| Pollination in the Absence of Bees |
an introspective series of articles about raised gardening
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While the mystery of the
disappearing bees remains
unsolved, squash plants may be
pollinated by hand
The sudden reduction of the bee
population may affect the way you
garden this season, particularly when it
involves vegetables such as squash. These
plants have two distinctly different gender
of flowers and it is necessary that the
pollen from the male flower be transferred
to the female blossom. Honey bees are the
most common vehicle for accomplishing
this process. When pollination fails to
happen, the fruit will not develop and the
flowers will drop off.
There are steps a gardener may take to
achieve pollination and it involves
manually transferring the pollen from the
male to the female. This is done in several
different ways. A cotton swab or a small
artists paint brush may be used to
perform the transfer of pollen. Make sure
that pollen is visible on the brush or
swab as it is transferred from the male to
the female. An alternate way would be to
pick the male blossom and carefully
remove the petals and then poke the
stamen into the centers of the female
blossoms.
The way to distinguish the male from the
female is to note that the female has a
slight bulge at the base of the blossom
while the male's stem will not have this
feature as shown in the photographs.
Morning is the best time to deal with the
pollination process because the blossoms
will close up by mid afternoon and they
last only one day. Once the pollination
takes place the squash will grow very
rapidly and be ready to pick in less than a
week.
Click here to return to Home Page
disappearing bees remains
unsolved, squash plants may be
pollinated by hand
The sudden reduction of the bee
population may affect the way you
garden this season, particularly when it
involves vegetables such as squash. These
plants have two distinctly different gender
of flowers and it is necessary that the
pollen from the male flower be transferred
to the female blossom. Honey bees are the
most common vehicle for accomplishing
this process. When pollination fails to
happen, the fruit will not develop and the
flowers will drop off.
There are steps a gardener may take to
achieve pollination and it involves
manually transferring the pollen from the
male to the female. This is done in several
different ways. A cotton swab or a small
artists paint brush may be used to
perform the transfer of pollen. Make sure
that pollen is visible on the brush or
swab as it is transferred from the male to
the female. An alternate way would be to
pick the male blossom and carefully
remove the petals and then poke the
stamen into the centers of the female
blossoms.
The way to distinguish the male from the
female is to note that the female has a
slight bulge at the base of the blossom
while the male's stem will not have this
feature as shown in the photographs.
Morning is the best time to deal with the
pollination process because the blossoms
will close up by mid afternoon and they
last only one day. Once the pollination
takes place the squash will grow very
rapidly and be ready to pick in less than a
week.
Click here to return to Home Page
Female blossoms may be identified by the distinctive
bulge at the base of the flower where it joins the stem.
bulge at the base of the flower where it joins the stem.
The male blossom lacks the characteristic bulge of the
female flower. Normally pollen is taken from the male
flower and applied to the female by honey bees.
female flower. Normally pollen is taken from the male
flower and applied to the female by honey bees.
