Re: freezing pollen
Kevin Smith wrote........
> ..... what I am most seprised about and was not focused on was the
football
> sized female Lincoln handed to Shelly that had not even opened yet ????
> OK Guys how did this happen !!! I believe Lincoln said that was not
unusual
> that year in his patch !!
> Something is Wrong if I have missed the boat on CRANKING up the potential
of
> these pumpkins. I know Lincoln is not on the list but this has to be
investigated
> !!! I can't imagine walking out to pollinate a pumpkin the size of a
> Volleyball.. Anyone with any insight on this ??? Thank you in Advance !!!
> Kevin Smith
> Pumpkin Pirate AKA Squash Buckler !!!!
> =======================================
Ned Sandercock wrote.......
> Me thinks they pulled one over on somebody LOL
=======================================
George Webster writes........
Kevin, Ned,
The general consensus on the patch tour that day when we saw these "unopened
football sized females" on Lincoln's plant was that these were that these
were
mutants probably caused by an extreme fertlizing experiment that Lincoln was
doing
on several plants in his patch. He pulled up some main and secondary vines
and
showed us a tap root system that was also mutated.......it was so dense with
tap roots
that it was choking itself.
In theory, football size females waiting to be pollinated may seem like an
ideal thing,
and perhaps they may be if they had genetically progressed to such a
state.....however
producing unbelievably huge mutant females with unopened blossoms on mutant
plants
by using copious quantities of who knows what kind of fertizler is probably
not a
progressive stepping stone to a 1500 lb. pumpkin. As I recall, he was
pulling the plant
because he felt the pumpkins would be better suited for a Weigh-Off in the
Twilight Zone
rather than the GPC...........(with some of their color rules, I sometimes
wonder if they
are one and the same place) (>:
In regard to using or collecting pollen...... I mentioned in an earlier post
to let the pollen
dry in the flower.......yes, the pollen needs to be dry.......but you must
be careful not to
"over dry" it as it will not be viable. There is a "window of opportunity"
collecting
and/or using pollen.......timing is everything........too damp or too dry
won't work.
A sufficient quanity of pollen applied to the female at the proper time of
day with a q-tip
can consistently give us 600 to 900 seeds at harvest time.
George
Napa, Ca
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