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Sun, May 11, 14 at 11:18
| It was my understanding that the reason to hand pollinate zucchini in the morning is because the flowers close by mid morning. Around where I live, these flowers stay open til about 10 in to morning. Weirdly though, I'll pollinate the zucchini at that around 10 and the zucchini will be aborted. But if I do them at around 6, they grow into full sized zucchini. Is there something I am missing? I thought the only reason why we do hand pollinate early is because the flowers are open. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| As the day warms and the humidity rises the pollen becomes tacky and non-viable. it is most viable within a short time after the blooms open. Plus you have to beat the bugs to it. :) Dave |
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- Posted by nancyjane_gardener USDA 8ish No CA (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 14 at 21:00
| Maybe they aren't a morning sex type of Zucchini! ;) Personally, I let my Zuk do their own thing and usually end up putting them on the neighbor's porches on Aug 8th "put a zucchini on your neighbor's porch and run" day! Nancy PS...That's DH and my 40th anniversary of our first date! Watching Nixon resign! |
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- Posted by CrudeCatalyst none (My Page) on Mon, May 12, 14 at 1:42
| Lol funny one nancy :) Thank you digdirt, that's probably exactly what it is. See, I like in Texas so I imagine to heat cause the pollen to be non-useable if I pollinate at 10 |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Mon, May 12, 14 at 3:20
| Is there some reason you are hand pollinating zucchini? |
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| There can be many reasons for hand-pollinating them. Growing them under cover to prevent SVB is the most common. Stress, lack of active insect pollination, blossom-drop or BER, ratio of M:F blooms, preventing cross-pollination, room for only 1 or 2 plants, etc. are all reasons for hand-pollinating. There is a FAQ here about it. Dave |
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| It is good to get some started as soon as possible....before the plants die! |
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- Posted by prairiemoon2 zone 6a/MA (My Page) on Mon, May 12, 14 at 16:19
| I suspected it might be the SVB, but I didn't realize they were a problem for Zucchini as well as other squashes. I haven't grown much squash. Thanks Dave, for that explanation. |
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| I have a sinking feeling I'm going to be hand-pollinating this year since it seems that most everyone's hives in and around Central Ohio got wiped out this past fall/winter from Colony Colapse :^( so that's good to know about doing it early in the mornings. I imagine the same thing would apply to cucumbers? What about bush green beans, or are they self-pollinating? Edie |
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