RE: Bag It
- Subject: RE: Bag It
- From: M* C*
- Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 10:27:56 -0700
Kevin,
Good question, here's the answer. You need to bag both the male and the
female flower prior to
their opening if you want to assure a pure cross. If you don't bag the
males the bees may have
been to your neighbors hubbard squash before visiting your AG males and
deposited some of the
pollen from the hubbard in your flower, then when you take your male over to
pollinate your carefully
protected female you end up with a portion of the pollen creating hybrid
seeds.
I'm trying something new this year for protecting flowers that I think will
work well. I expect to pollinate
my first one tomorrow and I've covered the flowers I expect to use on both
plants with my wifes old nylon
stockings. I used a knee high and also cut some lengths from some old
pantyhose that ran and tied knots
in one end. Stretch them out and spread them over the flower and them
gather the open end around the
stem. Those bristly hairs on the outside of the flower and on the stem grab
and hold the nylon quite well. It will let air and
light in but keep the little critters out. After pollinating I tie the
female blossom
shut with a short piece of twine. In a few days the flower dries up and
drops off. Then I re-use the twine.
Chris Michalec
Covington, WA
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin Holman [SMTP:Kevin.Holman@bentley.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 1999 9:15 AM
> To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
> Subject: Bag It
>
> When hand pollinating I know that the flower should be bagged before it
> opens... is it also necessary to bag the female flower after it has been
> hand pollinated with the male? If so - how long should the bag remain on?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kevin
>
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