Question: My cucumbers bloom, but they don’t set fruit very well. What can I do to get more cucumbers to form?

Answer: They may not be getting pollinated. Cucumbers bear both male and female flowers. You can tell the difference by the small primordial fruit at the bases of the female flowers. Male flowers have straight stems. If you have a shortage of bees working your garden, you can increase the fruit set by snipping off one or two male flowers, peeling back their petals, and using the flowers to pollinate the female flowers manually.