Hand-Pollinating Squash for Seed Saving

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