RE: pure cross pollinating?!

Ideally you would want to cover both the male flowers and the female
flowers you expect to use for pollinating the night before they open.
You can usually tell which ones they are because they will be larger and
the ends of the flowers will be starting to turn yellow.  Paper lunch
bags work well.  After pollinating I simply tie the end of the bloom
shut with a piece of twine.  If you let the bees do the job, you'll
never know who the male parent of your fruit is.  This is fine if all
you want is a pumpkin.  If saving the seeds for next year is important
you will want to know who both parents are.  It would be hard to grow a
nice AG pumkin next year if the pollen parent of this years fruit is the
Hubbard Squash being grown by your neighbor a quarter mile down the
road.
Chris Michalec
Covington, WA

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	SteveS012@aol.com [SMTP:SteveS012@aol.com]
> Sent:	Tuesday, July 07, 1998 12:47 PM
> To:	pumpkins@mallorn.com
> Subject:	pure cross pollinating?!
> 
> O.K., speaking of pollination....
> WHat is the method of cross pollinating plants to make sure you have
> seeds
> true to what you cross pollinated the flower with? Like how was the
> 1006 x 941
> seed, for example, produced? I know you swab the pollen on the female
> with a
> flower from the male, BUT how to do you prevent stray pollen, or bees
> from
> pollinating with other pollen, therefore producing some impure seeds?!
> What is
> the correct method or cross pollinating?! The only method I can think
> of it
> forming some sort of cover out of floating row cover, keeping it
> around the
> flower before it opens, and then covering it back up after you
> pollinate it.
> But I hear you guys talking about letting the bees help, but if you do
> that,
> than how can you be sure of the seeds you will get?!
> 
> 
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