Courgette pollination

[Maggiethecat]

I have female flowers of one variety but the male flowers were earlier, none atm.

can I use the existing male flowers from
another variety to pollinate this one, presumably if I’m not bothered about saving seeds?

Yes. If I understand the biology right, the courgette itself is produced vegetatively from the “mother” plant, it’s only the seeds that have genetic material from the pollinating plant. So no worries about getting a dodgy courgette

Incidentally, the production of mainly male flowers first and mainly female later is the plant’s way of trying to ensure cross pollination by a different plant.

Ive also got some surplus plants which I haven’t bothered to plant up, and they’re producing nothing but males. I’m wondering whether there’s also an environmental effect - no female flowers until the plant feels it has good enough soil to be able to produce fruit.

I’m a bit confused though bcos the courgette is growing (about 3in at the moment) but flower is closed.

can I assume that a pollinator has been in and done its thing?

If the flower is closed but the petals look and feel fresh, and the flower has a pointed tip, it hasnt yet opened to be pollinated. If, as I expect yours are, the flower is closed, but the petals feel soft and the tip of the flower is more blunted, then the flower is over. If the courgette is growing healthily,it’s been pollinated. I f it starts to shrivel and go yellow from the top end, then it hasn’t

Aahh! So the flowers would have been open to pollinators and then closed (hopefully) after being pollinated.

Yes!