Rainy Mountains + How to Pollinate Pumpkins + Jewels

Massive rain storms came to visit last weekend.

It was unreal, glorious really.

Thickest clouds filled with lightning and thunder and huge rain drops.

Those are the Santa Catalina Mountains (Arizona).

I see them from my house, but this is a shot driving down the main highway.

The buildings you see are our local bank, grocery, fast food, gas etc.

I live on the other side of those buildings a few miles east towards the mountains.

You can imagine what rain storms looks like coming over the tops.

It's dreamy, and when the moon comes over, well it's just spectacular really.

The mass rain has the pumpkin vines going bonkers.

They just grew sooo much in a few days it's mind blowing.

So did the weeds, which I mowed for 3 hours last night.

I wear a mask so that I don't turn into allergy disaster central.

Rain brings endless chores and growing things and green green green in the desert!

Is there anything more charming than pumpkin curly cues, I wonder?

I know a lot of folks have been telling me they are worried about not having pumpkins this year, since the bees don't seem as plentiful.

I see bees here working along, thank goodness.

But sometimes, I give them a little help with hand pollination.

So, here's a little how to Hand Pollinate Pumpkins in case you forgot or were wondering.

 When you grow pumpkins the vine will grow for a little while before you see flowers.

Vines have both male and female flowers.

The first series of flowers you get will be all males.

The male flowers have a stamen (straight rod) in the center as you see below.

The stamen in the male flower produces pollen that looks like yellow powder, and covers the stamen.

If all works out in nature, the pollen is carried to female flowers by bugs and bees.

Then you have pumpkin babies.

A couple weeks (sometimes longer, sometimes shorter) after you get a handful of male flowers you will begin to see a few females developing, as seen below.

The female flower has a distinct little tiny pumpkin formation behind its flower.

The center of the female flower is called a stigma.

This is a female flower ready to be pollinated below.

The flower has bloomed in hopes of being pollinated and will only be open for a few hours once, early in the morning.

If you don't see bugs n' bees helping you out and you get worried that you won't have any pumpkins, all you need is a small paintbrush, and you can help pollinate the female.

Also, this can only be done early in morning when all the flowers are open.

The flowers tend to close up around late morning.

(If you don't see pollen on a stamen that means the bugs have taken it all to do their jobs)

So, take your paintbrush and gently collect a little pollen from a male flower's stamen.

It will easily stick to your paintbrush.

There's a bee in mine, but that's okay.

Double help won't hurt.

Plus, ants and other little bugs will carry pollen around also.

As you can see I barely touched the pollen and it came off onto my brush.

Then all you need to do is very gently brush the pollen into the center of the female flower's stigma.

Some people pop the whole stamen out of the male flower and push it into the center of the female flower's stigma and just leave it there, which you can also do.  But I personally like the paintbrush method.

You will know by the next morning if your pumpkin was pollinated as it will slightly plump up.

If it starts to shrivel up and die it did not get pollinated.

Just 4 days after being pollinated this fairy tale pumpkin has grown 4 times its size, the flower has dried and will drop off on its own in a day or two.

It's safe to say, it was pollinated and a pumpkin babe is now growing.

Wasn't that soooo easy???

Our glee with pumpkin holiday makings sent us off to drive around our neck of the woods.

Miles hanging out the window in the wind, Matty sitting inside quietly looking ahead.

(Matty would never think of hanging out of a window, no sirree)

Glorious rain cloud times we had.

I just love this place madly.

The desert is such a beautiful place, especially after the rains.

There is a forest at the top of those mountains.

The cacti are looking healthy all around, and it's time to start harvesting my prickly pears.

If you wondered where I ran off to the last few days?

I was filling some jewelry orders and playing in baubles.

Oh deliciousness.

I love jewels and mud alike.

Is that acceptable?

😉

The temps are back up and sun is in full effect.

Everything is growing as though there is no tomorrow.

 

I have jewels strewn everywhere.

Clay sitting on a bench.

Sparkle sparkle all around.

 

All sorts of things happening at once.

Jewels and creatures and faces galore.

 

The madness that is my life I suppose.

 

Oh my!

Must get back to work.

 

How are theee?!

 

Love, V

 

 

 

 

 

 ps:  For ooooodles of pumpkin pollinating info and more, go here.