With huge flowers, each pumpkin attracts legions of insects. So that there are no unwanted crossings during the hustle and bustle, play it safe with manual pollination. This is how it works effortlessly.

Select and separate the right flowers

The selection of suitable flowers initiates manual pollination. Female flowers feature a mini-gourd on the stem. The more numerous male flowers have no thickening on the stem.

  • the ideal flowers are located at a distance of 1.5-2 meters from the planting site
  • they are positioned in such a way that their fruit stalk does not break off
  • there is no doubt that this is a female flower with fruit set

Now remove all flowers that do not meet the criteria. You wrap the selected female and male specimens in a small, close-meshed insect protection net. That way, overzealous insects can't tamper with it.

Tight flowering time for pollination

A pumpkin blossom usually opens in the early morning hours. By noon it will have withered again. This opens up only a small time window for manual pollination. Here's how to do it:

  • remove the protective coverings from the flowers
  • break off the male flower and pluck off all the petals
  • Like a brush, rub the pollen of the male flower onto the stigma of the female flower
  • finally wrap the pollinated flower again

If the fruit set begins to grow after 2 to 3 days, this is the signal for successful pollination. The insect net is now removed. In addition, pluck the leaves directly from the fruit stalk, because it consumes a lot of energy unnecessarily.

How many flowers should be pollinated per plant?

It's a simple calculation. The fewer flowers on a plant that are pollinated, the more volume the pumpkins develop. This means that ultimately only a single flower needs to be fertilized for a giant pumpkin. We recommend including a reserve flower in the process.

tips and tricks

If you want to cross two varieties with each other, you can improve the quality of the seed by harvesting it when it is fully ripe. In addition, a subsequent post-ripening in the room has a beneficial effect on the germination of the seeds.

Category:

Vegetable garden