Don’t settle for average harvests of squash, cucumbers and melons! I’ll show you step-by-step how to hand pollinate, (made easy), so you can grow TONS for a record-breaking garden.
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IN THIS VIDEO:
➡CaliKim Cucumber Seed Collection: (now featuring Diva Cucumber!) https://bit.ly/CaliKimSquashSeedCollection
➡CaliKim Squash Seed Collection: https://bit.ly/CaliKimSquashSeedCollection
➡CaliKim Melon Seed Collection: https://bit.ly/CaliKimMelonSeedCollection
➡Cosemetic brush set (for hand pollinating): https://amzn.to/3xr14XC
➡Smart Pot 15 gallon: use code “calikim” for 10% off at https://smartpots.com
WATCH THESE VIDEOS FOR MORE GARDEN TIPS:
https://bit.ly/CaliKimHowtoPruneSquash
https://bit.ly/CaliKimVerticalSquash
https://bit.ly/CaliKimContainerGardenWateringHeatProof
https://bit.ly/CaliKimTomatoStringTrellis
https://bit.ly/CaliKimJuneMustPlantVegetables
TABLE OF CONTENTS: (click the time stamp to re-watch your favorite part of the video)
00:00 Introduction
00:29 How to know if you have a pollination issue?
01:10 Why a lack of pollination on cucurbits?
03:30 Step 1: Look for a plant with open male and female flowers
05:20 Step 2: Pollination tools
05:28 Step 3: Collect pollen from male flower
05:50 Step 4: Transfer pollen to female flower
06:04 Step 5: Repeat as needed
06:23 How to know pollination is successful
06:36 Step 6: Monitor progress
06:45 Cucumber and melon hand pollination
08:12 Plant parthenocarpic varieties
BOOKS
The First-Time Gardener: Raised Bed Gardening: https://bit.ly/TheFirstTimeGardenerRaisedBedGardening
Organic Gardening for Everyone: Homegrown Vegetables Made Easy: https://bit.ly/OrganicGardeningForEveryone
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PEST & DISEASE CONTROL:
Monterey Lawn & Garden: https://www.montereylawngarden.com. Use code “CALIKIM10” for 10% off sitewide.
SOIL AMENDMENTS & FERTILIZER
Vermisterra: https://vermisterra.com
Worm castings, Vitality, Worm tea
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Music: Track Tribe – Members Only
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20 Comments
Are you hand pollinating your squash, cucumbers and melons? Let us know how it goes! Thanks for gardening with us! -CaliKim and CameraGuy
BOGO Sale: Buy One CaliKim Seed Collection, Get One of equal or lesser value FREE with the code “GROWFOOD” at https://calikimgardenandhome.com. Ends 6.25.24.
Is there a way to stimulate for more female flowers?
Hi Kim can I pollin my pepper plants to get bigger peppers and I'm practicing for basketball😊😊
I tried this and it was not worth the effort given my poor growing conditions. The plants were in containers and probably over planted with 2+ plants per container and had issues where the soil would dry out in the summer heat and or the plants would suck the soil dry. I noticed more fruits but a lot of them ended up falling off.
I need to try this again when I get when I get a garden where I can put them in the ground.
I have a Green Stalk tower this summer. I'm disappounted with it. The lettuces are doing good but the peppers and tomatoe plants are still so small. The squash just fizzled out. Spinach didnt grow at all. Onions are growing but dont look like ill have any decent size onions. I bought the tower because i didnt have much luck in pots or the ground. Except for my tomato plants. I still have a few in pots with many little green tomatoes. Im happy for that.
Good video. I still have some time to try the squash. Gotta hurry tho. 😊
Definitely hand pollinating my squash. Have lots of bees but I like to make sure.Haven't needed to do cucumbers yet but glad to know you can!
Has anyone made fried squash flowers? I want to try that this year.
I lost a crookneck squash last night. The stem was broken away from the roots. It is definetely animal damage, I suspect from a cougar that has been hanging around the property. It got two of our cats. The Sugar Baby watermelon aren't producing very well—little to no female flowers. Pollionators aren't a problem. Growing alongside them are Hearts of Gold cantaloupe. They are going crazy with fruit development. In the next two weeks, I'll start transitioning to a fall garden. I have chickens now, five hens, three Rhode Island Red, and two Speckled Sussex. The hen house has been assembled. To complete it, I am waiting on a shipment for a 10×12 pen for them. Containing the chicken coop inside the pen is essential. I live out in the sticks where there are many preditors, hawks, owls, fox, coyote, racoons, posum, bobxcats, cougar/puma, and more. Cougars/puma have been seen at the end of our driveway. It is not safe outside at night, and mayv=be the daytime too. The cougar was seen at about 2:00 P.M. by the mail lady. My legs have healed enough to start riding my ebike, on roads, not dirt roads or trails. They aren't up to that yet.
Even though I watch a bumblebee go through all my cucumber flowers like it’s his patrol, I still have been hand pollinating too 😂
So far I harvested 5 gherkins and have several more that are pollinated, as well as several female flowers coming in. Been growing them on single stem for now, but might let bush out when they hit the top of the trellis; 4’ tall!!!!
My first cuke plant grew lots of male flowers and only 3 cukes so far, 2nd and 3rd were more balanced, but I guess that just means more chances for pollination when more females come knocking.
My newer set of cucumber plants are picklebush and exploding with growth and flowers coming in. So far only 3 females and 1 male, and the male hasn’t opened yet 😂 who would’ve thought the male wouldn’t be ready?😂😂😂😂😂
It might be a stupid question , but can I use pollen from a different variety of cucumber?
I’m leaning towards letting nature run its course and if some fruit don’t get pollinated, oh well, others will
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I’ll try hand pollinating my cucumbers when there are flowers
Good video. I definitely have a lot of cucumbers this year thank goodness. Lucky enough to start giving away to neighbors.
"Close your eyes kids!" Ha, ha! Reminds me of a couple of years ago when I explained to my landlady how I was hand pollinating cucumbers and other plants. She started calling me "The Plan Diddiler!" 🤣
Weather up here in the mountains has been crazy! High 80s in day (plants wilt like 90s, at our 8,500 feet!) But, then, heading down to 40s at night. Too cold for heat loving plants. Crazy challenges this year. 😊
Can we take the pollen from one male squash plant and fertilize several squash plants?
So glad we’re all adults here for our “birds and bees” lesson … LOL! Great video Kim, Jerry, Mac, & crew!
I have 2 patty pan squash plants growing in fabric grow bags. I put insect covers over them since transplanting them to keep the vine borer moth away from the plants, so I have to hand pollinate the female flowers. So far, most of the flowers are male. Ironically, when a female flower opens, there are no male flowers open or vice versa. GRRRR! I've only been able to hand pollinate a handful of flowers successfully. The patty pan squash is tasty, but the male to female flower ratio is disappointing. I doubt I will grow patty pan squash again next year.
I did hand pollenation last season with my kent pumpkins i harvested 32 kent pumpkins off one plant 210 pounds
The information is fantastic, but I don't like the jazz background.
Thanks so much for showing us how to hand pollinate cukes. That was really helpful.
Nice closeup work by CameraGuy. The zoom in on the yellow pollen contrasting against the dark bristles helps to visualize the process, very helpful tutorial CK.