Squash flowers puzzling, table grapes cracking
QWhy do my squash vines only have male blossoms?
ASquash plants normally have both male and female flowers. The female flowers tend to form close to the base or center of the plant and the male flowers appear farther out. Male tends to outnumber female by quite a lot, so if you only look at the vine, you may only see males.
How do you tell male from female flowers? The females will have a knob at the base — this is what develops into fruit. Male flowers are prettier, have pollen-bearing anthers and have a skinny stalk instead of a baby squash at the base.
Male flowers appear
QMy red flame grapes are ripening but have a powdery film on them and are cracking. Is this fungus? Are they safe to eat if they are washed well?
Amuch earlier than females, so you may just be waiting for the females to show up.
In the meantime, you can find a recipe for fried, stuffed squash flowers and put those boys to use.
Your grapes have powdery mildew, which is a fungal disease. Unlike many other fungi, powdery mildew prefers our Mediterranean climate (dry summers and wet winters). It appears as a white or gray powder on leaves, shoots and
Squashes normally have many more male than female blossoms, and females may need longer to appear.
fruit. Severe infection can cause fruit to crack.
Powdery mildew can appear on a wide variety of plants: roses, fruit trees, grapes and ornamentals. If you know certain plants are susceptible to powdery mildew, you can preemptively treat with a sulfur-based
antifungal such as Safer Garden Fungicide. These will only work at or before the first signs of mildew and are not for severe infection. Do not apply when the temperature is over 90.
For mild or moderate infection, horticultural oils (such as Neem) may be effective. Powdery mildew is difficult to treat and requires multiple applications of fungicide.
In the case of severe infection (which is your case), I recommend pruning away the infected parts of the plant and discarding them in the trash. Remove any fallen leaves and affected fruit as well. Cracked fruit is subject to insect invasion and probably doesn’t taste very good.
Make sure your grapevines are getting full sun (at least six hours per day) and good air circulation, since these can decrease the likelihood of fungus problems. Avoid overfertilizing, since this encourages too much new growth that is especially susceptible to infection.
Your grape crop is probably lost for this year, but with preventive treatment you may be OK for next year.