Anyone who’s ever grown squash or related cucurbit vegetables (cucumbers, melons, squash, and pumpkins) has felt the agony of defeat when a female flower failed to get pollinated, resulting in a tiny fruit that dies away rather than maturing. This happens more often than it should, especially in these days of declining bee populations. Well, while bees tend to be handy little pollinators, you don’t have to leave pollination to Mother Nature. You can do it yourself!
Steps to Hand Pollinating Cucurbit Vegetables
1. Find the pollen. Unless you want to steal it from the bees themselves (not a good idea), look for a yellowish or greenish powder on the ends of anthers; the male stalks that stick out of the centers of the male flowers. If you need help identifying, be sure to check out the video below.
2. Use a sterile cotton swab or soft paintbrush to gently wipe some of the pollen off the anthers.
3. Move to female flower, and tap the pollen gently onto another flower’s stigma. Make sure that a significant amount of pollen sticks to the stigma.
4. Keep repeating this process until all the flowers are pollinated, and then step back and wait for the fruit to emerge. It takes a little effort, but it’ll be worth it in the end.
Hand Pollination for Seed Collection
For more advanced hand pollination tips for breeding and seed collecting, try this with tomatoes:
Hand Pollination of Tomato for Breeding and Seed Production from UF/IFAS Extension Service
Plant Breeding as a Hobby: Fundamentals of Plant Reproduction from College of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
With tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables, you can hand pollinate or give your plant a gentle shake for better pollination. Most of your vegetables will have perfect flowers with both the pistil and stamen within the same flower. For these, you can even move to another plant with the pollen of the same type to ensure genetic diversity, which should help make the resulting fruit healthier. Note: there are a few plants (spinach, asparagus) that will have male/female flowers on different plants.
Want to learn more about hand pollination of vegetables?
Home Vegetable Garden Techniques: Hand Pollination of Squash and Corn in Small Gardens from UF/IFAS Extension Service
Fruit Set Problems in Squash, Melons, and Cucumbers In Home Gardens from University of California Cooperative Extension
Not many bees in my area, no matter how many bright flowers I plant. I will be trying this with cucumbers in container this year and hopefully will get a crop for the first time. I love cold cucumber water and would rather pick than buy.
Thanks for an informative article.
Tomatoes are largely self pollinating, with the process generally complete before the flowers open. You can do more by simply giving each plant a gentle shake. No need to hand pollinate unless you are deliberately cross breeding.
Seed to Seed, by Suzanne Ashworth is a great, easy to read reference.