From: bae@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Beverly Erlebacher)
Subject: Re: Pollination in hydroponic garden?
Organization: UTCS Public Access
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 20:36:36 GMT

In article <Bz97DJ.HL4@hpfcmdd.fc.hp.com> linda@hpfcmdd.fc.hp.com (Linda Jackson) writes:
>We have recently (the day after Thanksgiving) set up a hydroponic garden 
>in our dining room.  It is situated next to a south-facing window, and 
>we are using a grow light.  The books that we have are rather vague on
>one question:  How do I pollinate the various plants?  Do I need to 
>pollinate?  The man at the hydroponics store had an answer for only the
>tomatoes:  Shake the flowers a little bit every day.

You only have to pollinate crops that you want the fruit or seeds of.
Some kinds of plants are self-pollinating and some aren't.

>I am growing:	Tomatoes

Modern varieties are self-pollinating.  The shaking transfers the pollen
from the anters to the pistil in the same flower.

>		Yellow Crookneck Squash

I hope you realize that a bearing plant is going to take at least a square
meter of intensely well-lit growing space!

Squash has separate male and female flowers on the same plant.  The male
flowers have just an ordinary stem, while the female flowers are attached
to a miniature squash that will develop (if pollinated) into the squash
you want to eat.  You will have to transfer the pollen by hand, which
involves having male and female flowers open at the same time.  You can
pick the male flower and rub the anther against the pistil of the female
flower, or transfer the pollen with a brush or q-tip.  Btw, you can eat
the male flowers too.

>		Green beans

These self-pollinate, no problem.

>		Sugar Snap Peas

These also self-pollinate.  I hope you are growing a more dwarf variety than
the original Sugar Snap, which has vines 6-12 feet long.

>		Basil
>		Dill
>		Cabbage
>		Lettuce (Cos and Bibb)
>		Broccoli
>		Cauliflower

You don't need to pollinate any of these - the part you eat is the leaf
(basil, dill, lettuce), the terminal bud (cabbage) or the flower (broccoli,
cauliflower).  If you want dill seeds, you are further ahead to just buy
some.  Btw, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower also require several square
feet per plant.

>		Eggplant

The structure of the flowers is similar to tomatoes, but I am not sure if
they are reliably self pollinating.  You might need to gently rub two flowers
together, or transfer pollen from anthers to pistils with a fine brush or q-tip.
Again, some eggplant varieties make very large plants, but miniature varieties
are available.

>		Cucumber

Similar to squash, but the flowers are a lot smaller.  There are also some
modern varieties that produce only female flowers (gynoecious).  Some of
these varieties will set fruit without pollination (parthenocarpic).

>Any help that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you
>in advance.

I don't know how big your "garden" is, but I think the best return in good
food per square foot of space will be (1) lettuce, especially leaf lettuce:
harvest it a leaf at a time (2) fresh herbs (basil, dill, parsley, chives,
cilantro, chervil, etc) (3) various "yuppie" greens (corn salad, miner's
lettuce, arugula, cress etc) (4) scallions (especially from sets) (5) "patio"
varieties of tomato, especially cherry tomatoes. Most of these, with the
exception of the tomatoes, will grow well in limited light.  All will give
you food much better than what you can usually buy in winter.

Have fun, and don't disappointed if not everything works out.  Concentrate
on the more successful types at first, then branch out as you gain experience.

Beverly Erlebacher
Toronto, Ontario Canada
Newsgroups: rec.gardens