Squash Most of us who had a spring vegetable garden are beginning to notice many of our vegetables are beginning to fade away. Among these is our summer squash, primarily zucchini and yellow squash. Our summer squash are vegetables that are usually a mainstay in home vegetable gardens. They grow like gangbusters in the spring, and are usually one of the first vegetables that we harvest when summer arrives. The only problem with this crop is that it normally produces a large harvest in a short amount of time and, if your household is anything like mine, the family is sick of squash by the time August rolls around.
Squash are interesting plants.
Close relatives to melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, and gourds, squash plants produce male and female flowers on the same plant. The female flower has a tiny squash-like part at its base. The male flower contains only the stamens which carry the pollen and does not have the swollen area at its base. Because the male and female flowers are separate, the squash is heavily dependent on insects, primarily honeybees and bumblebees, for pollination and, consequently, fruit formation to occur. Many times calls come into the office from home gardeners who complain that their squash are loaded with blooms, but no fruit are developing.