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newatthis22

About to give up on cukes!

Newatthis22
10 years ago

I know i've posted a couple times about my cucumber plants, but I am getting very frustrated with them. I am growing Sweeter Yet Cukes, and I had almost 20 female blooms recently die off. It's a pollination problem for sure, but the problem seems that I cannot get any pollen off of the male blooms, the few that I get.

I am using the paintbrush method first, and not seeing a SPECK of pollen on the brush. I am then dissecting the bloom in search for pollen and nothing!

In a last ditch attempt, I always make sure to put the male pollen holder onto the female in hopes that might even work.

Still nothing! I am out there everyday picking off more dead female cucumber blossoms. I have no problem hand pollinating my zucchini, just the cucumbers.

I have a couple ants in some of my male blooms, is it possible they are eating all of the pollen? That probably sounds like a crazy question.

I have one other cucumber plant, the fanfare kind, and I am having the same problem with the only male bloom I have had off of that plant as well, not a single speck of pollen. This makes me think that the problem is me, but I have very carefully taken the blooms apart in search for any kind of pollen, and am coming up with nothing.

Any advice?

Comments (6)

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    10 years ago

    For squash at least, I don't mess around with paintbrushes. I just pull the male flower and wipe the stamen across the female stigma. Is that what you mean by your last ditch attempt? I guess it's usually my first ditch attempt. Could also just use your finger. It's easier to see pollen on your finger than it is on a brush, at least for me.

    Cuke pollen is light colored, and very hard to see, in any case.

  • digdirt2
    10 years ago

    It is awfully early in your zone to be worrying about cukes much less giving up on them. Active insect pollination is just barely started even down here. How old and big are these plants? Many times the very early blooms are sterile anyway. Were they transplants or direct seeded? Are they covered? If not then hand pollination likely isn't needed anyway.

    Have you been using pesticides? Bees are far from the only pollinating insects so pesticides, if used, could be preventing other pollinators from working on the plants.

    Personally I'd quit worrying about it so much and let nature do her thing. Odds are you'll get more cukes then you can eat anyway. Meanwhile if you have an empty spot plant a different variety.

    Dave

    Like Dan said squash are easy to hand pollinate, cukes not so much.

  • Newatthis22
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The only type of pesticide I have used so far is Neem Oil and that was mostly on my zucchini, I don't think any of it went to the other bed with the cukes in it. They were transplanted when they were very small into the garden bed. They have grown pretty big so far! 4 feet high, 3 feet wide. They are not covered.

    The only reason I have been trying to hand pollinate is because I have not even see one bee near my gardens so far.

    I did not know about the early blooms being sterile, so that kind of gives me a little hope!

    Guess I will keep at it!

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    Don't expect squash flower pollens to make to make dust storm like pine trees, rag weeds. All is needed is just a tiny bit.
    My method is called is called KISS. I pick a male flower(gently, avoiding shaking it). The , again , gently remove its petals. Bring it close to female flower and give them a nice soft kiss. Then I call them husband an wife..hehe
    I have gone this with bottle gourds, because the flowers open after sundown, when the bees are already gone to their hives. There had been no single miss. With one male flower you can pollenate several females, just in case there is a shortage of them.

  • christyanne926
    10 years ago

    Seysonn, does that mean you are officiating over polygamous marriages when there is a shortage of male flowers? :-)

  • greenmulberry
    10 years ago

    Well, as a fellow Iowan, I can tell you I haven't even direct seeded my cucs yet.

    I probably will either this coming weekend or the next, but I don't ever plant them until mid June at the very earliest. (Zucchini as well by the way)

    I have tried and tried to get them out in May or early June, and they always do terrible. But, I have found if you wait until it is HOT, and just direct seed them, they do so much better. They just rocket out of the ground and make up for "lost" time, and also seem to miss out on most of the beetle blight.

    It's been cold here on my side of Iowa, we had nights in the 40's not to long ago. Cucs like it hot. Try putting them in much later. Another Iowa gardener suggested it to me years ago when I was frustrated, and I tried it once and never went back.