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Should I help nature along ?
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arv
Just Arrived
Joined: 29 Apr 2007
(Map)
Posts: 31
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:32 pm Post subject: Should I help nature along ? |
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In my first year of trying to grow vegetables I have gone from being depressed when nothing came up in the beginning to elated when everything started to come . Now I am on the verge of being a nervous wreck waiting for the blooms to become fruit but nothing seems to want to . The cukes , the zucchini is full of flowers ,male as well as female , loaded in fact . I feel it is because of the absence of insects to pollinate , my wife is sure that I am not watering enough . I believe I am right but you can correct me . In case I am correct what will you suggest , should I take up a brush and paint stripes on myself and pretend I am a bee or let nature work it's magic ?
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36 cal/km commute
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muddybob
Showing Great Promise
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
Location: WA st.
Posts: 438
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 1:58 pm Post subject: |
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You don't need to paint yourself. That's just messy. Simply get a striped tee shirt and you'll be good to go.
muddy
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dooley
Official Garden Turtle
Joined: 03 Jul 2005
Location: Arizona, U.S.A (Map)
Posts: 3105
PlantStew: 2 |
| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:40 pm Post subject: |
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Instead of using the brush to paint yourself, use it to pollinate the vegetables. Just brush the inside of the blossem and move to the next one and it rubs off and just like magic you are the bee. Just use a different brush for each vegetable or you'll cross pollinate and have some funny vegetables. Dooley
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eileen
Moderator & Resident Taxonomist
 Moderator
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Location: Scotland (Map)
Posts: 10364
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:35 pm Post subject: |
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If you do paint yourself and act like a bee can you make sure your wife takes piccies for us!!!!! 
Seriously though Dooley has given you some good advice. However, patience is a virtue and the fruits won't show on your plants until the flowers die back. It's hard to wait, I know I do it every year with my tomatoes, but they will fruit for you in their own time. 
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arv
Just Arrived
Joined: 29 Apr 2007
(Map)
Posts: 31
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:15 pm Post subject: Re: Should I help nature along ? |
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Dooley that is what I meant by taking a brush . What I was wondering out aloud if I should let nature take it's own course or take a proactive role . The 'paint myself with a stripes ' was meant to be . The image of me wearing yellow tights and with stripes makes me smile .
Ok tomorrow morning I will wield the brush , thanks .
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36 cal/km commute
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mellonmellow
Just Arrived
Joined: 05 Jul 2007
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 1:13 pm Post subject: |
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Let us know what happens. I've had similar situations where I needed to pollinate but didn't know what to do. This brush idea is interesting.
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Uncle Jabba
Just Arrived
Joined: 16 Jan 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 38
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| Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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I think that I will have to try that with my cucumbers this year. the past two years they have been mishapen. I read that that is caused by incomplete polination. it supposedly takes 12 to 15 visits from a bee to properly polinate Cucs.
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