Hand-Pollenating Squash

[Texan]

I would like to hand pollenate my squash. I saw this

This was happening to some of mine, then I started hand-pollenating and it hasn't happened since. The little mini-squash only grows larger and develops if fertilized. Zukes and other cucurbits have male and female flowers, so they have to be pollenated by something (bees, wasps, etc.) or someone (you!) in order to grow fruits.
Hope that makes sense, hope it helps. Good luck!

The whole thread can be found here HERE

My question is, how can I tell the male flowers from the females?

Thanks in advance for any help that I may recieve.

Mjd

 

[GrowinVeggiesInSC]

The male flowers are on a simple stalk. The female flowers have a "mini-zucchini" behind the flower. It's the part that starts growing into the fruit once fertilization has occured.

Hope that makes sense.

ETA:
Found these images:

(Male left, female right)

(Female)

From this website: http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451f73469e200e0098801e78833

 

[chills]

WOW .. love the photos, for a newbie this really helps ..
Texan good info to have thank you..
GrowinVeggiesInSC can i ask: if i hand pollinate, will that make more fruit, or is it the act of cutting off one that makes another grow?
thank you

 

[GrowinVeggiesInSC]

Chills,
the reason I started hand pollinating was because I didn't see s single pollinating insect around and all my female flowers were dying. So I took it upon myself to pollinate them. Now that the bees have made an appearance, I haven't had to pollinate and I am knee-deep in zucchinis!
So I think the act of pollinating made all the difference, not the cutting of the flowers.
That being said, I DID cut the male flowers - I fried them in butter and had them with pasta. SOOOO good!

ETA: Just reread your question: The more you fruit harvest, the more fruit will grow. DH was whining about the "small" zuchinnis we were eating here and there, and now we can't keep up with them (zucchini casserole tonight). So yes, the more you take, the more will grow - I harvested the first few early and there was an immediate increase in yield. This is true for all cucurbits. (Squash, cucumber, etc. - as far as I know.)

 

[Texan]

So, iffin I am looking at the photo correctly, the male will not have the squash on it? Is that right? I am having trouble getting the link to the article you refrenced (sp?).

Thank You so much for the response GrowinVeggiesInSC

 

[obsessed]

Yes the male flower is just a flower with a stem. The female flower is a flower with a bulbous stem resembling your type of squash. Spend some time look and your will really notice it. I notice the females and males now of cukes, watermelons, cantelopes, and my different type of squashes.

 

[GrowinVeggiesInSC]

So, iffin I am looking at the photo correctly, the male will not have the squash on it? Is that right? I am having trouble getting the link to the article you refrenced (sp?).

Thank You so much for the response GrowinVeggiesInSC

Yes, you got it, and the OP aready confirmed for you.
You're welcome. I love learning these things and then teaching them to someone else. I'm always amazed by how much I'v learned in the past year!

Happy gardening! :tools

 

[chills]

GrowinVeggiesInSC thank you for the answers .. i'll need to get closer to see the baby zucchinis and to see the difference on mine .. still no fruit yet ..

 

[GrowinVeggiesInSC]

GrowinVeggiesInSC thank you for the answers .. i'll need to get closer to see the baby zucchinis and to see the difference on mine .. still no fruit yet ..

Another tip: if they are just starting to flower, you may not have any female flowers yet. They start out with a bunch of male flowers, then the female flowers follow a little later. There are also more male flowers than female flowers.

 

[chills]

so i see the difference, do we hand pollinate once we know the difference of the two, or is it once you see the difference pollination has already happened .. do we hand pollinate to avoid the 2 inch zucchini?

texan were you able to see the difference on your plants? and did you try hand pollinating?

i took a photo of my plant, and i can totally see the difference between the male and females ..(i dont think i ever got this close!) haha

thank you