Zucchini with weird shape & pollination questions

I have several zucchini plants that produced a ton during May and June. Now they're still putting out fruit but they are developing into weird shapes and most have huge blossoms still attached to the plant. The blossoms have almost become a part of the squash. I have some yellow squash that seems to be suffering from poor pollination, so I figure this is probably the case with the zucchini as well.

I know you can hand pollinate, but here's my other problem - when are the new female flowers supposed to open? It seems like they're always closed! Is this some kind of sign the plants are about used up? What is the useful production period for squash plants like this anyway? Could it be the heat causing the flowers to stay closed? (I'm in AZ in zone 9b).

Sorry for so many questions all at once. Please help!

I don't know the answers, but my summer squash produce for about six weeks before they began to put on few squash of poor quality. I plow mine under in July and plant a second crop the beginning of August. Of course I have the added factor of the pickle worms arriving in July.

jmstone25 my zucchini are doing the same thing. I have never seen this before and wonder if it is the seed.

The blossoms open in the morning.

That is true indy_v. But look at our blossoms as compared to farmerdill's. What is up with that.

Well that's just weird.

Sorry, I'm a beginner gardener and have no idea. But please post the reason if you ever find out. When my zukes start looking like that, I'm sure I'll be searching for this thread. :o)

I get this if I'm not watering throughly enough. Once the squash start to develop you need to keep the evenly and deeply watered.

What do you think jmstone25, do you think it is watering? I am watering no different that I ever have and this is the first time I have ever seen this. My watering is a bubbler system on a timer to simulate irrigation which is about as deep a watering as I can get. I fill up the bed, wait an hour and then fill it up again to take the water even deeper. Actually the timer does it. And the bed is mulched with straw. I'm not thinking watering at this time. Anything else?

It could be water I guess, but I've got a soaker hose on a timer for watering. I should mention I have one zucchini plant that still has some normal squash growing on it. I think most of my plants might be near the end of their production, so even if it was a watering issue I don't know if I could see any improvements.

rtl850nomore, do you typically see about 6 weeks of good production growing zucchini where you are?

If the blossoms open in the morning, do they close shortly after that?

Yes, I see about 6 weeks then the plant dies. So, I plant every three weeks so that I have zucchini throughout the summer. The blossoms stay open for a while in the morning but by the time the heat rises, they close.

I enlarged your pictures, and they look nice and healthy, just misshaped. ! Sometimes I wonder if its not the genetics of the seeds/cross pollination?? I was gone on vacation and relied on my neighbor to water. I had all my zucchini shrivel at the vine end. I've also be told that it could be poor pollination, but I have about sixty thousand Honey bees within a hundred yards. So i don't really no what is the problem is with mine. I'll post some pictures.