Re: Pollination Time

There are two things to consider when deciding how to protect the females from bees. I firmly believe the bees are attracted to the flowers by the color(actually UV 'color') so if they can't 'see' them they can't find them. If you cover them with something like stocking then they can still find them so you need to be sure the covering is closed to physically keep them out. I use brown paper lunch bags. easy on , easy off and have never found a bee inside...NEVER. The instant I remove the bag to do the deed they come in bunches and it can be challenging to keep them out while pollinating. On rainy days I cover the paper bag with plastic bags to keep them dry. 


Bart

Steve Haberman wrote:

I pollinated my first female today. She is on my longest main vine about 18
feet from the base. I am letting my other mains go a little longer as it is
only June 27. The plant that I pollinated today is the largest, healthiest
plant I have ever had! I don't know exactly why it is going nuts but i will
take it. I am going to spray tomorrow even though I haven't seen ANY insects
yet. I have some other varieties of squash nearby so I covered the
pollinated blossom with a plastic coffee can. Any other suggestions on how
to cover these and prevent gourds? Would a stocking work? My field pumpkins
self pollinate (bees) but I always manually pollinate my squash and AG's to
prevent gourds.
Steve Haberman 

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