My squash plants are making too many male flowers? Help!?

I can't control it! For two months now male flowers everywhere only a few female now and then! But they don't grow to much size. Bees are usually everywhere in the morning hours all in between the flowers so pollination is not the problem so what is? All males for the most part and very few females. The female(actual squash) barely get big. What could be the problem? I have only used miracle grow twice all summer once in may and last week! I live in Virginia and I have about 10 plants. This is weird! Help if you can!



Thanks so much for your answers and input!

My squash plants are making too many male flowers? Help!?
I've been having the same problem. Checking around, I've found that high temperatures, too much shade, overcrowding, and overfertilization can all cause too many male flowers to form.



We did have a couple of over-90 days last week, which is HOT for Seattle. I have had a lot more male flowers since then, but I had too many already before that -- and it sounds like you did, too. I don't know what anybody can do about the weather being too hot, and might not be much you can do about your garden not getting enough sun either.



It doesn't sound to me like you have overfertilized. You might want to do a soil test and check; you can buy a soil test kit for 5 bucks. I have read two methods of compensating if you have over-fertilized; watering the soil heavily to wash out the excess, and foliar spraying with plain water.



I think I have overcrowded my plants. I'm not sure whether it is worth cutting down some to see if the rest will bear more produce.



Although we do get some bee traffic in the garden, I don't depend on it, after the first couple of squash that shriveled before getting over an inch long. I go out every morning and look for any female flowers that have opened, and manually transfer pollen to them from male flowers. That has gotten me at least six well-grown zucchini so far. But I haven't seen any more female flowers since the hot days last week.
Reply:plants have.... genders?? ur kidding..
Reply:you should pinch them off for bigger squashes to grow
Reply:Keep trimming all of the non-essential parts, like the male flowers. The squash will grow bigger when the plants energy is flowing into the squash, and not the other areas of the plant.
Reply:From: http://www.ag.arizona.edu/gardening/news...



"It is common for summer squash plants not to produce, or to produce poorly. This is because of insufficient pollination of the female flowers. Both male and female flowers are produced on the same squash plant. Sometimes many more male flowers are produced and few if any female flowers appear. At other times many more female flowers are present, but male flowers are scarce. Pollination from male to female flower fails to happen, and no squash are formed. Hand pollination can be carried out.



Male flowers from one plant can be used to pollinate female flowers from another, or of the same plant. Female flowers can be identified by the miniature squash (unfertilized embryo) attached under the flower. Male flowers have no such attached miniature squash. To hand pollinate, a male flower is removed and the pollen producing anthers in the center of the flower are rubbed onto the stigma of the female flower to achieve fertilization."