The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: northfifeduckling on July 13, 2011, 02:24:17 pm
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This year I have 2 Hokaido squashes in the tunnel which are doing really well first time ever. Do I have to get the paintbrush out to pollinate these? I know I should help courgettes this way but not cucumbers. Which is it for protected squashes ??? :&>
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:squash: Hmm, well I've grown squashes in tunnels for the last two years & havent had to pollinate them myself, but I guess it couldnt hurt?! :squash:
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I tend to do the first few then let them get on with it. I don't use a paintbrush, but break off a male flower, take off the petals and the green spikey things behind them, then take the pollen covered male bit and tap it into a female flower. There are usually more male flowers than female, so breaking them off doesn't matter and you are likely to get better pollination than with a paintbrush. I provide a rope for my pumpkins and squashes to climb then tie them in to the crop bars to give an upper storey of cropping :squash: :squash:
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:dunce: So how do you know which are the male flowers, and which the female then? :dunce:
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Female flowers have the little fruit which will turn into a big fruit behind the flower. The male flowers have just a plain stalk coming up to the back of the flower. Inside the flower, the male has a sticky up thingy (as you might expect ;) ) which is yellow and will be covered in pollen. The female flower has another slightly different yellow sticky up thingy (you can tell I didn't do botany at school ;D) which is divided into about 3 parts I think, which doesn't have any pollen on until it is fertilised. Each female flower is open for only a day, in fact so are the male flowers, so if they are not pollinated then that flower will go brown and drop off, but lots more will form.
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Squashes are a one night stand - if they only open once? LOL not much fun there then?