Bees aren't the only pollinators. Moths and other winged creatures also pollinate, but bees are generally considered the best because 1. their pollination is the most famous as their flower-hopping work is a key element in the production of honey, and so we learn about that even as kids and 2. bees carry a tiny electrical charge I believe due to the friction of their wings paired with the tiny hairs on their bodies. Therefore, when they land on a flower, they "attract" pollen... they don't necessarily have to stomp all in it like the other insects, who may also to an extent carry a charge but I'm honestly not certain. The female flowers in my garden here in southern canada are open well into the lunch hour, bright and firmly opened but do curl up and close by dinner time. Bees are at the height of activity during this time. There are more males than females to insure that enough opportunities arise for the bees to pick up pollen, but not pollinate so many female flowers that the plant will become stressed, as producing a fruit is a severe drain on a plants resources. The plant will usually only put out as many females as it can really support developing, which is why they don't simply "spring" up like the males which appear so haphazardly and quite quickly. Over time, as your plant grows, so will the number of females and you will find more and more fertilized squash as your plant has the ability to support maturing them. As for the fertilizer, I'm not sure which you should use because I don't know what's in your soil. Do some research on soil testing and try to get your soil tested to see what your soil has a lot of, and what it's lacking. The test kit is not expensive and the process is not difficult. Here's a link for you to see how to do it: http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/soil-testing/ If you're just going to skip that and go get some fert, try to get a 5-10-10 (nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium) and get a slow release if you can and follow the instructions exactly so you don't over feed... but again, since you've already fertilized once and burned the plants, I would see what exactly is in your soil before you add more stuff. I don't know anything about your sweet pumpkins, but they sound good! :)

First, you're correct in thinking that half as much 20-20-20 will yield a solution the same as 10-10-10 (if it was soluble). Another way of saying it is, 1 tsp of 20-20-20 in a gallon of water yields a solution of the same strength as 2 tsp of 10-10-10 in a gallon of water. Generally though, 10-10-10 formulations are slow release, which is different from controlled release, and 20-20-20 formulas are usually soluble in water. While you wouldn't normally mix 10-10-10 in water, it does contain half the N, P, and K that 20-20-20 contains. A lot of growers are quick to recommend a fertilizer with a specific NPK %, but most are unable to tell you precisely why they recommend it. Often, they will offer the idea that fertilizers with a higher first number (nitrogen) are too high in nitrogen to be suitable for houseplants; but they overlook the fact that the amount of nitrogen supplied has nothing to do with the fertilizer ratio, and everything to do with how much N is supplied by the grower. It's as easy to oversupply nitrogen with 10-10-10 as it is with 24-8-16. Actually though, the consequences of oversupplying nitrogen when using 1:1:1 ratio fertilizers like 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 are considerably more severe because you can't even supply an ADEQUATE measure of nitrogen (using 1:1:1 ratios) with out oversupplying both phosphorous and potassium. The perfect fertilizer program would find the grower providing all the nutrients essential to normal growth in the exact ratio at which the plant uses the nutrients, and at a concentration neither so dilute that deficiencies are limiting nor so concentrated that toxicity or antagonistic deficiencies are limiting. It's actually impossible to come even close to achieving that end when using a 1:1:1 ratio fertilizer, or fertilizers actually providing more than 1/6 as much P as N. After the factoring is done for the fact that P and K are actually reported as P2O5 and K2O in a fertilizers NPK %s, you'll find that fertilizers with 3:1:2 ratios (24-8-16, 12-4-8, 9-3-6 are examples of 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers) supply nutrients in almost exactly the same ratio as the average at which plants use therm. There is a significant variance in the overall volume of nutrients taken up by plants, but only a small variance in the ratio the plants actually use. I grow hundreds of species of plants, indoors and outdoors. I formerly used Miracle-Gro 24-8-16 or 12-4-8, to which I added other nutrients. I now use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 for every plant I grow. It contains all the essential nutrients in a very favorable ratio. It also gets none of its N from urea, which helps to minimize the impact of low light and helps keep houseplants compact. I know that all sounds complicated to a beginner, but if you have questions, don't be afraid to voice them. Al This post was edited by tapla on Tue, Sep 24, 13 at 9:08

Rob and Stevie: Gardentone is great, but it's organic(which is great). BUT... going organic in containers is very difficult unless it's in a very large container. It's just very difficult to maintain proper conditions(temps, moisture levels, maintaining a high level of microbial activity) in smallish containers for organics to be effective. I'm not saying it CAN'T be done...it's just difficult to maintain those perfect conditions. Not to mention that most organic meals, especially bone, are slow release and won't be available for months. For me, I do organics in my whiskey barrels and in-ground. Anything smaller and it's MG shake n' feed or osmocote(slow release) and an all-purpose water soluble, 3-1-2 ratio half-doses weekly. I use MG AP but i have to add some of smokemaster's witch's brew and epsom salts for the Ca and Mg, respectively. Foliage Pro is a good water soluble that contains Ca and Mg. YMMV Kevin

Powdery mildew isn't necessarily a death sentence. A minor infestation is pretty much just ignored by the plant. You have it pretty heavy, though. Stuff sold as fungicide is one possibility, but a simple remedy that does seem to help is spraying a solution of baking powder on the plants. Look it up. These are actually more preventatives than cures, so if you have less affected leaves, you might start treating those before they get it.