Hand Pollinating Gourds, Melons ect.,

Hand pollination may look unnatural but at the present situation where bees are vanishing at a faster rate every gardener should know how to hand pollinate to get a better yield and also plant a lot of nectar and pollen-bearing flowers and avoid pesticides to ensure remaining bees are happy and healthy.

Growing gourds and melons not so difficult for me, but making them fruit is so hard. I don't plant gourds intentionally, they just sprout on their own from the compost pile. My gourd plants have never fruited for me and I don't know why is it so, but still, I leave then in my garden when they sprout out of my compost pile, but last year I was really shocked to see my watermelon plant having a fruit, though the fruit was really small, its a big thing for me that too in a container.

Male Flower(Cucumber)

Female Flower(Cucumber)

After seeing that even this year I planted as many gourds and melons on the same spot where I got watermelon last year as usual nothing happened, all the flowers have fallen it seemed hopeless. Then I tried hand pollinating some other flowers, surprisingly that workes, it produced a lot of new gourds which are now developing and looking great.

Hand pollination isn't rocket science. It is all about transferring the pollen from the male flower to the female flower. You can easily identify the male and female flower, the female flower has a tiny immature fruit on its base while the male doesn't. Then you have to take a painting brush( with soft bristles) and roll on brush on the male flower and then on the female flower. I recommend you to take pollen from multiple male flowers and preferably not from the same plant but it is optional even if you don't do this it will work.;)\