Losing flowers on zucchini plants

[so lucky]

It's hard to keep a good zucchini down!

 

[ducks4you]

Just harvested one for dinner tonight!! totally YUM...

 

[ducks4you]

Now...I have 6 more. Looking forward to getting some tomatoes in bc I have successfully canned zucchinni with onions and tomatoes. It's just one of those jars that tastes SOOOO GOOOD in the middle of February!

 

[ducks4you]

I wanted to update that the zucchini are coming in fast and furious. I am VERY happy! I recommend planting late. The leaves on my plants are giNORMOUS and I have to peel them back to find the fruit.
NO squash bugs.
NO vine borers.
AND, I didn't grow squash and feed the next generation of these bugs, either.

 

[so lucky]

Yea!

 

[ninnymary]

So happy everything has worked for you. I've learned that it does pay to switch our planting times sometimes. I now only plant cilantro in the fall. You won't believe how big the plants and leaves get without that carroty leaves stuff.

Mary

 

[ducks4you]

Mary, how long does it take for cilantro to be harvested after it sprouts?

 

[baymule]

I wanted to update that the zucchini are coming in fast and furious. I am VERY happy! I recommend planting late. The leaves on my plants are giNORMOUS and I have to peel them back to find the fruit.
NO squash bugs.
NO vine borers.
AND, I didn't grow squash and feed the next generation of these bugs, either.

Whoa... I am jealous! In this climate, if squash is growing, so are squash bugs and vine borers.

 

[ninnymary]

Mary, how long does it take for cilantro to be harvested after it sprouts?

Gosh ducks, I've never thought about it. You can harvest right away but of course you're not gonna have much. I would guess at least a month before you can start pulling some leaves off. Once it gets to medium size, I start pulling one plant at a time out. Hope this helps.

Mary

 

[ducks4you]

This is twice, now, that I haven't had them, and both times I planted late. ALL of the other times I planted them when everybody else did, and lost ALL of the squash types that I planted: zucchini, cucumber, acorn squash, hubbard squash and yellow squash and melons. I understand that the bugs have a life cycle of several weeks.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74144.html
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/leaf/squash_bug.htm
"The complete life cycle of the squash bug commonly requires six to eight weeks."
Squash vine borers also have a limited life cycle.
http://www.caes.uga.edu/applications/gafaces/?public=viewStory&pk_id=4431
http://michiganorganic.msu.edu/uploads/files/31/Squash bug and Squash Vine Borer Control.pdf
http://web.entomology.cornell.edu/shelton/veg-insects-ne/pests/svb.html
http://www.creators.com/lifestylefe...e-they-develop-and-try-to-reach-the-stem.html
"In northern states, only one generation develops per year. After killing the vine, the caterpillar ventures into the soil and pupates until the following spring. The one adult generation usually disappears around the Fourth of July. Waiting until after this time to plant susceptible vine crops will be OK, unless you are far north and plant a slow to mature crop."
My first average frost will be in 5 weeks. THIS Summer has been so cool I will expect the first frost by Columbus Day. But, I know that zucchini doesn't take long to mature from seeds, so I thought I'd try my theory of planting past their life cycle. I was right. I also didn't plant them in a bed that I used last year for any squash or relative. It's a LOT of work, but I will remove the soil used for these zucchini to another part of my 5 acres. I haven't used any chemicals, so I can safety dump this dirt where my horses graze in late October. I also burn my used up vegetables. It is unlikely that many bugs survive the fires I make, with paper trash from my office and dead wood from the many trees that I prune, including those that have died from two years (2012 and 2013) of local drought.
As I said, I haven't seen EITHER of these bugs hanging around my zucchini this year.
One great thing is that will all of this rain, any really big zucchini have been very tender, instead of tough. I am very happy with this crop this year.