The pumpkins had a bumpy start to their success this year. Bees were late arriving and it appeared there were not enough of them to fly around to all the pumpkin flowers. My brother and his wife have a bit of a green finger. So I got the low down on how the pumpkins were pollinated. It was an enlightening lesson on ‘sex in the pumpkin patch’. Through trial and error they finally found the magical pollinating solution.
“I first used a paint brush to dust the female pumpkin flowers but that wasn’t sterile enough.
Next, I broke off the male flower, with a single yellow stalk inside and each morning when all the flowers opened, I brushed the male onto the female parts.
If the flower stays green and grows then it’s set. But if the yellow flower drops off, it has not been pollinated.”
It was a tricky process, pollinating by hand each individual female pumpkin flower, but one which worked. I was amazed when they showed me the process. They were rewarded with a very good crop of pumpkins which they shared with family.
“We’ve had pumpkins weighing up to about 6-7kg. That’s a lot for one pumpkin.”
For pumpkins to pollinate they need bees or a helping hand. Two types of bees which would normally pollinate the pumpkins: the European Honeybee which are bigger and bite, and the Australian small black bee which don’t bite.
Also you can tell when the pumpkins are ready to pick. They start to get an external cloudy appearance as the one above left. I have learned so much about pollinating pumpkins that nature continues to fascinate me.
Big Sister Blogs - Maria Parenti 
What an interesting sight you have
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Thank you. The simplest and most basic of things fascinate me.
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I just realised I didn’t finish my comment, it was meant to say sight/site. I was trying to be clever and play with sight and insight and the site word itself but I got interrupted.
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I am having a bad day because now I forgot to put my name in. Well at least you’re getting lots of comments from me lol
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Much appreciated…lol
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Totally loving the posts which teach me things I never knew! Wow. Thanks for linking up for #lifethisweek. Denyse
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So glad you enjoyed it. I stumbled up this story waiting to be told. Didn’t even know such things existed. I’ve learned so many new things, seen so many things from other bloggers since I started blogging. It is awesome! Maria xox
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Wow! Good on you! That’s dedication for you. We’ve grown pumpkins before – accidentally when my husband used the compost in the garden. We had a few beauties too 🙂
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How amazing. Love it when you stumble on things. Maria xox
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Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/11/ein-karem-birthplace-of-st-john-baptist.html – great macro images.
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Thank you. I think it may have been with my new camera or iphone 6 without zoom on.
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I don’t have the room to grow pumpkins, but i have them coming up from seeds all the time in the chook house. I am getting lots of zucchinis starting to grow, so the bees must be doing their job there 🙂
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Love it. I’m fascinated that these tiny creature are a vital part of creating our foods. Maria xox
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How fascinating; I know nothing about gardening… I try but most everything I plant tends to die.
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Yeh that usually happens to me too.
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Great tips Maria, I would not have though of this 🙂 Thanks for linking up.
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Yep amazing!
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WOW! how exciting, they are looking fantastic. Is it true you keep the seeds and plant them for the next crop? Yumm, I love pumpkin salads in summer.
#IBOT
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Will have to double check with my sister-in-law and brother. I usually see mum drying seeds, but will get back to you soon.
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Yes. Don’t bother drying if you don’t want. Just bury them in the garden or soil pile of dirt.
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