No zucchini? Grab a paintbrush

Cucumbers, melons and pumpkins also are having this same problem – lack of pollination.

Members of the cucurbit family (squash, cucumbers, melons and pumpkins are all related) have male and female flowers. They need something – usually a bee or other insect – to physically move pollen from the male flowers to the female blooms.

Bees and other pollinators do this accidentally as they collect nectar and pollen for themselves. During triple-digit heat, these pollinators tend to be a lot less active if at all.

Or the bees may be having a hard time finding your squash and melon vines, especially if they’re surrounded by non-flowering plants.

Another sign of lack of pollination: Baby zucchini start to form but stop when only about 3 inches long, then brown and fall off. That squash was insufficiently pollinated, so the plant aborted it.

When bees don’t do the job, pick up a paintbrush and give pollination a hand.

A soft-bristled artist’s paintbrush, such as a watercolor brush, is perfect for this job. (A small makeup brush will work, too.)

First, determine which flowers are which. The female flowers have an obvious swelling at their base. That’s the baby fruit, waiting to be pollinated. In the center of that flower, the female stigma (its lady parts) will be prominent and clearly visible.

The male flowers have no swelling at their base; on squash, they tend to have long stems. The male blooms are filled with pollen-topped stamens.

Take the paintbrush and lightly swish it around those bright yellow stamens. The brush will quickly be covered with yellow dust; that’s the pollen.
Then, open up the female flower and gently stroke the stigma with the pollen-covered brush. That’s it; you’ve pollinated the flower. (You can buzz like a bee while doing this, of you like.)

Do this over and over until all the female flowers have been “dusted” with your pollen paintbrush.

If you don’t have a brush, try this alternative: Remove a male flower and pull back the petals to expose the stamens. Then, use the stamens to “paint” their pollen onto the female flower’s stigma.

Either way, baby squash (or melons or cucumbers or pumpkins) will soon be on the way.