Here’s how we can fix that!
When our backyards are devoid of pollinators, the vegetables and fruit that we planted don’t make as much produce as they could. How do we remedy this? Read on!
Would you like a bountiful harvest of cucumbers, squash, zucchini, or pumpkins? As we all have heard, our pollinator population is dwindling; They are instrumental in producing anywhere from 30 to 50% of our edible crops. If we want more edibles then we have to take action ourselves. Be the Bee!
Before we begin, please note that many flowers in the squash family (both winter and summer) and melon family, close up in the heat of day, so try to get out to your Veg patch early! Arm yourself with a cotton swab, or a fine tipped paintbrush. I have no idea how the hairs of the brushes are procured for the brushes, if you are a vegan or animal lover, stick to Q-tips. Congratulations! You are on your way to becoming an amateur fertility expert 😉
Find a male flower on your plants. The male flower will not have a tiny fruit growing behind it.
In zucchini plants, the differences can be spotted in the flowers themselves. The male flowers have a stamen, covered in pollen.
For cucumbers, the flowers are small, so here’s where your Q-tip, or fine paintbrush comes in handy. I haven’t painted since college, so I’ve repurposed my brushes for hand pollination rather than throwing them out. Dip the fertility instrument of your choice into the center of the male cucumber flower. Swirl it around, or dab the center of the flower. You may not be able to see the pollen as it is so small.
Next find a female flower, it will have a small fruit behind its petals. Swirl or dab the pollen you’ve gathered from the male cucumber flower around the center of the female flower.
Yay! You did it! If there was enough pollen, you are now the proud third-party parent of a cucumber. Repeat until all flowers were hand pollinated by you. Use as many of the male flowers that are available to maximize the amount of pollen. I try to use one male flower to one female flower if I can.
Zucchini/summer squash, or pumpkin/winter squash is even easier to hand pollinate. It does not require any special tools, if you do it early enough. Simply find a male flower, and peel back the petals. Using the pollen covered stamen as a brush, fertilize the female flowers.
