Re: Pumpkin Basics
Brian,
Just so we are clear on what we are talking about, the females are the short
ones with the small pumpkin under the blossom. The males are the tall ones
without a pumpkin.
The males come up first and continue through out most of the season so they
are almost always blooming. The males and females will open pollinate from
bees and bugs. You can also hand pollinate by snipping a few freshly opened
males and taking it over to a freshly opened female then gently shaking the
pollen into the open female blossom and gently rubbing the males around on
the lobes of the female ( peel the petals off the males ).
You only have about a 4 to 6 hour window of opportunity in the morning of a
freshly opened male and female. The pollen has to be dry so you may want to
cover the blossoms that are about to open with a styrofoam cup the night
before and then again after pollination so they don't get wet unless you are
sure the sprinklers are not coming on. You can identify them by finding the
blossoms that are large and closed very tight. They are usually the ones that
are about to open the next morning.
You won't get a very big pumpkin at this late time of year but you will be
able to gain the experience of locating the blossoms that are about to open
and learn how to pollinate for next year.
What city do you live in ? How close to the beach are you ? Do you get a
marine layer in the morning and late afternoon ?
Bob T.
Brian Jones wrote:
> Hello all...
>
> I got a late start; my feeble attempts to grow any pumpkins last year
> meet with absolute failure. (I am looking towards the future, I ordered
> some really big seeds for next year!).
>
> However...I have a couple of plants that are growing. Living near the
> coast of Los Angeles, the weather is quite nice. The delima: Some of
> the plants have some blooming female flowers. Since reading this
> group, I learned that pumpkins don't self-pollinate. It is unlikely that
> there are any other pumpkins blooming within bee range of my plants,
> and the male flowers aren't opening!!! What can I do? When one does
> open, can I save the pollen (freezer?) for when a female opens up again?
>
> Thanks,
> Brian
>
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