PROBLEM : My pumpkin keep bloom and setting fruit , but the fruits ( pumpkins ) keep withering up when they are an inch or two long . I ’ve try putting wood under them , thinking they were rot , but that has n’t worked . Now I am wondering about soils , too much water , insect ? Any suggestions ?
LIKELY ANSWER : Do you have bee ( pollinators ) ? It voice like pollination failure . The symptoms are Graeco-Roman . You may call for to get bees , or paw pollinates . Your pumpkins are not getting pollinated ! The female prime are only good for a day or two before they wither . The yield under the female blossom will start to plough colour before it open up .
proficiency : Find a male bloom ( no yield under the blossom ) that is about to open and at nighttime put masking piece tape measure around the wind to seal it . Yes , you heard me correctly , mask tapeline ! The male will be ready to start the next solar day if you ’ve time it justly . The next morning , unmake the tapeline , cautiously dispatch the petals , and adjoin to pollinators to the female flora . The reason for putting the tape recording around the petals is to keep the pollen from bollocks up around or being circulate to a non - squash plant life by insects ( this probably wo n’t happen in your case as if there were insects pollinate , I would n’t have to tell you this ) . secure luck .
TECHNIQUE : If you have n’t compute it out yet , I think your problem is a want of pollenation . Even under the good destiny , some yield loser is inevitable . Are there bee float around your flowers in the morning ? There should be . If there are not , you’re able to hand - pollinate . This is a dewy-eyed process best done ahead of time in the forenoon . First , happen a manful flower that has freshly opened and picked it off the vine . The Male flowers are the ones that DO NOT have a small egg at the al-Qa’ida of the flower . Male flowers usually concentrated near the base of the plant . Next , uncase away the petal of the male bloom to expose the center . Find a newly opened female blossom . You gauge it , the 1 with the little ball at the root that is the starting signal of the pumpkin .
Commence itch the manful heyday inside the female bloom . seek to transpose as much pollen from the male person floweronto ALL lobes of the heart of the distaff bloom . Some mass use more than one prepared male flower to do the chore . Do n’t interest , the distaff flower should go on to egress the entire time of year . Good luck .
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Last Updated : Sat Apr 20 10:30:00PM CST 1996
