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[Andrew]

My squash fruits get an inch or two long, then shrivel up and die. Do you have any suggestion what could be the problem?

[Andrew]

This is a pollination problem. Squash and all plants in the cucurbit family (cucumber, melons, pumpkin, and squashes) have male and female flowers on the same plant and need bees to carry pollen from the male blooms to the female blooms. Only female flowers bear fruit. They can be identified by the small fruit found just behind the bloom. If pollinated, these tiny fruits begin to develop; if not it shrivels and dies. Bees will not be present if the garden is regularly dusted or sprayed with insecticides. Hand pollination of the female bloom can be done when bees are absent.

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