We are familiar with Smart Pots in particular so can not comment on the drainage or breathing ability. And we just looked up Sure Thing, a Burpee seed that is said to thrive and produce in cool, cloudy weather and not need bees nor male flowers to pollinate. We have ot grown this particular variety, be if it is like most zucchini, its leaves should be dark green. Yellow leaves could indicate too much water, but might also suggest a need for fertilizer. (It’s relatively easy to see/touch to know if water is the issue.) Too much fertilizer can cause blossom drop. You have not mentioned soil. (See here for guidance on fertilizer and soil additives: http://www.almanac.com/content/preparing-soil-planting ) However, the presence of pests such as aphids or disease such as wilt can also result in yellow or spotted leaves.

Thinning…yes, you should wait for the two “true” leaves to follow the initial sprouts. But if you get two or even three to sprout and start, why not keep them going too? Plant in a separate container or, if it’s large enough, leave in the original container.

About watering: Your container should have a drainage hole or some obvious way the water is going to run out. Watering from the bottom (with the container in a tray) will facilitate a deep soak; the soil will take it up until it can’t take no more. You can soak from the top…but water tends to pool on the top of the soil; the bottom soak works at its own pace——and gets to the roots, which are nearer to the bottom.

So sorry about your troubles! Would anything like a beach umbrella help while you work on the plants? Or, would you be able to hire a neighbor to perform this task for you? If you are having trouble with natural pollination, there are a few reasons why a plant may not fruit, including temperatures becoming too high (in the 90s or higher) or too low. If you suspect heat, perhaps give your plants some partial shade (shade cloth) during peak heat of the day. Check to make sure that your plants have enough water and nutrients, which can affect fruiting. If no flowers are forming, be sure that your plants aren’t getting too much nitrogen, which favors leaves over flowers. If you don’t have enough pollinators, could it be that the surrounding area has too many pesticides? Instead of raising bees yourself, you might consider arranging with a beekeeper to have a hive temporarily placed in your garden–some offer hive rentals. Hope this helps!

The flowers on skinny stems are the male flowers; some of these are necessary for pollination (by insects) of the female flowers to produce zucchini. (You can also hand pollinate.) The plants tend to produce a lot of male flowers, though, so if you have a lot (and they usually come out first), you can harvest some–they are edible! You can dip them in light batter and fry them. Be sure to leave enough on the plant, though, for good pollination.

The success of container-grown squash will depend in part on what variety of squash you have. It is best to grow bush varieties, because their smaller size better fit the confined conditions; the large sprawling types would be better grown directly in a garden. As to the pot size for bush types, that also depends, but as a guideline, it shouldn’t be less than 12 inches wide by 12 inches deep. Make sure that it has drainage holes at the bottom.

Unfortunately, cushaws (Cucurbita argyrosperma, aka C. mixta) are annuals. The vines will die off at the end of the growing season, so you’ll need to replant the next season for another harvest.

You can save most seeds of plants to re-plant in the spring. Some plants are easier than others. The best candidates are beans, tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers as long as they are standard or heirloom varietes, NOT hybrids. Hybrid seed is often sterile or the new plant is not true to the mixed parents so you don’t know what you’ll get. Plants that are open pollinated by insects or wind aren’t the best candidates for seed-saving. That includes squash which often crosses with other plants in their family.  The only way to maintain the original variety is to isolate by large distances which is not always impractical in a home garden. That said, you can try and see how it goes!

Hi, Ryan, Kudos on your success! Sounds like you’re doing all the right things. And it sounds like your plants are doing the right things, too. It’s normal for plants to begin to wilt at this time of year. They recognize that the sunlight and heat is diminishing. As annuals, they have a limited lifespan…and it is reaching its conclusion. It’s kind of sad to see the plants enter this phase (it’s happening here in New Hampshire gardens, too.) Afterall, it’s thrilling and satisfying and gratifying to see the plants thrive and produce a bounty. For now, take pride in how you’ve nurtured your plants to produce so mightily! In a few weeks, when it’s closer to over, begin to think about what you will do next year—and what you will do differently. Thanks for taking the time to share your story.

Vines can be trimmed a bit to improve air circulation but you do not want to cut them back hard because the foliage is what is used for photosynthesis and growth of the plant. They don’t mind shade from the leaves either.  if you cut or pinch the vines, you need to do so early in the season. Wait until some fruits form and then pinch off the ends.

Whether you train zucchini to grow vertically might depend on the space in your garden. If you have the space, it might be easier to just let the plant sprawl. However, growing them vertically saves space and allows more air circulation, which can help deter disease. It does, however, take a little more maintenance, with tying vines, etc. Although there are several systems you might employ, one option is to use a trellis about 5 or so feet tall. You can use strips of pantyhose for ties, and for slings for the fruit. Tie loosely (but with a firm knot) so as not to damage the growing vines.

These are the female flowers that are falling off? It is natural for the male flowers to do so, once they have finished releasing pollen. The female flowers that fall off without developing fruit can be because of poor pollination–either there were not enough pollinators (wet or windy weather can deter them), or the pollen itself was poor quality, possibly due to very cool or hot temperatures. In the morning, you might try transferring by hand (using something like a tiny paintbrush or a Q-tip) the pollen from the male flowers (those with a smooth stem under the flower) to the top (stigma) of the center part of the female flowers (those with a small bump at the base of the flower). Also, make sure that your plant is watered evenly–providing mulch can help. Sometimes zucchini will produce lots of male blossoms and only a few female blossoms early in the season. Later, female blossoms will appear in larger numbers. It could be that your plant will catch up soon. Normally, with good pollination and overall good plant health, there will be a few zucchinis growing at the same time.

The male flowers are the ones that open, release pollen, and then fall off the plant. The female flowers stay on the plant; it is from these that the zucchini come…IF the flowers are pollinated. If they are not pollinated, the female flowers fall off without producing fruit.

To pollinate zucchini by hand, first plan to do this in the morning when the flowers open up/are open. Then shake the pollen from a male flowers onto the stigma (center) of the female flower. Or touch a Q tip or swab to the male flower’s pollen then transfer it to the female. Experiment with a couple. Then give it a few days.

You’ll find that squash will cross-pollinate with other nearby squash varieties, creating some interesting results, such as orange squash.

If your zucchini blooms flowers but never bears actual zucchini, or it bears fruit that stops growing when it’s very small, then it’s a pollination issue. Most squashes have separate male and female flowers on the same plant. To produce fruit, pollen from male flowers must be physically transferred to the female flowers by bees. If you do not have enough bees, you can manually pollinate with a Q-tip—or, add nearby plants that attract bees!

It’s best to keep the leaves. Although the plant as a whole likes sun, the fruit (squash) does not need it, and might actually get sunscald from too much sun, since it had been used to being shaded. Also, when you cut a vine, there is always the chance that diseases will enter via the wound. The leaves are the way the plant makes food for itself, which helps gather energy to put into its fruit. So, as long as space in your garden is not an issue, the more leaves, the merrier!

Crop rotation can help to mitigate pests. See here for more details: http://www.almanac.com/video/how-rotate-your-vegetable-crops

Looking ahead, consider cover crops in fall: http://www.almanac.com/content/cover-crops-us

If a flower is not pollinated enough (it requires several visits), it can result in small or deformed zucchinis (such as small zucs with tapered ends, and only a few of the seeds inside maturing); hand pollination will help new flowers along. Sometimes cool weather will slow pollinators, causing inadequate pollination at the time of flower formation.

We haven't heard of a commercially available zucchini/spaghetti squash combination--is there a variety name? As to when to harvest, if you don't have a seed packet/seed catalog to refer to, then perhaps look for signs in which both zucchinis and spaghetti squashes are ready to pick.

Zucchinis are best picked at the immature stage. Pick elongated types when they are about 6 to 8 inches long and about 1-1/2 to 3 inches wide. The larger they are, the tougher they get; picking zucchinis will encourage more to develop. Round zucchini types, such as 'Eight Ball', should be harvested when they are the size of a baseball, or a little smaller.

There are also other squashes that appear like a cross between a zucchini and spaghetti squash. Example is 'Tatume', also called Mexican zucchini. It is green with spots, and is best picked when it is about the size of a baseball and treated as a summer squash. It can grow larger, however, and picked later as a winter squash.

Spaghetti squash is harvested when mature, like a winter squash. The color will change and deepen; color varies with variety, but many turn to a deep yellow. Look for a rich color, and a hard rind. Your fingernail should not be able to make a dent in the rind.

If you think that your squash is a summer-type squash, then we'd suggest harvesting it when it is small/immature, like zucchini. If, however, you think it is a winter squash, allow it to grow fully and the rind to harden.

Stress can cause flowers to drop. The weather may have been too warm for the plants. Another reason for flower drop is poor pollination. Make sure that you get enough pollen from the male flower to the female when hand pollinating.

Usually, the small male flowers emerge a little before the large female flowers. Occasionally, the reverse happens. Are your male flowers not opened at all yet? If so, you might wait a week or so to see if they do mature enough to open; if there are very few, you might select one after it opens and use it to hand pollinate the female flowers, allowing the others to remain on the plant. If the male flowers don't open at all, you might check local garden nurseries that perhaps have a zucchini plant for sale that contains a mature male flower that you can use to hand pollinate. Good luck!

The soil needs to be warm (at least 60º at a two-inch depth) so we plant summer squash after our spring crops of peas, lettuce, and spinach—about one week after the last spring frost.

Shriveled and/or brown leaf edges can be caused by many things, including a period of cold temperatures (below 50 F) and too much moisture. If there are no signs of spots on the leaves, or wilting, and the plant is doing fine in production, then it's probably not something to worry about. 

You can put them into larger pots until it is safe to plant them outside. Good luck!

Usually, we hear that there are flowers but the plant is not growing fruit (which would be a pollination issue). If you have the fruit, congrats! You must have had flowers at some point. When the plant stops producing flowers, it will stop producting fruit.

Especially if you live in the South, the green worms in the fruit might be pickleworms--pale green with brown heads, up to about 3/4" long. They might have reddish-brown spots, depending on the stage of larval development. To help prevent them from boring into the fruit, spread mulch around or keep the fruit off of the ground. They like to feed at ground level. They might also tunnel into flowers, buds, and stems, but prefer the fruit. A larva will eventually spin a thin cocoon, perhaps rolled in a leaf, and pupate. Adult brownish-yellow moths emerge in about 7 to 10 days; they are active at night. Early-maturing varieties are good to combat pickleworm, so that they mature before the peak of the pickleworm population. Also, because the moths are active at night, covering the squash with row cover overnight will help to prevent them from laying eggs on your squash. Remove the cover during the day, to allow pollinators such as bees to visit the flowers. Some varieties of squash are more resistant to pickleworm, such as Butternut 23, Summer Crookneck, Early Prolific Straightneck, and Early Yellow Summer Crookneck.
 
For more information, see:
 
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/crea...
 
If the larvae you see are not pickleworms, perhaps they are melonworms? Green larvae, usually with two white stripes (depending on larval stage). But these usually attack leaves, or sometimes the surface of the fruit. It's less common for them to tunnel into the fruit. See:
 
http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG295/html...
 
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/crea...

The weather can slow things down but have patience; the female flowers will follow the males eventually!

Even if conditions were exactly the same for both squashes, the results may not be the same.
Zucchini seed germination requires a minimum soil temperature of 60°F, according to several sources, with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. BTW, one even advices starting both squashes in the ground, to avoid transplanting failure.
It's difficult to know eactly what went wrong. See what happens with the existing seedlings, and try again and, if you do, save a couple of seeds to set directly into warm soil in the garden.
Good luck!

This squash problem is probably blossom end rot. It won't spread but indicates a lack of calcium in the developing fruit.
You may have soil that is too acidic. The pH of acidic soils can be raised by adding lime, but this should only be done if soil test results indicate it is needed. To change pH, lime should be tilled into the soil 6” to 8” deep 2 to 3 months before planting (or as much lead time as possible) to change the nature of your soil. A little sprinkling of lime won't do much once they have the rot.

No, not if you're growing the plants for squash. The leaves are the part of the plant that captures the sun for growth.  They also protect the fruit from sun scald.

If the plants look healthy leave them in the ground. They may still produce this season. Do they have flowers? Maybe the female flowers are not getting pollinated. If that is the case use a small brush to move pollen to the female flower.

Your diagnosis seems correct. The flowers were not fertilized because of the lack of bee activity. This can be influenced by rain and weather conditions. To aide pollination. With a Q-tip, take off the pollen from the stamen of the male flower and brush it onto the female flower's stigma in the center. You could also pluck a male flower (the one without the bulb or ovary at its base), strip off the petals, and use its pollen-covered stamen as a brush. Do this all in the morning when both male and female flowers are open. Next year, get some bee-loving flowers for natural pollination!

As you referred to a winter squash such as butternut? This plant turns yellow in the fall. In general, harvest winter squash when the rinds are tough enough to resist being punctured with a fingernail. Be patient and don't harvest too early or it won't keep in storage as well.

It's normal for male blossoms to drop, especially early in the season. If you see female blossoms dropping, it's because they're not being pollinated; this due to weather extremes or lack of bee population. If it's temperatures, fruits will appear when temperatures moderate. If it's a pollinator issues, make sure you're not using toxic chemicals to spray your plants as they kill the bees; you can try to pollinate the plants yourself with a Q-tip.

We're not sure what variety you have, but most squash varieties taste best when small and tender. The larger squash may be a bit bitter, but pick it and see how it tastes for yourself!

If you saved your seeds to replant and new squash grew, you can eat it! Congrats!

If you wish to cook the blossoms, harvest only the male blossoms, but leave some on the vine for pollination. (The male blossoms have a thin stem; the female blossoms have a thick stem with a bulb at the base which develops into the squash.)

A good indicator of when to harvest your squash is when the color turns a nice, golden yellow. Eat them when they're small; they're more tender.

Breaking some of the leaves may cause root damage to the plant. We don't recommend doing this.

However, you could use small garden posts to help reposition the leaves away from the other plants. No damage done!

Thank you for your interest in the Old Farmer's Almanac and our Web site.

When ripe, the rind of butternut squash will change color from light beige to deep tan or what some people call a deep flesh color. Then the skin will be hardened. Be sure to harvest before frost. When you harvest, use pruning shears and cut 1/2 inch above the fruit. Do not break off the stem. Happy harvest!

If your plant is wilting, the common reason is the squash vine borer. Slit open a stem lengthwise and look inside for grubs. If a plant wilts but there is no evidence of borers, it may be bacterial wilt infection or root feeding by larval cucumber beetles. See our pest library for more information: www.almanac.com/topics/gardeni...

Great question. Once you know, it's easy to tell the difference. Female flowers look as if they have a miniature fruit right under the petals. Male flowers have a slender stalk below the petals and that's it. It's normal for the male flowers to fall off, especially at the beginning when there may not be females yet. If the females start to fall off, then there may be a pollination issue.

It's hard to say why they are dying. Do you have any frass? It's possible that it's the squash vine borer pest, especially if the soil's been too wet. Take a knife and slit the stem lengthwise and look for those grubs. If they're there, you need to quickly pull those plants as it is too late for treatment. In the future, row covers may help.

If the squash fruit gets an inch or two long and then dies, it is probably related to pollination. Female and male flowers need to blossom at the same time. So, it may just be a question of waiting until both are blossoming. Tips: To attract bees, avoid spraying pesticides as well as covering the squash during morning pollination. Avoid overhead sprinklers. If the weather's been too rainy or overly hot, you may also need to wait for conditions improve. Finally, you can always attract more bees with nearby plants (example: plant bee balm).

Hmmm... Hard to say without a picture, but eggplants have deep purple blooms. You could always bring a sample to your local garden center.