Hi there,
As the user name suggests, I am new to this whole gardening business. My girlfriend is the real (and professional gardener), but after she grew some spaghetti squash in our garden last year, I sort of got hooked on looking after the plants and enjoying watching them grow (and eating a bumper crop).
This year I have had a crack at growing my own squashes: one red kuri squash plant and three musquee de provence squash plants. I planted them out in mid-June after propagating them indoors (as per the instructions on the seed packets). The plants themselves have grown well - I am training the red kuri up a home-made frame, while the musquee de provence (MDP) I've left on the ground (because of the expected size of the fruit) and they have grown several vines extending up to approx 10 feet. However: the red kuri is only now producing (still closed) female flowers, and only two male flowers have opend so far. The MDP hasn't flowered yet at all - all its embryonic flowers are male, with no females in sight. The leaves are healthy, no powdery mildew etc. I am feeding the plants weekly with a standard fruit and veg feed from my local garden centre.
So my question is: have I done anything obvious wrong, is it too late to expect any fruit this year from the MDP, and is there anything I can do to encourage flowering?
Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!
As the user name suggests, I am new to this whole gardening business. My girlfriend is the real (and professional gardener), but after she grew some spaghetti squash in our garden last year, I sort of got hooked on looking after the plants and enjoying watching them grow (and eating a bumper crop).
This year I have had a crack at growing my own squashes: one red kuri squash plant and three musquee de provence squash plants. I planted them out in mid-June after propagating them indoors (as per the instructions on the seed packets). The plants themselves have grown well - I am training the red kuri up a home-made frame, while the musquee de provence (MDP) I've left on the ground (because of the expected size of the fruit) and they have grown several vines extending up to approx 10 feet. However: the red kuri is only now producing (still closed) female flowers, and only two male flowers have opend so far. The MDP hasn't flowered yet at all - all its embryonic flowers are male, with no females in sight. The leaves are healthy, no powdery mildew etc. I am feeding the plants weekly with a standard fruit and veg feed from my local garden centre.
So my question is: have I done anything obvious wrong, is it too late to expect any fruit this year from the MDP, and is there anything I can do to encourage flowering?
Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!
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