Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Alternative pollinators

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Lucy Goodman <goodows AT infinet.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Alternative pollinators
  • Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2006 12:04:55 -0400

For hoophouse melons, cukes and zukes i do hand pollination, so i guess you say i am using a human as an alternative pollinator.

Either get a tiny paint brush (a fine art type, not a house painting type) and brush it into any and all male flower to get some pollen than find a female flower and brush her pistles with the pollen encrusted brush. Or take a male flower remove the petals and sepals so all you have is a bare stamen and use that to gently pollinate the female flowers. Zukes are easy to do but melons and cukes are harder because the flowers are small and there are a lot of them which makes finding female flowers kind of tough.

Lucy Goodman

Shelly Elliott wrote:
I am changing things up in the high tunnel this year and grwing some specialty melons and cucumbers in addition to the heirloom toms, peppers, and eggplants. I am concerned about pollination. Greenhouse varieties will not work because I grow heirlooms. Bees will not work because I am deathly allergic. Are there any other insects that can do an effective job of pollination or am I stuck with hand pollinating (argh!). I have posed the question to Whitney Crenshaw as well.
Thanks,
Shelly Elliott
Idle Thyme Farm
www.IdleThymeFarms.com
_______________________________________________
Market-farming mailing list
Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming

Get the list FAQ at: http://www.marketfarming.net/mflistfaq.htm






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page