I recently got a question from Anne, from my home state of Michigan. Anne asks:

"I planted four zucchini plants in my vegetable garden this year, and I was so excited when they started blooming. But after a few days, the flowers fell off, and there is no sign of any baby zucchinis in their place. Is there anything I can do?"

Zucchinis, like other members of the squash family, produce both male and female flowers on the same plant. For a zucchini to form, a pollinator such as a bee or fly has to visit first a male flower, then a female flower, spreading the pollen from the male flower's stamens onto the female flower's pistil. However, usually the first few blooms you will see on a squash plant are male flowers. These fall off and in a few days more blossoms will take their place, including some female blossoms.

Because zucchinis, and all squashes, depend on pollinators for production, if you are seeing a decline of pollinators in your area, as we are in much of the country, you may have to hand-pollinate the female flowers yourself to ensure a good crop.

So, in short, it's nothing you did wrong, and it's nothing to worry about. If you don't see the kind of zuke production you were hoping to, then go ahead and try hand pollinating. Good luck, and thanks for the great question!