Seed Starts & Smarts by Editors of Organic Gardening

Author:Editors of Organic Gardening
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Rodale
Published: 2012-02-24T05:00:00+00:00

An imperfect flower is one that has either female or male reproductive structures but not both. Cucumbers, melons, and squash bear both separate male and female flowers. Male blossoms appear first, followed about a week later by female flowers, identifiable by the large swelling (the ovary) just beneath the blossom and a pistil at the flower’s center. To hand-pollinate these vine crops, use tape to keep a pair of unopened flowers from blooming. The following day, remove the tape and strip petals off the male blossom to expose the stamen. Open the petals of the female flower and rub the stamen of the male flower on a pistil to transfer pollen and pollinate the female flower. Retape the petals of the female flower to block out other sources of pollen.

Squash, cucumbers, and melons need a half mile or more between crops of the same species to prevent cross-pollination. For home gardeners, a more practical approach is to grow a few plants of the desired cultivar under row cover or insect-proof screens and pollinate them by hand. Or cover the flowers with bags before they open, and dust them with pollen from another flower from the same cultivar. This technique also works well for wind-pollinated crops like corn; just slip bags over the ears to protect the silks from wayward pollen.

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