Why do I have a lot of flowers on my squash plant but not a lot of fruit?

This is perfectly natural with squash plants. Every plant produces male and female flowers, but only females produce fruit. If you peer inside the huge butter yellow trumpets, you’ll see that males have a column of fused anthers, whereas females have a gold-crowned pistil. But the clearest difference is in the stems. Male stems are long and slender; female ones are short, thick, and quick to form a bulb (the beginning of a squash). Sometimes at first, plants will produce only male flowers or only female flowers, but these will even out.

My squash’s leaves are speckled and beginning to blacken. What causes this?

This is probably damage caused by the squash bug , an oval gray-brown insect that sucks juices from the leaves and stems. As with any pest, crop rotation is the first line of defense. Avoid planting squash in a spot where it (or its relatives, such as pumpkin, cucumber, and melon) has grown the previous year or two. You can also discourage the overwintering of squash bugs by keeping the garden plot clean of debris where larvae can hide. Search the underside of young leaves for reddish eggs, and rub them off. Pick off and squish or drown the larvae and the adults—a task that is not too daunting with a modest planting (which is usually all you need with squash).

My squash shrivels up and dies on the vine. What should I do?

This problem likely occurs because of inadequate pollination. In the morning, when the flowers are open, look to see if bees are flying in and out of the flowers; if not, there are likely not enough nectar-bearing flowers around to bring in bee traffic. Plant more! I’m partial to native plants, but for early bloom I recommend planting catmint (Nepeta spp. and cvs., USDA Hardiness Zones 3–10), salvia (Salvia spp. and cvs., Zones 3–8), and lavender (Lavendula spp. and cvs., Zones 4–9)—bee magnets all. Keep all insecticides out of your garden, and inspire your neighbors to do the same. Meanwhile, you can hand-pollinate a squash blossom by stroking the anthers of a male flower with a tiny paintbrush or cotton swab, then stroking the top of a female’s pistil to transfer the pollen.

My squash plant has striped bugs all over it. What are they, and what can I do about them?

This pest might be called the striped cucumber beetle, but it likes the whole cucurbit family—squash included—so crop rotation is important here too. The beetle feeds on all parts of the plant but is even more destructive as a carrier of diseases—namely, bacterial wilt and squash mosaic virus. It’s also hard to pick off because it is small and lively. Early in the morning when it’s heavy with dew, it moves slowly, so you can use a shop vacuum to suction it away; the slot attachment is easiest on the plants. Spreading a well-anchored row cover over the plants will also exclude this and other pests, though it must be removed at flower time to allow pollination.

Is there anything I can do about what looks like mold on my plant?

If what you see on the leaves is whitish, it’s powdery mildew, a common affliction for many plants in warm, humid weather. If it’s yellowish, then it’s downy mildew, which favors weather that is cool and moist. If either are frequent problems, look for resistant squash varieties when you buy seeds or transplants; then give the plants plenty of air circulation. Some gardeners swear by a solution of milk and water as a foliar spray; baking soda dissolved in water has its fans too. Remove spent plants promptly.

—Barbara Damrosch has written numerous books, including The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook, coauthored with her husband, Eliot Coleman. Barbara and Eliot operate Four Season Farm in Harborside, Maine.

Photos: Danielle Sherry; Scott Phillips; Scott Bauer/courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org; Michelle Gervais; Lynn Felici-Gallant; Ann E. Stratton