Cucumbers & pumpkins: Minimum distance apart?

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Glenda_Michigan Fowlerville, MI(Zone 5b) May 06, 2009

I am planting open-pollinated seeds this year, and would like to plant cucumbers and pumpkins but do not want them to cross pollinate. How far apart do they have to be to prevent cross pollination??
I appreciate any help you can give!
:) Glenda

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Farmerdill Augusta, GA(Zone 8a) May 06, 2009

Cucumbers and pumpkins don't cross pollinate, so all they need is adequate growing room. Many pumpkins are the same species as summer squash so thats the one you need to worry about. Insect pollinated plants like squash (pumpkin is a squash), cukes, melons need at least a quarter mile between species. Most seed savers bag blossoms.

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Glenda_Michigan Fowlerville, MI(Zone 5b) May 06, 2009

Thanks for your help Farmerdill! :)

Boy, I'm confused now.... When we were first married, I put in a small garden and planted my cucumbers right next to my pumpkins. Both ended up producing deformed mutants with a part of it green and a part of it orange, and neither one looked like a cucumber or pumpkin. Any idea what happened??? I always assumed that they had crossed pollinated.

My main purpose for planting open pollinated seeds is to get more seeds. What does it mean to "bag blossoms" and why do you do that to get more seeds?

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Hastur Houston, TX May 07, 2009

When we lived in Maine, the cukes and pumpkins didn't cross, as Farmer Dill said, although they definitely tried to drown each other out occasionally.

Whatever you do, do NOT put pumpkin and zucchini together! We learned about how annoying that is, the hard way.

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Farmerdill Augusta, GA(Zone 8a) May 08, 2009

Glenda, I hoped one of the dedicated seed savers would answer the question. I rarely save seeds, more trouble that it is worth from my perspective. Bagging is a simple if labor intensive way of getting purity in seeds. In the case of cucurbits, you simply put some type of cloth bag over the female blossom. You will need to catch the blossom opening and hand pollinate by by transfering pollen from a male flower to the female. Once pollinated, keep the bag on it until the blossom withers and dries. Mark the specimen and let it mature on the vine. One or two squash or cucumbers. will give you a bountiful supply of seed

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Wulfsden Riverdale, NJ(Zone 6a) May 09, 2009

What happened with the zucchini and cukes? Inquiring minds want to know!

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