Since last spring we have planted 2 x Butternut, 2 x Golden Nugget, 4 x Kent/Jap & had one HUGE Kent self sown pumpkin in the Patch in the backyard... All but the Self sown Kent were dismal failures... Will not even be bothering with the Butternuts again as this is about the 3rd time we have had no luck with them... The Golden Nuggets will have 1 more chance next season as we now understand a bit more about soil make up & Composting... We have 1 Kent growing in the front yard in a pile of Grass clippings that looks like it will be a success though...
Hand pollination...
Pumpkins are in the Cucurbit family which also includes Zucchini, Squash, Melons, Gourds, Luffas & Cucumbers.. They bear Imperfect flowers which means that they have male flowers (left) that produce pollen & female flowers (right) that are connected to the fruit...Hand pollinating is as easy as pulling off the male flower, removing the petals to form a cup around the Stamen then upending it over the female flower allowing the pollen to fall onto the Stigma...We also like to lightly brush the Stamen on the Stigma just to make certain... The pollen then fertilises an ovule in the ovary of the flower which becomes a seed & starts the process of forming the tasty fruit surrounding it which completes the pollination process... Other family members use a paint brush that is set aside for this purpose... We have found pollinating this way has a near 100% success rate...
There are about 6 fruit that we a certain will mature & about another 5 or so that we will wait until they grow to the size of a softball before we will count them in the tally for the plant...
I havent mentioned this vine in fear of Jinxing it to tell you the truth...
**Crosses fingers & Knocks on all available Wood**
We will be feeding it some fresh compost tea & removing a few bits of the die back around the main stem this weekend just to pamper it a bit...
Have a great one all....
: )»
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