Hand-Pollinating Pumpkin and Squash
My article on hand pollinating zucchini flowers proved very popular, so I figured I’d post another on hand pollinating pumpkin and squash. It’s pretty much the same principle, but I had the photos so I thought it worth posting.
As for the zucchinis, if pumpkin and squash flowers don’t get pollinated they’ll just rot and drop off the vine. And for some reason, the bees just didn’t seem to be pollinating them this year so I’ve had to do it myself.
Pumpkin and squash flowers are a lot like zucchini flowers, but here are some photos as a refresher. These photos are all of my butternut pumpkins (I think Americans and Canadians call them butternut squash?). Click on them to see larger versions.
You don’t need to get fancy with paintbrushes or cotton swaps to transfer the pollen from the male flower to the female. Just pick the male flower, peel back the petals, and use it like a paintbrush:
If you do this each morning, it won’t be long until you’ve got a healthy crop of pollinated fruit growing!
If you intend to save seed from your pumpkins or squash, it’s a good idea to take some extra precautions to ensure you get a pure pollination and not a cross. Take some masking tape out in the afternoon, and put tape around the ends of the male and female flowers that are ready to open the next day (after a while you’ll be able to spot them). The next morning, remove the tape and pollinate the female flowers, then tape them up again. This ensures that you have complete control over what pollen goes into which flower, and the bees don’t get a chance to muck up your plans.
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G’day Darren, how’s it going? Just came across this project. It’s about mapping feral fruit trees on google earth. I’m editing your interview atm, so have been listening back to it, and you said you were beginning a map. Well here’s one everyone can add to.
http://www.livelocal.org.au/experiment/86/scrumpers-delight
Check out the Live Local site too, it’s a cool concept
-Tim
Cool, thanks Tim! The map I started is here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=118209179871232465378.000446a9d16694dd089da&ll=-34.579518,150.800743&spn=0.185715,0.277405&t=h&z=12
Live Local looks good. When I get some time, I’ll join up and post some stuff.
Just came across your article while trying to see something on pollinating pumpkins. My grandson accidently grew a plant and it’s a nice plant and i wanted to try and get him a pumkin. Will let you know if i succeed. Thanks
@Helen: That’s awesome! Hook a kid early, and you’ll have him for life!
Hi, I was very interested in the item hand pollination of pumpkins. This is the first time i have tried to grow them and i am very pleased by the results so far. If i could i would like to ask a couple of questions, 1, the runners of my plants seem to have taken over the garden, 8ft diameter do i need to cut back this growth? 2, the leaves seem to have sharp spikes on them and when i touch them they seem to have the same effect as a nettle sting, is this normal? Regards mick collins
@Michael: Great stuff! They’re so easy to grow and give a huge crop. Yep, the runners can get really long and take over your garden. For most varieties, you can cut back the growing tip when the vine gets as long as you’d like it. Some will sprout side-shoots, and others will just start putting their energy into producing flowers and fruit. Some varieties seem to have little prickly hairs on the leaves. I think they stick into your skin and break off, leaving you with an itch. Rub the area with a pumice stone next time you’re in the shower, and it seems to get rid of them.
Thanks for the info. My pumpkin weighs 40lbs. I only had two that developed into pumpkins and I had three vines. I am so happy about the 40 pounder. The other one weighs 16 lbs. I feel like I should enter it in the fair. The vines were huge. I teach first grade and we started the vine in class and then transplanted it to my home. I was wondering why there was not more fruit. We will have a fun Halloween. Thanks..
@poomccool: Wow, that’s huge! I bet the kids will be excited to see it. When a vine only sets one or two fruit, it really puts all its energy into growing them, which must be why yours have turned out so big. I’d love to see a photo of what you do with it at Halloween!
Sick sick sick!! First you cut off the male appendage, then proceed to force it onto the female, criminal!!
I’m calling the authorities, plants shouldn’t be mistreated this way.
@Joker: There’s worse carnage and mayhem going on in the garden, I just haven’t photographed it all yet
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Hi Darren,
Great article! Is there a way to tell the day/night before when a female flower is getting ready to open? Also, how early do you have to get up to catch the female flower while it is open? I heard they only open in the morning for a few hours.
Thanks, Joe
I’ve done the hand pollinating, seems to work well. My problem, or rather that of my squash plants, is that there are many more male flowers than female flowers. Is there a way to entice the plant to produce more females? Thanks.
@Audrey: A commenter elsewhere on this site said that removing most of the male flowers will encourage the plant to grow more females. I haven’t tried this myself, but it’s worth a go.
Ok, I’ll chop off the males. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hi, I found your site when I did a Google search for pollinating pumpkins by hand. I live in Guam, which has the same climate as Cairns, and I am trying to get my pumpkin plants to bear fruit. Thanks so much for posting the great photos and great advice. Last night after I read the above, I went out to look at the flowers that were about to open and I found that I had 13 male and one female flowers. I used the masking tape as suggested and this morning I pollinated the female. I cut off all of the males and hopefully I will get some more females.
Thanks again for the great advice.
@Barbara: Good luck! It sounds like you’re doing everything right and should have some pumpkins soon.
Hi Darren, I checked this morning and yes I have a pumpkin! I just hope that I get more females.
@Barbara: Great news! I have some developing now as well, thriving on the nutrients washing downhill from the chook pen above. I read somewhere that it’s a good idea to cut the growing tips off the vines once they fill your garden bed – not only does it stop them spreading, but it will encourage more female flowers. Might be worth a try.
I was told that as well and I plan to do that today. I have a real problem with snails so my pumpkin plants are growing on a fence. I have been giving them 10-20-20 and they seem to be doing well.
@Barbara: Here’s a good way to deal with snails: Backyard Escargot
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Can you freeze the pollen? I’m worried I won’t have a male flower on hand when I need to pollinate a female flower.
@Anja: I don’t think you could freeze the pollen, but then I’ve never tried. If you plant a few plants, you should have enough flowers most of the time. If your plants are still young, don’t worry too much – they’ll grow lots more flowers as they get bigger.
I have huge zucchini plants that have way too many males and the females aren’t producing. Thanks for the fantastic advice on dealing with the too many males and unproductive females situation. Any advice about pruning the gigantic, extremely prolific leaves?
@Deni: If they’re not getting in the way, I’d leave the leaves to grow. The more leaves, the more sunlight the plant can turn into food and the more fruit it can produce.
I am glad I stumbled along to this sight, I was actually trying to figure out if Pumpkin is frost toerate or not. Since you mention Zucchini’s is it normal for the flowers to bloom then by evening start to close back up?
I am so glad that I found this discussion. Today I manually pollinated a squash flower for the first time, since I have always had a problem with baby squashlets dying from lack of pollination – even tho there’s always lot of males. I don’t know why the bees aren’t doing their duty, ‘cuz there are some in the garden.
Now, I am going to try euthanizing some male flowers and see if I get a few more females. Thanks for this forum and all your advice, all of you.
-Betty in Canada.
Hello, my problem is that the female flower opened up yesterday and the male flower looks to be opening up tomorrow. Do you think it will be too late to pollinate the female? I have another female flower growing what should I do if no males are ready when she is? Thanks, Diane
I found your site a few weeks back. I have a mystery vine (pumpkin I think). I have been watching for female flowers and found my first today! I followed your advice. Very exciting. Here is a link to the photo album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=189679&id=581838334&l=fbb92e805d
~ Emily in Columbus, Ohio
Hi Darren, Forgive my ignorance, but what is cross pollination and why is it detrimental to the plant?
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