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.
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