How to identify male & female pumpkin & squash flowers, hand pollinate and bag them

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

How is growing your own pumpkin or squash coming along? Do you hand pollinate to increase your harvests? 🌱

[@heatheryearwood9199]

Thank you

[@tash17kids]

Thanks for this great explanation and clear visuals of what both flowers look like. Look out weekend, I'm gunna be sexing it up a bit n hopin some love comes my way! :)

[@lypscratch]

Thanks for the info. We are growing pumpkins for the first time and are looking for info on whether we should pinch off some of the flowers, and if so, how to decide which ones to take.

[@IlikeGrass69]

​​@@lypscratchIf you were to pinch off some flowers, for a slow growing but large-quantity amount of pumpkins, pinch off most males. If you want one or two quick growing pumpkins, pick most female flowers off. Btw, pinching them off isn't a necessity.

[@FrostyTheBeerMan]

THE BEST ⚠video out there explaining male and female, thank you ! liked and subbed. I love the way you teach, you don't skip any details, and assume we are all new to gardening. I enjoyed the summary at the end too ! Thank you.

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

...and the best comment ever 💚💚💚 Thank you so much for your wonderful comment and I'm thrilled to hear that you got so much value from watching this video 🙏🌻

[@FrostyTheBeerMan]

@@MySustainabilityJourney😀 👍

[@ceceliaking9739]

Thank you me and my husband accidentally planted some, and now we are excited to make sure we have some in time for the fall season 😊

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It is the greatest of pleasure and I love how sometimes accidents turn into something beautiful. I hope you get lots of yummy, home grown food to enjoy from it 🌻

[@kimbaat1977]

Thank you for your very detailed description and instructions. I have looked through so many different pages online and this is been the most helpful. Cheers!

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Thank you so very much for such a lovely comment 💚 I am so glad you found my video valuable and here's to hoping it helps you get massive harvests 🌻

[@dcwatashi]

Yes, I totally agree. This is the best video I have seen and I don’t need to watch anymore.

[@kimbaat1977]

Well…. Thanks to you, I now have about 8-10 pumpkins that are about the size of my hand, and growing!! 😍😃

[@SmartySmarts]

Kimbaat: 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

[@CariCavanaugh]

The pumpkin pollinating worked. Thanks for the tip!

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Yaaaay 💚 I'm so glad to hear it worked and helped you out. Hopefully it resulted in a great harvest 🌻

[@dcwatashi]

I am definitely going to share this video and I’m surprised that there aren’t more people who have watched this. I watched two other videos, and this one by far is the best at showing everything plus the tip about the organza bags.

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Oh wow, amazing and thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear you got so much value from watching this video and that the little extra tip with the bags was well received. I hope you get a great harvest 🌻

[@dcwatashi]

@@MySustainabilityJourney are very welcome. I did find another female and I’m waiting for her to open so I can speed up the process.

[@tarasalinas5157]

Thank you so much me and my boy are growing this year and he can assist me with this

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Ah, that's amazing to hear and I'm so glad you got value from this video. I hope you, as a power duo, get some really good harvest and that you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour 🌻

[@barbaramix1683]

Thank you. I am growing an accidentally sprouted squash in my office under lights. It has decided to flower and there are no pollinators available. Now I can pollinate the flowers myself. Have a great day.

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Oh wow how awesome is that! Nice! I'm glad you are now better equipped to be able to handle the manual pollination and I really hope you manage to get a harvest. That would be awesome. Good luck 🌻

[@SmartySmarts]

👏🏼👏🏼😍

[@TheNikinut]

THANK YOU. gosh I'm a silly human being. I never realized you can do this. Question: are we not putting bees out of work then ?

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

No you are not 😉 The pollen is still there are they will continue to collect it but at least you are almost guaranteed fruit. If you rely on bees and they don't visit different flowers or other pumpkin or squash plants them you won't get the pollination you are looking for 🌻

[@SmartySmarts]

I have bees around but they don't really care for the pumpkin flowers.. they're on my flowering trees and rosemary. I didn't know about hand pollination until too late now ... realized no pumpkins.

[@ann-mariebreen8295]

Wonderfully clear and to the point.

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Thank you so very much 💚 I'm so glad you found value in watching this video and thank you for taking the time to leave me a comment with your thoughts 🌻

[@karolhestilow4103]

I have always wondered how this happens. I am growing pumpkin right now and I don't have fruit so I will try this method. Thank You!

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Yay, I am so glad this video has helped you better understand this growing phase and that you can now use it to maximise your harvests. I hope you get a great crop this year 🌻

[@daniellepinney3092]

Awsome we accidentally rooted some pumpkin seeds at holloween when i forgot about the drying seeds and my daughter wanted to plant them so we have them inside all theough the winter and they have started flowering i really want to get her some fruits off of it

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Oh wow, that's so cool! I'm sure your little one would absolutely love growing her own pumpkin 😁 wishing you nothing but success and bountiful harvests for you and your little one 🌻

[@SmartySmarts]

🙀 did it work?! You grew them indoors?

[@KelliAitken]

Wow thanks for this! It’s my first time growing yellow crook neck yellow squash, but it looks like I have mostly males. It 😊is end of growing season

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It is only a pleasure and oh no, that's not great to hear! This late in the season the female flowers should have caught up, but I guess next summer you are going to have to give it another go. I am glad you got some value from watching this video 🌻

[@elisabetta8403]

Beautifully explained. Thank you very much!

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Thank you so very much! I'm glad to hear you found value in watching this video 🌻

[@whatever-ql5ns]

I’ve got so many males, I’m thinking of forming a pumpkin army.

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Now wouldn't that be hilarious 😀

[@egkick]

Me too

[@ladyhecate9450]

I am in the same boat.... beautiful males but no action.

[@priyaramaswami937]

😂😂😂

[@brendanengland8385]

I'm same as well

[@ChristineSoto-ny6ew]

This is so awesome ❤thank you!

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Aw yaaaay, thank you so much for those kind words and I'm thrilled to hear you found value in watching this video 🌻

[@grofam9888]

Thank you for the video. Great info

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It's the greatest of pleasure, I'm glad to hear you found it informative 🌻

[@emahioma4994]

Thanks for the lesson

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It is only a pleasure and I'm so glad you found value in watching this video 🌻

[@whatever-ql5ns]

Thank you so much. I had a bit of an idea, but lost several females , as I didn’t fully understand.

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It is only a pleasure and I'm glad you found value in watching this video 🌻

[@jodyparkman7440]

New sub here! Thank you for this video!

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Yaaaay, thank you so much 🥳 I'm so glad to hear you found this video useful 🌻

[@johnwyman6126]

Thank you for sharing this, I have a question that was not addressed in the video. Do you have to use a male flower from one plant on a female flower from a different plant or can they both be from the same plant?

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Hey John, thanks for popping me that question. I did cover how you can use them but maybe not as specific as this so this is a good question! It all comes down to one thing. Seed saving. If you want to save seed that are true to the variety then you cannot cross pollinate a d use the male of one with the female of another. If you are not saving the seed then you can use one male flower to pollinate a few different female flowers if you need to, but yes, you can 100% mix and match 🌻

[@johnwyman6126]

I'm sorry if I wasn't specific enough, what I meant was do you need to use flowers from two plants of the same species, or can you use a male flower from one plant to pollinate the female flower of the same plant?

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Thank you for getting back to me and for clarifying. Yes, you can most certainly take the make from one plant/variety to pollinate the female of another 🌻

[@LizaJane-i3l]

Could you use organic cotton bags or do they need to be seen through?

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Good question! I would cotton is okay as it is a breathable material and I've wrapped mine in brown paper bags before with no issues. Once they are pollinated then they will happily grow ahead and don't have to get sunlight 🌻

[@larainebentley6609]

Thankyou it was easy to understand

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It's the greatest of pleasure and I'm glad you found value in watching this video 🌻

[@1000secondhandrose]

hi thanks for video what size organza bags do you use please

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It's a pleasure and I'm glad to hear my video helped you out! So I use 2 different sizes depending on the plant. The bigger pumpkin varieties I put into a 12.5 x 17 cm bag and the smaller ones in a 10 x 14 cm bag. The 12.5cm bag is a really good, versatile option that you can use on fruit and many other options 🌻

[@chrissy4500]

Can I use mosquito noting instead of the bags?

[@chrissy4500]

Netting

[@kamranimen8707]

very useful and concise!

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Thanks for your comment and I'm so glad that you found value in watching this video 🌻💚

[@alexanderbeukes6160]

Thanx for your video. Can I use a pumpkin male to pollinate a female squish or otherwise around...

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It is the greatest of pleasures and yes, you can most certainly do that. The only time you would not want to do that is when you want to have seed that is true to the variety on which case the cross pollination would mess up your varieties 🌻

[@alexanderbeukes6160]

@MySustainabilityJourney thanx for your reply. This help a lot.

[@michelleb6409]

Thanks for the video, I've just started to grow pumpkins this year. I am getting lots of female pumpkins which is great, however I'm finding my female pumpkins are flowering before any male flowers. Is this normal? Sometimes it can be a couple of days after the female pumpkin has flowered before the male flowers. By then sometimes the female is starting to wither. What can you suggest

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Good questions and good on you for growing your own pumpkins this year! So the opposite can happen as in your case where you only have females without males, although this isn't nearly as common as the other way around. If you are not trying to keep seeds that are true to the variety then I suggest planting other varieties as well. You can then happily cross pollinate. I find having more than 1 variety always gives me cover in the male and female flower department 😁🌻

[@davenerodocker9120]

So helpful! Thank you!!

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Ah, thank Davene and it is only a pleasure 🌻

[@ginazimmerman4727]

What size of organza bag did you use?

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Thank you for asking and that's a great question! I use nothing smaller than a 20cm x 16cm bag and then move into a stocking as soon they get too big. I hope this helps 🌻

[@priyaramaswami937]

Thank you

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It is only a pleasure 🌻

[@sheilarajan7431]

How long does it take after hand pollination to get a pumpkin

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Good question! That all depends on the variety yoh are growing and whether you want to store the over winter. If so the vine will tell you, not the number of days. Generally people look at the neck of the pumpkin and as soon as it starts to change colour it's ready but you can also just leave the plant to completely die back and then harvest all the pumpkins that remain 🌻

[@kennairdbarrett2927]

Excellent thanks

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It's the greatest of pleasure 🌻

[@brieem6815]

I have so many questions 😭 when do you take the double bag off of the pollinated female?

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Good question and I'll love to hear your other questions too! Here where I am we have the fruit fly that stings fruit so I swop out the bag for a stocking as soon as its looking a little tight. I wish I was able to leave them be but if I do I am guaranteed to to not get a single squash or pumpkin ☹️

[@chelseygarrett4221]

Like this comment if you're out here trying to impregnate your pumpkins. 🤷‍♀️

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Love it 😂

[@mcsloth6]

what happens if you pick all the pumpkin flowers

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Good question! Like with most flowering plants the more you pick the more it will produce. However, if you only have one or the other in terms of flowers then you risk picking them all just for the plant to them have the other flower come around and there are none left to pollinate. It is a delicate game of cat and mouse with these plants 😂

[@craigkeller]

Thank you 🙏!

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It's only a pleasure 🌱

[@amyjanegardner9908]

My luck... I always seem to have all males or all females. I then talk to them and tell them it's not on and they will then open at the same time. In the cases where I have males before the females, would I be able to Pick the male flower and keep it for a day or two. My other problem is them pollinators in my garden get to the good stuff before I can!

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Yip that actually happens quite often, but usually only happens when the plant is young. What's good to know is the plant will only produce both when it is ready and able to handle the load. If it is lacking moisture, nutrients and is just weak then it will boycott its fruits and continue to grow. This is one reason why growing pumpkins on compost piles is so effective. The, with the flowers, it is literally the first thing I do in the morning (even before my coffee 😂). I head out and hunt for the freshly opened flowers, because you are right, once nature wakes up and the sun is out the pollen is gathered up quite quickly. At least we keep learning as we go 😁🌱

[@amyjanegardner9908]

@@MySustainabilityJourney I normally use a earbud to pollinate it will Def try ur way

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

@@amyjanegardner9908 I also used to use a paintbrush but found that it doesn't get as much pollen on for the bigger flowers like pumpkins. I still use the paintbrush for smaller flowers like cucumbers where it's easy to damage the flower when opening it because it's so small, but using the flower as is for the bigger ones saves time and carries over the maximum amount of pollen 🌱

[@chirenehawke9543]

Do you have to hand pollinate? I’ve only just planted my first butternut and cucumbers. The cucumbers grew, but I think I only had male flowers on the butternut

[@amyjanegardner9908]

@@chirenehawke9543 hand pollinating helps u to know that those flowers r going to produce

[@jessicaheather5653]

Oh so the females got the balls. 😂

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Lol 😂🌻

[@spranggatsnonoy1166]

Damn! A farmer told me you can identify the female pumpkin flower if it had a lot of issues..🤔🤔🤔

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

😳

[@cfcm_design]

This looks like a well-made video, but please consider a skip to button or shorter intro for people who want quick info

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave me a comment with your feedback 🌻 as I am aware my videos can be longer, due to such a wider range of audience needs, I always use chapters in my videos. This specific video has 5 chapters that you should be able to navigate in the red scroll bar of the video. Thanks again for your feedback, I do appreciate it 💚

[@SmartySmarts]

🤦🏻‍♀️You realize YOU can fast forward right ...what about those who like a slow longer detailed explanation ..those people aren't allowed?

[@cfcm_design]

@@SmartySmarts google Bean Soup Theory, you're doing it. I was politely giving feedback, the creator can take it or leave it. don't be so weird.

[@michellef1188]

The most important parts aren’t actually on video. He’s showing us his hands or the vine instead of the flower or what he’s doing. So disappointing b/c the info would be so helpful.

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

I literally start pointing out the differences between male and female flowers from as early as 1:44 onwards. How am I meant to point out the parts without pointing them out? I suspect I probably would have got the same negative comment if I didn't point. Feedback would probably be that you that wouldn't know what part of the plant I was referring to 👀 Luckily I know that I can't please everyone and I'm sure there is another video out there that will give you what you need 🌻

[@SmartySmarts]

Hey! 🤦🏻‍♀️🙄😑 it actually is explained/showed in detail you just have issues having to do the job and look for it. You want things handed to INSTANTLY for free

[@Thepokedek]

Thank you. Last year u used a paint brush 😅 to hand pollinate

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

It's time consuming, but quite fun and rewarding. It also forces you to slow down and appreciate the smallest workings of nature 🌻

[@Thepokedek]

@@MySustainabilityJourney oops i meant i*, not you, sorry i was my first time ever doing it by hand bc i got a random pumping plant in my yard out of no where

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Haha, all good, the joys of online communication 😂 glad you figured it out and did the paintbrush trick work for you? Did you manage to get a decent harvest? 🌻

[@Thepokedek]

@@MySustainabilityJourney it was only one plant, that popped up out of the blue and we managed to get one smaller pumping from it

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

Ah, that's amazing, so happy to hear and well done 🌻

[@inkfae]

Thank you🍃

[@MySustainabilityJourney]

The pleasure is all mine 🌻🌻🌻