Have you ever wondered how you can tell which of your flowers might become an actual squash? I sure have. Because, while the flowers sure are pretty, I'd much rather have a meal than a few flowers.
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| This is a male pumpkin flower... |
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This is a female pumpkin flower.
How do I know? |
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| Because she is pregnant :-) |
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| When her baby is ready, it will look like this. |
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| This is a male Acorn Squash flower... |
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| This is a female Acorn Squash flower. |
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| When her baby is ready, it will look like this. |
Thankfully, the bees usually do a fantastic job of helping the men and women in our garden do their thing...which is good because I don't really want to have to perform artificial insemination in our yard. Really. We'll leave that to the pros.
Remember though, that even though a male flower will not become an actual squash, you can use him as an addition to a variety of other meals :-) I haven't done this yet, but I will someday...
Great post! I have been wondering for quite some time how people know which blossoms to pick to eat as 'Squash Blossoms'! Seems like such a 'duh' moment now that I see in your tutorial :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know how to tell males from females. Now I know. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks Allison and Jody! I never knew either, so once I found out, I thought I'd share the wealth :-)
ReplyDelete