Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: Geezer on 04/08/2011 01:33:34
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Sheesh! You know it's hot when you have to run the garden hose for a while so you don't boil your veggies while they are still growing. But, I digress.
I remember seeing my dad use a fox tail that he had appropriated from my mum's old fox* stole to pollinate the tomato plans in his greenhouse. Is this a good thing to do? Will I get more tomatoes if I do this? I don't happen to have a spare fox at the moment. Is there something else I can use instead?
*This was at a time when it was fashionable to drape dead animals about ones person.
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The easiest thing is to plant them outside and let the bees do their thing. I had a little problem this year. I bought 3 tomato plants, but managed to kill 2 of them. The third one is doing quite well with lots of blooms, and lots of GREEN tomatoes [^].
If you are doing greenhouse tomatoes in the winter with no bees, it wouldn't hurt to pollinate them.
However, if you are planting grass seed (and presumably corn), all you need is a fan.
I assume you saw the photo of "Greenhouse City" (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=36.0) in Spain. You could ask them.
If you aren't interested in seeds... I don't know. Perhaps you wouldn't need to pollinate them. It would be worth testing. I know my zucchini starts growing before the blossom opens, so I'm sure I could get at least finger-sized zucchini without pollination.
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I would leave the greenhouse door and windows open to allow bees and other insects in to do the job for you,(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbestsmileys.com%2Finsects%2F4.gif&hash=707f31a06ecc676d1deabb79e79996ca) then employ the services of a chameleon to get rid of undesirable insects.(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Fsmileys%2Fsmiley-eatdrink044.gif&hash=39abd59b96a05ca4adc9b27696610a1f) (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)
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If you're not confident that the bees will do the job, I believe a soft paint brush is the usual alternative.
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Thanks everyone!
One of my tomato plants is a monster, but it's got hardly any fruit on it! Does each flower on a plant have to be polinated to turn into a fruit, and can the pollen be from the same plant?
(I'm sure I was supposed to have learned this stuff in school, but I must have dozed off, or maybe I was oogling some of the lady pupils.)
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According to this website (http://gardening.wsu.edu/library/vege016/vege016.htm), they can pollinate with the wind only. Shaking the plant, apparently helps.
According this other website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato#Pollination) domestic cultivars have been selected to be able to pollinate themselves pretty well, since the types of bees which the original tomatoes are adapted to don't exist everywhere.
If you're going to help the plants pollinate, be sure to wear appropriate attire
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2Fpublic%2F-XQy4o9K_LPgHo1wZjI2CHaK3eSxxZsGs6I0co52j00JNUBy6zD7MXJo-PE3oQYHZN7mtaRUZa-nBXsfteoH6mXh9YS2qeap9LM52QbU5KJxsQ0ARhVFIHlpyEIcePryCyg9q5kGhDy6So8IJLrLIBHLPwt1nUkDsxxERGHu0-XQNaCXF1SLAX1HNlqdSLj-SZoa6XWtcCHJpoCe3GJ2aeKdn5yo9814g26DOpT0cNRL&hash=8717f05ad45906834ffe5484a8e8813c)
and they like to be romanced first.
We tried growing 2 plants this year: roma and some variety of heirloom. The roma did ok, producing about 8 tomatoes, while we got nothing from the heirloom. We don't really have much direct sunlight available near our apartment, which might be the problem.
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According this other website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato#Pollination) domestic cultivars have been selected to be able to pollinate themselves pretty well,
So, it's OK to tell a tomato plant to go pollinate itself then?
Tomatoes grew like weeds in NJ when we lived there, but they don't do so well here at all. For some reason, they don't want to ripen. There is plenty of sunshine (it has not rained here for six weeks) but I think it cools off too much at night, even in the greenhouse.
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According this other website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato#Pollination) domestic cultivars have been selected to be able to pollinate themselves pretty well,
So, it's OK to tell a tomato plant to go pollinate itself then?
Tomatoes grew like weeds in NJ when we lived there, but they don't do so well here at all. For some reason, they don't want to ripen. There is plenty of sunshine (it has not rained here for six weeks) but I think it cools off too much at night, even in the greenhouse.
Green tomato chutney ! really good stuff
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Journal Entry - Sunday, August 21, 2011.
Getting desperate. Today, hung two bananas in greenhouse.
Journal Entry - Monday, August 22, 2011.
Bananas ripening nicely. Bugger all difference in tomatoes.
Journal Entry - Tuesday, August 23, 2011.
STILL NO CHANGE!
Journal Entry - Wednesday, August 24, 2011.
Ah ah! One tomato has developed slight orange/yellow cast overnight.
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time of fertilizing is critical,i heard u shouldnt fertilize be4 the tomatoes form. Friend had gorgeous plants but few tomatoes that year.
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Well, I don't know if the bananas made the slightest difference, but they did ripen. Would ewe like one?
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