Squash & Zucchini Male and Female Flower Identification: Ants, Pollination, Browning Fruit -TRG 2016

Tips, Tricks

1. I'm disappointed in my zucchini this year. Maybe because I want a lot to make zucchini relish for the year. Yum! It seams the female flowers are few and don't open up much. I have been self pollinating to get just a couple of zucchini's. I blame my tomatillo plant which is covered with bees about 4 feet away. Like you said they grow about 2 inches and die off. Dumb question but why do I have so few female flowers and they don't open up? Any suggestions? Thanks for the videos!
2. Very informative video! I have a question about how to handle pests when they are competing with bees for flowers. I have a few cucumber beetles on my squash, pumpkin, and zucchini. But I am afraid to treat for them as the bees have just started pollinating. Not sure how to manage the pest without interfering with pollination.
3. I have a video question. Have you made the switch to 4k video or are you shooting in a smaller format? Just curious it looks cropped to a smaller size than normal.
4. Nice video.
   I just want to add that it's not uncommon to lose the first fruits. There are obviously a lot of differences between varieties but a lot of the common zucchini and squash will produce dud fruit for a few weeks before the female flowers even open. This is thought to be related to the maturity/size of the unpollinated fruit. Eventually they will grow big enough that the flowers will open for pollination.
5. Can you peel back the female flower that is just about to bloom and use the pollen from a male flower?
6. great information !! great job
7. For me Squash is the most difficult to grow, don't have no luck with them.
8. Hey Gary, I have ONLY male flowers. What am I doing wrong?
9. can you do a video on what to do after a disaster. for example, we had wind, rain and most devestating, hail. in the aftermath im at a loss of what to do. all my flowers and plants were shredded and branches and stems were stripped clean. are there things to do to help the weakened, sick and most likely to die? ideas would be much appreciated. thank you.
10. As always great video!
11. Growing squash in containers? Haven't tried that one yet. Any tips?
12. I've just about given up on yellow summer squash.  No luck hand-pollinating and the sevin dust around the base did not seem to keep the borers out.  I did find some solid-stalk summer squash that I am going to try.  Supposedly the borer doesn't get in there.
13. you've inspired me to start a gardening Channel thank you very much I really love you videos
14. Gary, any idea why some cucumbers end up round like a gourd and others end up traditional pickle shaped? Had the idea at first that it may be male/female distinction but if they're like squash...all fruit is female (unlike eggplant).
15. Last year I only got one squash from my plant. It produced lots of female flowers but no male flowers until mid September when the temps started to cool off. Is this because the Summer temps were to high, high 80 to 90s or something else.
16. I haven't seen a bee in ages. How do you hand polinate effectively? 
17. I have regular rabbit visitor that comes and eats some of the leaf of my squash plant.
18. thanks
19. I know all the basics of squash and pumpkin pollination but what do you do to prevent the squash vine borer and what are you favorite varieties of squash and types