I started the squash seeds indoors.. and they have already started producing flowers. Do I need to do the pollenating myself until i can get them planted outside? Or will waiting another week to put them out be okay? Ty Sarah
slf: I'll try to take a stab at this Maybe someone will be around later wither more or better advice. If your past your frost date and your ground seems warm enough where your not having too cold of nites, Id say it'd be o.k. to get them in the ground out in your garden. My squash are just popping thru the dirt inside but our nites are a bit chilly yet. So here I can wait till May to get mine out.
It is said that plants with fruits will have hard time after transplanted to ground and someone sugessted to snip off these flowers or baby fruits. But I will try myself to leave these baby fruits on. If you decide to keep them, you'll need to pollenate your squash. Snip off a male flower and remove petals. Gently rub the male flower inside the female flower. You can easily identify a female flower. It has a baby fruit underneath it. Last year, I've got four fully grown eggplants transplanted and had no problem at all.
Thank you. I seem to have all male flowers ... they arent rowing very big before they start wilting. I think its because of its not getting enough sunlight. We are supose to get down in the upper 30s tonight still. I will be transplanting them in a few days after this 'suposed' last cold snap.. I can still plant seeds outside and still get a summer crop but just wanted to see how i did starting indoors (; I only have 4 plants left as the other 2 have gotten broken. We'll see. ILl let you all know how it goes! Thanks again.
Pinch off any flowers (Male or female) until they are in the ground outside. You want them to make roots not fruit when they are transplanted.
Thanks again. If i pinch the flowers off, do i pinch them all the way to the stem? or to i just pinch the flower only off? Sorry for all the questions.. i got alot to learn.
Hi SLF... I have courgettes on my window sills and when they have produced loads of mail flower buds. I alwaays pinch them off as long as I have them inside here. I want the plantlets to concentrate on their root-making, and not to wase their "energy" on little buds that they don't really need just now. Having said that, I do leave the buds that form a few days before I am ready to plant them outside though. I have not tried pollentating blooms indoors or leaving the mass of male flowers on until planting out, so I don't know if those methods are good or bad. It is my feeling that any of the choices are not too harmful in the long term. I just 'feel' that the way I do it is the best for me and the way that I garden. I feel that it preserves the plant's "energy" until it's time to begin producing in earnest.
