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8:52 pm
Senior Class
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Sat 5-Mar-11
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Here's the thing fellow veggie-pop-pickers. I have been growing cucumbers for about three seasons now in the greehouse. I can't be a doing with these 'ere all female cucumber plants, all a bit too sapphic for me. I reckon I get 10 boys to every girl. Same really with the courgettes. I pick off the male flowers on t' cucumbers, but let the male courgettes be (ahhh - what a brave new world that has such gods, innit?).
Whadja reckon? Good strategy or no? As much as I have longevity on my side, I am entirely without coaching on the gardening front. I also brush my tomato flowers gently with a paintbrush, what with them also being greenhouse bound.
Advice?
Odd thing here: 
PS, what's 6 + 11? I'm gunna guess with 17...
Just look at his great ears flapping about.
9:29 pm
Councillor
Wed 30-Dec-09
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Someone (I think it might have been ToffeeApple) had a batch of courgette plants which were completely male. I have planted some courgettes from a variety of sources (including the same ones TA used) and one of the plants so far had only produced male flowers too. Normally I get a roughly 50:50 split, or possibly biased more towards male flowers, but never noticed anything as much as 10x as many.
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9:47 pm
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
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Yes that was my unhappy lot last year, didn't bother this year.
I'll try that again!
6:35 am
Supreme Being
New members
Mon 21-Sep-09
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Me too, only males flowers on all my courgettes, squash & cucumbers but I am having another go this year.
I belong to a forum in the USA & lots of gardeners were complaining of the same thing so it is not just happening in this country.
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
10:26 am
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
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I wonder what the reason for that is? I'd be interested to find out, only if it is not global warming!
I'll try that again!
12:08 pm
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Fri 10-Sep-10
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My Melons are the same ,given up with me little brush and left it to the insects . I always buy female cues as it saves faffing about .
Seed catalogues are responsible for more unfulfilled fantasies than the web and playboy combined . (after Michael Perry)
7:26 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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I must be being daft here, I thought each plant had male flowers (with no mini veg) and female flowers (with mini veg).However I had noticed my courgette seemed to have lots of male flowers and only a few female
9:09 pm
Supreme Being
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Mon 7-Jun-10
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I must just ask...are they wearing earings when the appear..cus if so I am sincerely worried...
Who lives long sees much : The diary of my life in Bulgaria
9:13 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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No earings that I can see, but they seem to have a pretty garish eyeshadow on...
9:21 pm
Supreme Being
Thu 24-Sep-09
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It's the lipstick that gets me! 
Old teachers never die, they just lose their class
9:36 pm
Supreme Being
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Mon 7-Jun-10
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Terrier said:
No earings that I can see, but they seem to have a pretty garish eyeshadow on...
In that case...nuke 'em....
Who lives long sees much : The diary of my life in Bulgaria
6:27 am
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Fri 10-Sep-10
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Toffeeapple said:
I wonder what the reason for that is? I'd be interested to find out, only if it is not global warming!
You may be onto something , it's certainly possible to alter the sex ratio from eggs by minute variations of temperature never did it but some years seemed to be cock years and some hen. Remember seeing a wild life programme and crocodile eggs do it as well.
Seed catalogues are responsible for more unfulfilled fantasies than the web and playboy combined . (after Michael Perry)
8:18 am
Improver
New members
Wed 25-May-11
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Apparently, all is not lost if you have male flowers as you can eat them (so I'm told - never tried it myself). The suggested recipe is stuff them with breadcrumbs and garlic and fry in tempura batter.
8:38 am
Supreme Being
New members
Mon 21-Sep-09
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Ruth, you must try them as they are delicious. In Italy they sell them in the markets. They are a great starter for a meal. You can add various things to the basic stuffing mixture¦..I love chopped anchovy, just a little as you don't want to take away from the delicate taste of the flower itself.
Mmmmmmm¦.!
PS....by the way the breadcrumbs should be from day-old bread , not dried, crispy ones.
"The beautiful is as useful as the useful...perhaps more so."
from Les Miserables
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