1. You don't have to worry about your garden getting watered. It's automatic. 2. Watering from a hose or can tends to get the leaves wet, which causes disease.
For insufficient nutrients, I suggest fertilizers, and I don't mean Miracle Grow. Miracle Grow is good for early growth when the plant is starting t because it's full nitrogen, but when you want to get fruit it's important to use a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen and higher in phosphorous and potash. Bone meal is excellent for this mixed with a good general purpose organic fertilizer. A good kick off though for the first of the season, sure your medium has lots of organic material mixed in. Compost=good.
For heat problems, I suggest shade cloth. You can get a good 40% shade cloth on Amazon. My tomatoes have set fruit in the hottest days of summer since I started using it.
It could be a combination of all. Let me know if you have any questions.
ReactReply - MEMemberOriginal PosterJul 25, 2026
Thank you for the notes, "Stressed plants tend to drop female buds for survival. This can be caused by a number of reasons including inconsistent watering, insufficient nutrients, or high temps." I had not read about dropping female buds as I have not noticed any being produced; watering is daily, nutrients are pitiful and temps have been in the low 90s consistently. My soil is literally beach sand once removed but has been augmented along the way via Wal Mart top soil, garden dirt and compost. I think it's a combination of everything as most everyone has trouble growing things. The okra I planted has done great ... so something works. The solution is most likely shade cloth, a drip irrigation system and liquid fertilizer infusion but that's too much effort for my pitiful little patch!! LOL ... We'll keep on experimenting and I'll report back as things seem to work or not. I'm planting a small corn plot here in about three weeks ... we'll see how that goes.
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