If you live where the temperature is normally above 90 °F and beneficial insects are rare, you will NEED to hand pollinate. Pollen at that temperature becomes sticky and won't become airborne
Donna Leveron males usually come first way before the females. You just have to be patient. And keep checking. The females like to hide down underneath where it’s hard to see them!!
@@desireebuffeydb80Thanks..that is what I was looking for in the comments. My first-time squash just made a decent amount of flower stalks, but all seem to be male, and I wondered why and if that is typical. Looks like so.
PRO TIP for people who want to use this technique but save some time and money. Every video suggests using paint brushes or q-tips to get the job done and I'm here to tell you that's not needed. Go outside and find a piece of grass that's grown a bit, observe the stem and you should see lots of short hairs on the stem. The hair on grass stems works wonderfully for hand pollination and you'll notice the hairs perform very similar to the hairs on a honeybee. So you simply get to go out to your squash plant, pluck a piece of grass, pollinate, and then chuck the piece of grass right back on the ground and walah you've saved yourself time and money.
@@GrowVeg Isn't it funny how the simplest ideas can also be the brightest ideas sometimes in life? Always look at things around you for more potential because there surely is always going to be unrealized potential all around us.
I just wanted to nip in early and say thank you so much for all of your videos. I'm new to veg growing and have been absorbing as much information as I can. Your videos are absolute gold and a pleasure to watch. We have our first mangetout popping through, a healthy herb garden and our new raised bed is being filled with all sorts this weekend. Thank you!! :)
Perfect timing! My squashes are flowering like crazy, but weathers been so weird, we only have one zucchini growing so far. ☹️ Thanks for this wonderfully timed video!
I've been wondering what's wrong with my squashes as they were flowering like crazy but not one formed a decent fruit after flowering. Thank you for the wonderful advice, I'll be sure to apply this in my garden!
Having lived in Wales for approximately 18 years with UNFORTUNATELY a North facing garden, I haven't raised any veg until this year. Also, I wanted American squash, something I haven't had in all these years. Thank you for the information and as soon as it stops raining I will take my paint brush out in the front garden (South) and pollinate the plants I have growing in buckets!
Thank you!! It’s so hot here in Pennsylvania right now that the flowers that bloom in the morning are wilted by noon, not leaving much time for the bees. I have so many brown, rotting female flower bases that almost started growing into squash, but didn’t quite get enough pollination. Thank you for this solution!!
love your tools for pollenating. I usu use a paper bag after I p0llenate, but like the idea of using cheesecloth better. Also stressing the use of a soft brush...I tried at a friends house and forgot my soft brush, hers were very stiff, and it didnt work out so well. Thanks again, great info
Your videos are always very informative; I'm a novas Gardener planted a uniform crop this season in Colorado (front range); bugs are eating at my spinach cant see any bug on them so I need help in figuring out what! I planted parsley and rosemary with the cabbage...so far to good...marigolds through out them and the beets; the spinach is on the other side next to green onions; squash on the east side next to something to climb on; all in all everything growing as they should so far! Thank you for your videos!
Maybe you can find some type of sticky trap to put near your spinach. You would be able to see what type of bugs are hanging around it and go from there. Good luck and happy growing!
I'm growing a grey pumpkin..in a large pot with oblisk..all female flowers out first, thou males are hiding at the bottom. Ben I took the seeds from a brought pumpkin last year and planted this a var var voom❤.I try and keep you posted..thank you for all your videos I find them to be the profoundest of help as I'm only just a beginner 😊
I just experienced cross polinated winter squash and I save seeds. My Delacata are in 5th generation in 2020, but am concerned that the 2019 seeds may have been cross pollinated. I am thinking of using 2016-2018 seed for seed saving rather then last years, then covering and hand pollinating as you described. Thanks so much. I though I would have to figure out how far away I had to plant different varieties of squash, Delcata, Kombucha, acorn, spaghetti are in the plan for this year. Now I know what to do to save seeds that will be true for years to come.
watched this video with my morning coffee and immediately went out to pollinate squash. I only have male flowers?? is it possible that there are male plants and female plants? I have just two or three plants in my small garden. I even paused the video to study the differences between the two flowers.
Hi...if you want to save seeds..is it better to use another plants male flower to pollinate or is it ok to use the male flower on the same plant I wish to save seeds from?thank you..another question plz..can I use the same male flower to pollinate several female flowers?thank you
You could use pollen from any male flower - on the same plant or another. If there's enough pollen in the male flower it's fine to use it to pollinate several females.
I know about force pollination it's a great idea. If you want to take your chances without forcing pollination you may not harvest you could have but its your choice.
I'm growing squash under row covers for the first time. (SO tired of losing my gorgeous plants to squash vine borers!) I've got my earliest zucchini coming on like gang busters, but they're ALL female flowers. Am I correct in hearing that I can pollinate with a male scalloped or straight neck squash blossom? What about with male flowers from winter squash? Also, some of your female flowers looked a bit beyond their prime (wide-open) stage. At what point might I just as well pluck the not-going-to-develop fruit to make way for others?
You can use any male squash flower to pollinate as long as you are not wanting to collect and use the seeds from your fruits for next year. I would just leave the plant to drop any unpollinated flowers itself. Good luck this year!
You should be able to use pollen from a different variety, yes. The seeds wouldn't come true to type - but that's fine if you're just trying to pollinate them for fruit set.
Dumb question but can you get male and female flowers on the same plant or does the pollen have to be from a different plant? One blooming early and the other is quite a bit behind. Can the pollen be stored until one is ready?
You can use flowers from the same plant, not a problem. I'm not sure about storing the pollen - if it's for a few hours then maybe, but I doubt it would last for much longer than this.
I need to do this with my gourds. My squash plants are fine, but my zukes could use a little help. They’re growing but not enough. I wonder if the will work for tomatoes as well.
I’ve been hand pollinating my squash this spring. But recently I can’t manage to get very much pollen on my q-tip. The bees seem to be quite active. Is it possible that the bees are capable of removing almost all the pollen from an open flower?
Yes, I would imagine so - in which case you may not need to bother hand pollinating. Another explanation may be that the stamens are past their best, so the pollen is old/already fallen.
More flowers of both sexes should develop in time. Make sure plants are properly fed with a high potassium liquid feed, which should encourage production of more flowers. Any tomato feed would be fine for this.
Tomatoes have male and female parts within one flower so you can simply give the flowers a few taps to pollinate them or use an electric toothbrush (or anything than vibrates) to cause the pollen to fall onto the stamen. There's a few good videos about it on youtube.
If that doesn't work, it's probably a specific nutrient/mineral imbalance. Can't remember the specific one atm. Organic options are out there to remedy.
You can! If you live where the daytime temperature is normally above 90 °F and beneficial insects are rare, you will NEED to hand pollinate. Pollen at that temperature becomes sticky and won't become airborne.
I always use Q-tips on my tomato flowers. I tap each flower then start at the beginning to tap one more time. I have over a hundred indeterminate grape tomatoes in three pots and about 50 super sweet patio tomatoes in two pots, and I have one pot of Big Boy tomatoes with about 10 baby tomatoes. I don't know if the bees would have done their job because I don't wait for them. Pull your Q-tip to make it softer for lightly touching each flower.
Personally, I have the space to grow them on the ground. I prefer this as they can send out more roots into the ground, which helps to create stronger plants and more and bigger fruits.
I would wait until they are just beginning to open. You can then encourage the petals open and fertilise from that point on. But don’t force them to open if they aren’t already starting to unfurl.
Great video, of course. My garden is booming, even though we got a late start because of all the rain and flooding. Is there anyway to extend the pollen? I do green house growing over the winter and I always manage to run out of pollen before I have finished with the female flowers. Will the male produce more if I just leave it alone?
I see in the video you’re opening up a female flower to pollinate- does this really work? In some other article I read it says it’s a trick with squash as the male and female flowers sometimes don’t open at the same time. But they didn’t mention that you could pollinate even with a female flower closed. If that’s the case I’ve missed out on loads of potential squashes 😫 Thank you!!
The female flower does need to be fully mature before pollinating it. So either the flowers should be open or on the very cusp of opening - no sooner than that.
Thanks, Ben, Great video, as always. Can I open an immature male blossom and use the pollen inside of it to pollinate an open female blossom? I have lots of females but none of the males have opened yet.
So will pollinating a female flower cause that specific fruit to grow better, or will it result in the whole plant growing more female flowers? Any help would be appreciated as I'm still relatively new at this stuff
Is it weird that my first flower is a female flower and its got a fruit growing behind it that seems to be doing quite well? Has it been pollinated? Confused amateur gardener 🤷♀️
That is unusual, but not unheard of. You may find that the fruit starts to rot at the blossom end, which often happens when it hasn't been pollinated. But then again you may be pleasantly surprised!
@@GrowVeg I have dome male flowers growing but none of them are open yet so feeling a bit disappointed that I may lose the 2 fruits I have growing if they can't get pollinated in time
Mine aren't being pollinated even though a vegetable starts to form. They all just fall off. I had one get to 4in and then it yellowed and rotted at the end. I have already lost 20. I tried hand pollinating but every morning I went out I don't think any of the female flowers were ever open. Mine plants are doing so well and are healthy so it is disappointing for sure. I did see ants on them today so I hope going forward they can pollinate them
My male flowers don't have the pollinating powder on them. I'm worried that I waited too long and the heavy rains we just got washed them off! Is that possible?
It could be possible I'm guessing if the flowers have been open a while, or if the flowers are just quite old. Best to use just-about-to-open male flowers if you can.
Thank you very much for this great tip! Most of my squashes are inside tunnels and producing lots of flowers and not many fruits so going to try this straight away. Some are not growing very big (stunted growth?) or are going rotten after a while - is this also due to not being pollinated?
There are a range of pests that can attack squash-family plants. Check out these pest guides here: www.growveg.com/pests/us-and-canada/plant-problems/squash-pests-identification/
My squash are not doing well this year. I started them from seed in my potting shed and they were vigorous healthy plants, which I hardened off in the recommended manner before putting them in the garden. Since then they have got smaller and smaller, the leaves have yellowed and dropped off … despite my efforts to keep them well watered. They are not over-watered as we are in drought conditions and on water restrictions, but they have been getting water at all the allowable times. Any thoughts on why this is happening?
It could be that the soil is very poor. Squash are hungry feeders. It's good to add LOTS of organic matter, such as compost to the soil before planting. Then try feeding them with an organic liquid feed to help them along.
I don't think that is the reason, as they are planted in raised beds that were well manured last winter, and I have been feeding them with fish-manure-tea. I did use alder mulch, and I have now made sure it is not close up against any of the stalks and they seem to be perking up a bit. We have had an unseasonably cool spring, so that might be part of the reason I think.
They should open up in time. If they have started to open, you can still hand pollinate. Just gently split the flowers open along the seam where the petals meet.
Hi Sometimes there are open male flowers but no open females, by the time the females open the males are longer any good. Is it ok to open the females to hand polinate ? Thank you Chris
Plants should produce both male and female flowers, so keep your eye in for the female flowers. It may be that they will follow on soon enough, with the male flowers appearing first.
Be sure to water and feed your plants to give them the resources they need for good flower production. More in this video: th-cam.com/video/4Baj4vUXFMA/w-d-xo.html
@@GrowVeg I have seen some since my comment. They aren't ready to open yet. But when they are I will be hand pollinating them. Thanks for this helpful video.
I needed this. My squash are blooming like crazy but no fruit. Thank you for coming to the rescue!
If you live where the temperature is normally above 90 °F and beneficial insects are rare, you will NEED to hand pollinate. Pollen at that temperature becomes sticky and won't become airborne
Donna Leveron males usually come first way before the females. You just have to be patient. And keep checking. The females like to hide down underneath where it’s hard to see them!!
@@desireebuffeydb80 I see that too. Male flowers point up, while the females are along the ground.
@@desireebuffeydb80Thanks..that is what I was looking for in the comments. My first-time squash just made a decent amount of flower stalks, but all seem to be male, and I wondered why and if that is typical. Looks like so.
Thank you buddy, thank you. I’ve been getting flowers 🌸 but no fruit at all, thank you. Now I’m about to eat my Hubbard squash😏😎🔥🔥🔥.
Nice one! :-)
I've had great success with using q-tips to do the hand pollination..
I came here to ask about this. Thanks!
I also use q-tips. @@Alexandriniums
Feathered Serpent Thanks for posting this! I tried the paint brush with no success. I’ll be trying a q-tip next. Fingers crossed!🤞
@@RainyJo715 🤞
Brilliant! Now that's something that they don't teach you down at the allotment. Glad that I have found this video! Very happy!!!!
PRO TIP for people who want to use this technique but save some time and money. Every video suggests using paint brushes or q-tips to get the job done and I'm here to tell you that's not needed. Go outside and find a piece of grass that's grown a bit, observe the stem and you should see lots of short hairs on the stem. The hair on grass stems works wonderfully for hand pollination and you'll notice the hairs perform very similar to the hairs on a honeybee. So you simply get to go out to your squash plant, pluck a piece of grass, pollinate, and then chuck the piece of grass right back on the ground and walah you've saved yourself time and money.
Brilliant tip - thanks so much for sharing! :-)
@@GrowVeg Isn't it funny how the simplest ideas can also be the brightest ideas sometimes in life? Always look at things around you for more potential because there surely is always going to be unrealized potential all around us.
I had no idea that squashes have male and female flowers. Thanks! Super educational video!
I just wanted to nip in early and say thank you so much for all of your videos. I'm new to veg growing and have been absorbing as much information as I can. Your videos are absolute gold and a pleasure to watch. We have our first mangetout popping through, a healthy herb garden and our new raised bed is being filled with all sorts this weekend. Thank you!! :)
You're very welcome, and thank you Emma for watching!
Thank you this is very helpful and I'm sad at the same time because of the lack of natural pollinators. We see numbers of bees declining
Perfect timing! My squashes are flowering like crazy, but weathers been so weird, we only have one zucchini growing so far. ☹️
Thanks for this wonderfully timed video!
Thank you so much, I'm growing 2 squash and 1 zuccine and there doing great thanks so much!!!!
Great to hear!
I am so glad to know how to protect from cross pollination. It never occurred to me that it could be done. THANK YOU!
Last year I got more cross pollinated spaghetti-delicata than pure-breds... and they don't taste great! This year trying to keep them separated.
@@heididecker707 Good luck! I guess covering the flowers before they open is required to protect them from insects.
Thanks for the video! I am growing zucchinis first time ever this summer and those are now blooming. Good thing that TH-cam recommended this. :)
I've been wondering what's wrong with my squashes as they were flowering like crazy but not one formed a decent fruit after flowering. Thank you for the wonderful advice, I'll be sure to apply this in my garden!
Having lived in Wales for approximately 18 years with UNFORTUNATELY a North facing garden, I haven't raised any veg until this year. Also, I wanted American squash, something I haven't had in all these years. Thank you for the information and as soon as it stops raining I will take my paint brush out in the front garden (South) and pollinate the plants I have growing in buckets!
Hope they fruit for you.
Thank you!! It’s so hot here in Pennsylvania right now that the flowers that bloom in the morning are wilted by noon, not leaving much time for the bees. I have so many brown, rotting female flower bases that almost started growing into squash, but didn’t quite get enough pollination. Thank you for this solution!!
Thank you very much for your video. I've had great success with Hokkaido squash.
That's great to hear!
Very good video, and thanks for making it. Instructive, simple, and to the point. Kudos!
You're welcome!
Perfect timing & wonderful advise. I will use it today for my butternut
Lots and lots of flowers.. I going to give this a try....great video...
Absolutely brilliant! Our squash are a bit behind this year, but are rapidly catching up! TY. daisy
This video is right on time! ive got beautiful flowers but no fruit. i know what ill be doing in the morning
Thank you for a useful and concise presentation. God bless.
love your tools for pollenating. I usu use a paper bag after I p0llenate, but like the idea of using cheesecloth better. Also stressing the use of a soft brush...I tried at a friends house and forgot my soft brush, hers were very stiff, and it didnt work out so well. Thanks again, great info
This video was so helpful. My squashes have lots of blooms but no fruit. Thanks so much.
Thank you! My squash only has male blossoms ? Not sure why
Your videos are always very informative; I'm a novas Gardener planted a uniform crop this season in Colorado (front range); bugs are eating at my spinach cant see any bug on them so I need help in figuring out what! I planted parsley and rosemary with the cabbage...so far to good...marigolds through out them and the beets; the spinach is on the other side next to green onions; squash on the east side next to something to climb on; all in all everything growing as they should so far! Thank you for your videos!
Maybe you can find some type of sticky trap to put near your spinach. You would be able to see what type of bugs are hanging around it and go from there. Good luck and happy growing!
Another invaluable tip! Thank you so much!
You had me at "tickle pollen from the stamen"
I'm growing a grey pumpkin..in a large pot with oblisk..all female flowers out first, thou males are hiding at the bottom. Ben I took the seeds from a brought pumpkin last year and planted this a var var voom❤.I try and keep you posted..thank you for all your videos I find them to be the profoundest of help as I'm only just a beginner 😊
So pleased you find the videos so useful. Hope your pumpkins give you a hefty harvest! :-)
Thank you you helped me a lot you recude my butternut squash
So pleased to have helped!
I would like to see a video from you on how to reduce the risk of squash vine bore.
Yes, I am constantly having this problem w Pumpkins. What do farmers do to prevent the borers!
There's some useful advice on our website here: www.growveg.com/pests/us-and-canada/squash-vine-borer/
Brilliant video! Thank you so much
I just experienced cross polinated winter squash and I save seeds. My Delacata are in 5th generation in 2020, but am concerned that the 2019 seeds may have been cross pollinated. I am thinking of using 2016-2018 seed for seed saving rather then last years, then covering and hand pollinating as you described. Thanks so much. I though I would have to figure out how far away I had to plant different varieties of squash, Delcata, Kombucha, acorn, spaghetti are in the plan for this year. Now I know what to do to save seeds that will be true for years to come.
Glad to have been of assistance Julie.
This is exactly what I needed to know. Thank you!
Brilliant, thank you for this 🤗🤗
I need to help this along... my squashes are doing nothing on their own.
watched this video with my morning coffee and immediately went out to pollinate squash. I only have male flowers?? is it possible that there are male plants and female plants? I have just two or three plants in my small garden. I even paused the video to study the differences between the two flowers.
The male flowers often come first, before the females. Give it another week or two and you should have both flowers on the same plant.
Thank you I needed this video.
Hi...if you want to save seeds..is it better to use another plants male flower to pollinate or is it ok to use the male flower on the same plant I wish to save seeds from?thank you..another question plz..can I use the same male flower to pollinate several female flowers?thank you
You could use pollen from any male flower - on the same plant or another. If there's enough pollen in the male flower it's fine to use it to pollinate several females.
@@GrowVeg thank you for your help 😊
I know about force pollination it's a great idea. If you want to take your chances without forcing pollination you may not harvest you could have but its your choice.
I'm growing squash under row covers for the first time. (SO tired of losing my gorgeous plants to squash vine borers!) I've got my earliest zucchini coming on like gang busters, but they're ALL female flowers. Am I correct in hearing that I can pollinate with a male scalloped or straight neck squash blossom? What about with male flowers from winter squash? Also, some of your female flowers looked a bit beyond their prime (wide-open) stage. At what point might I just as well pluck the not-going-to-develop fruit to make way for others?
You can use any male squash flower to pollinate as long as you are not wanting to collect and use the seeds from your fruits for next year. I would just leave the plant to drop any unpollinated flowers itself. Good luck this year!
Can i pollinate the squash from a male wich is from the same plant or can i pollinate it with a male from a another squash plant?
You should be able to use pollen from a different variety, yes. The seeds wouldn't come true to type - but that's fine if you're just trying to pollinate them for fruit set.
Dumb question but can you get male and female flowers on the same plant or does the pollen have to be from a different plant? One blooming early and the other is quite a bit behind. Can the pollen be stored until one is ready?
You can use flowers from the same plant, not a problem. I'm not sure about storing the pollen - if it's for a few hours then maybe, but I doubt it would last for much longer than this.
I need to do this with my gourds. My squash plants are fine, but my zukes could use a little help. They’re growing but not enough. I wonder if the will work for tomatoes as well.
N ot sure if it's true, but I was told tomato plants just need a little shake to pollinate.
Yes, for tomatoes you just need to tap or gently shake the plants to dislodge the pollen, as both male and female parts are in the same flower.
I’ve been hand pollinating my squash this spring. But recently I can’t manage to get very much pollen on my q-tip. The bees seem to be quite active. Is it possible that the bees are capable of removing almost all the pollen from an open flower?
Yes, I would imagine so - in which case you may not need to bother hand pollinating. Another explanation may be that the stamens are past their best, so the pollen is old/already fallen.
Hi.. my butternut only produces one male flower and then it dies off. How can I get the plant to give more flowers.
More flowers of both sexes should develop in time. Make sure plants are properly fed with a high potassium liquid feed, which should encourage production of more flowers. Any tomato feed would be fine for this.
@@GrowVeg what is tomatoe feed
I'm growing some "table king" squash. They're quite far behind as they took a lot longer to germinate than expected!
Moore Time in the Kitchen Acorn? I love them!
@@elizabethlane8690 Yup! Really hoping they're fruitful as I hear they're tricker than other plants!
Hello! I have a tomato plant that has a ton of flowering but not a single tomato in sight! Should I hand pollinate it like in the video?
Tomatoes have male and female parts within one flower so you can simply give the flowers a few taps to pollinate them or use an electric toothbrush (or anything than vibrates) to cause the pollen to fall onto the stamen. There's a few good videos about it on youtube.
If that doesn't work, it's probably a specific nutrient/mineral imbalance. Can't remember the specific one atm. Organic options are out there to remedy.
You can!
If you live where the daytime temperature is normally above 90 °F and beneficial insects are rare, you will NEED to hand pollinate. Pollen at that temperature becomes sticky and won't become airborne.
I always use Q-tips on my tomato flowers. I tap each flower then start at the beginning to tap one more time. I have over a hundred indeterminate grape tomatoes in three pots and about 50 super sweet patio tomatoes in two pots, and I have one pot of Big Boy tomatoes with about 10 baby tomatoes. I don't know if the bees would have done their job because I don't wait for them. Pull your Q-tip to make it softer for lightly touching each flower.
My squash are in need of hand pollination. Just in time.
Do you force the female flower open to pollinate them? When to do the forced pollination is our issue. We've lost 4 zucchinis already.
Wait until the female flowers have opened before pollinating.
@@GrowVeg Maybe tomorrow. 🐝
Can I open the female flower if it isnt open? Thanks in advance
I would wait until it naturally starts to open. That way you can be sure the flower is fully mature and ready to be pollinated.
@@GrowVeg thank you, much appreciated
I see trellises behind you do you grow all your squashes on trellis or both ground and trellis. Which do you prefer?
Personally, I have the space to grow them on the ground. I prefer this as they can send out more roots into the ground, which helps to create stronger plants and more and bigger fruits.
As always great
The flowers on my females are not open. Do I wait till they open or do I dig in there to open it?
I would wait until they are just beginning to open. You can then encourage the petals open and fertilise from that point on. But don’t force them to open if they aren’t already starting to unfurl.
Great video, of course. My garden is booming, even though we got a late start because of all the rain and flooding. Is there anyway to extend the pollen? I do green house growing over the winter and I always manage to run out of pollen before I have finished with the female flowers. Will the male produce more if I just leave it alone?
There should generally be a balance of flowers once plants get started. So yes, I'd just leave it be and more male flowers should come along soon.
I see in the video you’re opening up a female flower to pollinate- does this really work? In some other article I read it says it’s a trick with squash as the male and female flowers sometimes don’t open at the same time. But they didn’t mention that you could pollinate even with a female flower closed. If that’s the case I’ve missed out on loads of potential squashes 😫 Thank you!!
The female flower does need to be fully mature before pollinating it. So either the flowers should be open or on the very cusp of opening - no sooner than that.
Thanks, Ben, Great video, as always. Can I open an immature male blossom and use the pollen inside of it to pollinate an open female blossom? I have lots of females but none of the males have opened yet.
I would wait until the male flower petals have started to open, as this will be the only way to tell for sure that the pollen is mature and viable.
So will pollinating a female flower cause that specific fruit to grow better, or will it result in the whole plant growing more female flowers? Any help would be appreciated as I'm still relatively new at this stuff
Pollinating the female flower simply means that flower is much more likely to produce a fruit. It won't affect numbers of male or female flowers.
@@GrowVeg Thanks!
Is it weird that my first flower is a female flower and its got a fruit growing behind it that seems to be doing quite well? Has it been pollinated? Confused amateur gardener 🤷♀️
That is unusual, but not unheard of. You may find that the fruit starts to rot at the blossom end, which often happens when it hasn't been pollinated. But then again you may be pleasantly surprised!
@@GrowVeg I have dome male flowers growing but none of them are open yet so feeling a bit disappointed that I may lose the 2 fruits I have growing if they can't get pollinated in time
Mine aren't being pollinated even though a vegetable starts to form. They all just fall off. I had one get to 4in and then it yellowed and rotted at the end. I have already lost 20. I tried hand pollinating but every morning I went out I don't think any of the female flowers were ever open. Mine plants are doing so well and are healthy so it is disappointing for sure. I did see ants on them today so I hope going forward they can pollinate them
❤ more like this
Thank you!!!
What if a plant is only producing make flowers?
They tend to produce only male flowers to start with. Wait another few weeks and then plants produce female flowers too.
Thank you
My male flowers don't have the pollinating powder on them. I'm worried that I waited too long and the heavy rains we just got washed them off! Is that possible?
It could be possible I'm guessing if the flowers have been open a while, or if the flowers are just quite old. Best to use just-about-to-open male flowers if you can.
Nice information 😍👌💚😍👌💚
Thank you very much for this great tip! Most of my squashes are inside tunnels and producing lots of flowers and not many fruits so going to try this straight away. Some are not growing very big (stunted growth?) or are going rotten after a while - is this also due to not being pollinated?
Yes, this can be down to pollination issues. Hand pollinating will help to boost pollination rates and fruit set.
Can you use any type of pollen?
As long as it is from another squash, yes.
How do I keep pests from ruining my butternuts?
There are a range of pests that can attack squash-family plants. Check out these pest guides here: www.growveg.com/pests/us-and-canada/plant-problems/squash-pests-identification/
@@GrowVeg Thank you. I will take a look.
My squash are not doing well this year. I started them from seed in my potting shed and they were vigorous healthy plants, which I hardened off in the recommended manner before putting them in the garden. Since then they have got smaller and smaller, the leaves have yellowed and dropped off … despite my efforts to keep them well watered. They are not over-watered as we are in drought conditions and on water restrictions, but they have been getting water at all the allowable times. Any thoughts on why this is happening?
It could be that the soil is very poor. Squash are hungry feeders. It's good to add LOTS of organic matter, such as compost to the soil before planting. Then try feeding them with an organic liquid feed to help them along.
I don't think that is the reason, as they are planted in raised beds that were well manured last winter, and I have been feeding them with fish-manure-tea. I did use alder mulch, and I have now made sure it is not close up against any of the stalks and they seem to be perking up a bit. We have had an unseasonably cool spring, so that might be part of the reason I think.
I have been getting lots of flowers but they do not seem to open up completely. So how can I hand pollinate?
They should open up in time. If they have started to open, you can still hand pollinate. Just gently split the flowers open along the seam where the petals meet.
Great video. Greetings
mine need help will do
When is the female bloom ready to be pollinated? Should I wait till it starts to open on its own?
Yes, I would wait for the petals to begin cracking apart.
I found a dozen male flowers but no female flowers as yet. What's going on?
Squash plants often produce male flowers before they produce females. So give it some time and the female flowers should eventually appear.
Hi
Sometimes there are open male flowers but no open females, by the time the females open the males are longer any good.
Is it ok to open the females to hand polinate ?
Thank you
Chris
For some plants you can collect the pollen and use it later for pollinating the female plants.
I save the male flowers in the fridge a day or two and use the pollen when the female flower opens
Thank you, l will try that
I will try this. I could not find a single female flower. Perhaps they simply have not opened yet.
Mine need some help
what percentage of potassium?
Any feed/fertiliser with a higher proportion of potassium would be great - usually sold as a 'tomato feed' or similar.
Anything with a relatively higher proportion of potassium would be great - something usually sold as a tomato feed/fertiliser.
I'm growing mine indoors this winter because I don't know what I'm doing.
Be sure to sow them again in spring for a summer crop. th-cam.com/video/Y-5w8fHK5nI/w-d-xo.html
"Mr. Tilney? A scoundrel? An adventurer? He understands MUSLIN, Mr. Allen!"
Great video but my squashes seem to be producing mainly male flowers
Plants should produce both male and female flowers, so keep your eye in for the female flowers. It may be that they will follow on soon enough, with the male flowers appearing first.
Is it possible to not have any female flowers! I can’t find anything but makes.
Plants tend to produce just male flowers to begin with, but hang on in there as the female flowers will come.
Not one of our squash plants currently has a female flower. WAH!
So sorry to hear that Lou. Have you been feeding them with a high-potassium feed - that will help with flower and fruit development.
@@GrowVeg - No. I honestly didn't know much of anything about growing squash, but I will learn.
So if there's no pollination (by insects or hand) there'll be no fruit produce, only flowers?? O_o
Yes, the fruits do need to be pollinated to properly swell.
On mine, the female flower is not forming. only the male. I see where the female should form, but that never happens.
Be sure to water and feed your plants to give them the resources they need for good flower production. More in this video: th-cam.com/video/4Baj4vUXFMA/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for sharing.. New friend here.. Make a hug God Bless you
How to have a female flowers
You sound like the guy from oxy clean ad
IM NOT A GARDENER OR EVEN AN OUTDOORS PERSON BUT MAN THIS REALLY GETS ME HARD
👋😊
I need some female flowers first.😊
They'll follow on soon, don't worry.
@@GrowVeg I have seen some since my comment. They aren't ready to open yet. But when they are I will be hand pollinating them. Thanks for this helpful video.
What an Insufferable chap