Mum is becoming quite an expert in pollinating pumpkins. The moment she spots a female flower in bloom, she hunts down a male flower right away. Her efforts have paid off of course, now we have at least 30 pumpkins in various stages of growth. My parents are big eaters of pumpkin but what are they going to do with so many I wonder?
The pumpkin patch (above) and some of the fruits below.
The pumpkin grows from a female flower?
ReplyDeleteYes. The female flower has a small fruit attached.Once it is pollinated, the fruit will grow into a big one, otherwise it will fall off soonafter.
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ReplyDeleteWow, what a big harvest! Now you can make pumpkin cake (similar to yam cake) with it!
ReplyDeleteBtw, can you describe how you pollinate a female flower? I found a flower on my ladyfinger. How excited I was for the whole day! However my joy was shortlived as the flower stopped blooming the next day. Two days later, it fell off. And you can hear my heart break into pieces at the same time....sigh!
Hi JC
ReplyDeleteYou have to peel open the male flower until you see the pollens. Bring the male pollens and smear against the stigma of the female flower. This works best with freshly opened flowers.
Looking so good, Ting! The pumpkins are excellent. =D
ReplyDeleteJ.C.: You don't need to pollinate the okra's flowers as they are actually pretty self-pollinating. But if you want to help it along, you can use a small brush, cotton bud, or the tip of your pinky to brush the pollen against the stigma.
- Sky
Thank you for the explanation :-)
ReplyDeleteWow, I am glad I found your site. I have been trying to grow various vegetable but with only small space(my balcony), I wasn't sure how I was going to go with my new baby(pumpkin), do you recommend I grow pumpkin in a big space? I might have to move it somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteHave you any luck with Zucchini? They seemed to attract lots of white flys....