The Giant Pumpkin.....

Day Two

The female flower is open and ready for pollination.  Bees usually do the job but to ensure complete pollination and to control genetic crosses, we pollinate by hand.  This is done by removing a "male" flower blossom (one that has no fruit attached to it's end) and cutting away the petals, then it is brushed along the "female" blossom to release and combine the pollen.  The female flower is then closed and tied shut with a vine tendril to be sure bees do not steal the pollen or cross pollinate.