The pumpkin and squash mystery

[Marge]

Yes it is a mystery - I can get pumpkins and squashes to germinate nicely, lovely little plants grow, they get planted out and little fruits form ... which promptly go soft and rotten

This has happened for 2 years running and I cannot think where I am going wrong. Does anyone have any advice, pretty please?

PS. I am gardening in the North of England

PPS. Happy 2011!

[rainbowgardener]

It sounds like they may not be getting pollenated. Squash and pumpkin have separate male and female flowers and the pollen has to travel from one to the other. Do you see bees around them? For me bees are the main pollenators for them.

You can tell what gender the flowers are, because the female flowers have little embryo fruits behind them and the males don't. When the female flower doesn't get pollenated, the little fruit grows for just a little while, then as you said, goes all soft and drops off. If you don't have bees or other insects, you can hand pollenate the flowers, using a paintbrush or picking the male flower and gently brushing it against the female one.

The birds and the bees....