Funky Veg Kit: Zucchini

I received a garden gift called the Funky Veg Kit.  Inside the kit were planting medium, peat containers, seeds for colorful vegetables.

When spring came, I started some of the seeds.  The yellow zucchini is doing a good job growing in the sun.  Foot inserted for scale.

This photo shows the plant in the afternoon sun after the June marine layer burned off.  The big problem during June is fighting powdery mildew which loves the moist air mass.

Hand Pollination--Helping out the Bees

I have shocked my friends recently. They are amazed that I go to my garden each morning and "help" out the bees by providing mechanical or hand pollination to my zucchini crop. One friend indicated that she knew I was a type A personality and a bit of a control freak, but perhaps this activity had crossed over to a whole new level.

I disagree. Home gardeners have been hand pollinating for years. And after go to the trouble of planting a garden, watering it, weeding it, dealing with over zealous bunnies and an onslaught of powdery mildew which occurs so easily near the coast, I am sure going to try to get the most produce I can from my little green garden.

My zucchini flowers are open early morning for several hours. I take this time to identify which female flowers are blooming and selecting a few male flowers to provide the pollen. My technique involves removing the open bloom (corolla) from the male flower and brushing the anther of the stamen on the pistils of the female flower. Even then I do not reach 100% success but I have been reaping a very bountiful harvest.

My nongardening friends want to know how I know the male from female flower. I've included a few photos showing what to look for.
Female flower with view of stigma

Exterior view of female. Small unpollinated zucchini visible. If this flower is not pollinated, it will stay this small size, yellow, and whither on the plant.

Male flower (no zucchini--just stem below the flower)

Yellow Zucchini

Renee's Garden loves to package seeds from like vegetables with color variations in the same package. I love it, too. I love my tri-color beans (gold, burgundy, green) and tri-color zucchini (under squash) which are fancy pastel green, buttercup yellow and dark green. I often prepare zucchini by slicing with skin on then sauteeing in a little butter. With the various color skins, the dish takes on a whole new look.