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Montoursville, PA

I would like to see words describing steps from first sight of female to female open with estimated times. Are there different ways to keep them covered for desired pollination?

6/9/2003 1:09:36 PM

Utah

First see them ... is a difficult phrase... some people see them before others. I'm usually slow to see them.

but with that said... 7-10 days from when you see them to when they open.
I learned this from a grower a couple of years ago and it works well for me, every now and then I'm a still a day off. - I like the post some much I saved it on my PC- I call it the pucker principle ...
"It's easy to tell which flowers will open in the morning. Watch the tips of the flowers. If they come to a sharp point and look tight, the flower will wait at least another day to open. When you see the end of the flower near the point start to bulge slightly, the flower is about to pop open. Sometimes the tip of the flower starts to seperate some also. Every evening check your female flowers and look for a bulging tip. It's a little subtle but once you've
seen it, it's easy to spot. Works every time."

as for covering them. A piece of nylon stocking works great ... I've also used lunch sacks. (brown bagin it)

6/9/2003 1:57:33 PM

syracuse, ny

man, i could go from pumpkinpal to pollinationpal in a second...lol

the pucker principle is very valid. for the last 3 seasons, i've made the semi-mistake of not getting right home after work to look for the flowers that will open the next day, thereby making it a nightly project until
ALL HOURS of the night to find and secure the potential ones. with a flashlight and plenty of batteries.

BOTH male and female flowers will begin to get very large the night before they will open, AND they will take on a very noticeable,
pinkish-orangeish hue...making them unmistakeable.

i recommend using 6" releasable zip ties for the females, gently zipping-up the very tips of them....the objective here is to, almost no need to say, but, keep any and all insects out of the flower, and this is cheap, interesting, and effective. 100%. there are other ways, but there are also dozens of insects that will transfer pollen,
not! just! bees! that only fly by day...there are a lot of night-crawling ones, including cuke beetles, that will go right up the stems! and into your flowers if not totally secured. ahem... as for the males, i use 4" plain zip ties on them....and put a sharpened dowel in the ground wherever
there are males, perhaps with a flag on it for quick reference in the morning when i'm racing to get it done before work! it helps a lot. also, you can cut off the male flowers that are about to open, and put them inside under their own clear plastic container, in a plastic cup or similar filled with water, that won't tip over on you when they do open, labeled of course...they don't need to be zip-tied shut if they are labeled and kept reasonably far enough away from each other.

6/9/2003 3:33:11 PM

syracuse, ny

but, they MUST be isolated from any potential insects or animals or other disturbances...or all time spent will be lost---this method will also give you more of a chance to plan-out what you will pollinate with what....adding to the fun! the ONLY problem so far is that the females tend to take a while to open fully after the zip-tie is removed, and the bees are always attempting to invade while i carefully help it along! but the results are always good!
i have also read about using a piece of hosiery, probably like an anklet, or a little bag made out of cheesecloth, etc., and i may try some other ideas in conjunction with
the zip-tie method this time around.
PS-the regular zip-ties are reuseable! just zip them up as tight as possible after the female flower falls off or is removed, and send the tip of the zip-tie back through the noose that was made from zipping it up tight...recycle!
so, i hope this helps anyone that reads this. 'pal

6/9/2003 3:33:21 PM

ipswich, ma usa

When you can see the bright yellow hue of the flower from the outside it's usually very close. I also look at the small leave like structures that surrond the flower that open up with the pedals. All of last year when these (don't know what there are called) leave like things were completely opened up and horizontal to each other the flower usually opened up the next morning. I have had a plant in my office since February and this was the case with that plant too.

John (5150)

6/9/2003 3:47:13 PM

FYI
Sepals are the individual leaf like things around the flower bud. The calyx is the term for all of the sepals together.

Brig

6/9/2003 7:24:25 PM

Montoursville, PA

I don't think Don's book did quit this well on this subject. Thank you.

6/9/2003 10:26:42 PM

Usa

Great info,
Thanks

6/9/2003 10:44:04 PM

Montoursville, PA

Hey....I might be able to grow a nice general garden! This is the first time I attempted to grow one of these pumpkins.
If we get one to weigh-in day it will be a "we done it" not an "I did it"!

Wait until you find out what my really big problem is going to be. Hee Hee. My patch has no access from the rear. It is forty or more feet above the level the weigh-in day transport truck or trailer will be sitting. There are four terraces to work down and across.

Not to mention 330 feet up that thar hill. :) I hope I grow a really big problem. Hee Hee Hardy Har Harrrr.

6/10/2003 1:08:05 PM

Mineral Virginia

I post this everytime I see a question about pollination; not that I mind, but I'm sure some get tired of the self-back slapping. I find it useful anyway :) http://www.lsitek.com/pumpkins/

This shows one set of steps you could take to pollinate. Works for me. Doesn't really address the quesion of "size"; ofr that I say I start counting my chickens when they are bright green and about the size of a pea, flower included!!

6/10/2003 2:47:24 PM

Montoursville, PA

This site is amazing. You all with less than lots of experience need to check out our friend's work from the great state of Va. http://www.lsitek.com/pumpkins/

Excellent camera work, complete steps showing a complete story from flower with pea sized female parts to finished pollination. Great Job!!! Thank you.

6/11/2003 11:58:56 AM