hand-pollinating squash for seed saving
DESCRIPTION
Hand-pollination of squash, including identifying male and female blossoms, pollinating, marking and recording. Hand-pollination may be necessary to preserve the characteristics of squash varieties in areas where other varieties of corn are being grown nearby. Video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5oOdfP_BIc&TRANSCRIPT
Presented by Gabi Masek
2012 Seed Savers Exchange Webinar Series
Squash Hand-Pollination
Our mission is to save North America’s diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.
Kingdom: PlantaeDivision: MagnoliophytaClass: MagnoliopsidaOrder: Cucurbitales
common name: squashbinomial name: Cucurbita pepo
Family: CucurbitaceaeGenus: CucurbitaSpecies: pepo
C. pepo will only cross with other C. pepo squash. It will not cross with C. maxima,C. argyrosperma, or C. moschata.
Pumpkins belong to many different species, and some C. spp are listed as gourds.
What is your squash’s Species?
Colored flagging ribbon
Wide masking tape
Permanent markers
Marking flags
Hand sanitizer
Apron (for carrying pollinating supplies)
All-weather journal or spreadsheetfor keeping track of pollinations in the field
Materials
Step 1Identifying and Tying Female Blossoms
Green unripe flowers
“Over-ripe” flowers for HP purposes
Step 2Identifying and Taping Male Blossoms
Green unripe flowers
“Over-ripe” flowers for HP purposes
Step 3Opening and Pollinating Blossoms
Step 4Taping and Labeling Female Blossoms
Harvesting, Processing, and Storing Seeds
Thank you! Questions?
2012 Seed Savers Exchange Webinar Series
For more information please visit these resources:
Seed Savers Exchange website: www.seedsavers.orgForum: forum.seedsavers.org
Online Yearbook: yearbook.seedsavers.org
To learn more about seed savingRead Suzanne Ashworth’s Seed-to-Seed
Visit www.seedalliance.org for the free publication, A Seed Saving Guide for Gardeners & Farmers