I have four zucchini plants that are not producing fruit.?

Question

Leaves are green and big, flowers nice and yellow. I feed w/coffee grounds and/or Peter's Plant food about 1x month. Don't use any pesticides. Yellow jackets abound for cross-pollenation, but nothing is happening. Any ideas?

Answer 1

I do not think it has anything to do with what you are doing, but with what your plant is doing!  

First, you have to know if your big yellow flowers are male or female.  If they are male, they will be suspended on a thin green stalk.  If they are female, they will have a tiny little zucchini located between the main plant stem and the flower.  

If you have male flowers, then you will not be having any zucchinis off of those flowers.  Generally, squashes will set only male flowers for the first week or two.  This is a mechanism that (evolutionarily) encourages cross-pollination.  However, for the home gardener, it can be pretty frustrating.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Yellow jackets could be the problem, they chase away all the bees. Try hand pollinate with a cotton swap and see if you can get some fruit.

Answer 3

stop with the coffee grounds.  Coffee grounds are for acid loving plants.  You are adding too much nitrogen.  Top off with compost instead.

With squash, you need both a male flower and a female flower open at the same time to get fruit.  Look for this in the early morning and hand pollinate.