by Marc Parchow
Pollination
8:15 am in Education, Plants, Seeking Advice by Marc Parchow
Hy all.
I’m new to this forum and windowfarming and just beginning to research, so I might come back to you with some other questions.
My first question is about the fruits: If I grow fruits indoors, I imagine I will have to come up with a way to pollinate the flowers, right? So I would need to have at least two plants from each type flowering at the same time? Then I would invite some bees and bugs or pass an entertaining afternoon with some Barry White and cotton swabs.
I know something my Dad told me about birds and bees, but that’s about all.
I’d be much obliged If you could help me understand this bit about what you do.
thanks,
Marc Parchow
Fruits are awesome, but you have to avoid tree fruits, which are unfortunately the best kind: mangoes, pineapple, oranges, etc… Don’t grow trees to well in a window =P You might be able to start them as seedlings like that, who knows? I’m trying berries for my fruit experiment, so we’ll see how that goes, but anything that has seeds inside what you want to harvest probably needs some flower attention.
Now I’m no expert, but I have similar concerns with my plants. I think it depends on the type of plant. Some plants can self pollinate, and some need a male and a female. Even the self pollinating ones might need some help though.
Bees sound like fun; natural honey
I just have a q-tip I rub around the inside of each flower that pops up on my pumpkins, but I think they do have separate male and female flowers. I just have to wait for a female flower to pop up before I can actually see a pumpkin grow.
Tell me how it works out!
Hi Marc,
some plants are self pollinating in which case you’d only need one plant. the pollination itsef can be carried out manually using a cotton stick
Cheers, Neal and Bram.
I live in a gothic church with huge colorfull windows, so I might plant some trees in my windowfarm, and the bees can build their nest in the pipes of the old organ.
That’s not really true.
I live in a small apartment. Or will do, after moving there in august. I want to build my own windowfarm there. I was thinking of having cherry tomatoes, strawberrys, hot peppers and some herbs. Maybe cucumbers and peas.
But tomaoes, strawberrys, peppers cucumbers and peas need pollination and I have absolutely no idea how that would work. some plants selfpollinate, some don’t, some have different sex flowers, some need specific insects to pollinate them.
Are Qtips the solution?
I hand pollinate my strawberries with a Qtip and the peppers that I have are self pollinating and I don’t do anything wirth them and they fruit.
It depends on the type of plant. Plants like cucumbers have male and female flowers so you have to do the work of the bee moving pollin between the flowers, but I have never done that myself.
thanks Tony! I imagined something like that.
He Marc,
about the cherry tomato, I have them growing here as well and they do self pollinate but I’s strongly advice you to search for a dwarf variety of cherry tomato plant, mine are taking over the entire window…
Thanks, Bram.
When I get to the point of choosing plants, i’ll make shure to choose them right. That’s an important part of farming.
M.
I’ve recently grown tomatoes and bell peppers inside. Bell Peppers had to be done with a small paint brush but the tomatoes were done with an old vibrating toothbrush.
An electric toothbrush? That sounds romantic!
This is my first post and already I hear the strangest things.
This is the marvellous world of hidroponics.
Thanks for all the help.
I second the electric toothbrush idea. Just touch the hard part (not the brush) to the stalk and the flowers should shake enough pollen off and onto others. There are actual pollination tools out there but they basically do the same thing.
Thanks for your reply, Andrew.
Now I get how the toothbrush simulates the vibrating of some insects.