---
title: "Hey there! I’m a first year pumpkin grower & I want to self pollinate…"
description: "Hey there! I’m a first year pumpkin grower & I want to self pollinate my pumpkin. I don’t necessarily know the small differences between the male and female…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/x8_aVt91R1-MU6xd79uMKQ/648996417d007d73a1f8048c"
community: "Edible Gardening"
author: "Sarah"
published: "2023-06-14T10:28:17.058Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v2/cloudinary/global_data/communities/edibleGardening.jpg"
---

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# Hey there! I’m a first year pumpkin grower \& I want to self pollinate…

_Posted by Sarah on 2023-06-14_

Hey there! I’m a first year pumpkin grower \& I want to self pollinate my pumpkin. I don’t necessarily know the small differences between the male and female flowers but from google searching and videos I think my pumpkin is only producing male flowers. Has anyone else had this issue?

## 3 comments

### Stonehawk commented on 2023-06-14

I don’t identify all the flowers I just use one single Q tip. Walk flower to flower spinning it in the pollen.

This makes sure regardless of male/female that every flower has touched the other and should be pollinated well. This has worked for me every year.

My main way to identify if I really need to? Look for claws. The male flower has a flower with claw like hooks on it. The female has more complex organs inside the flower than the male.

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/tHGWGOUHunFv1rggplq4wcGB83GAa2spD22yOOjZIZM/0627becea7e34628a7a68d438da8edd6.webp?size=large)

### Stonehawk commented on 2023-06-14

This is before a fruit has set on the vine. Wait a few days and a bulb should show up on females.

My planting technique is a tad different than most. Last years pumpkins are buried and the next spring hundreds sprout.

I weed out the weak and keep the four strongest. I’ll end up with 30 foot vines from each. 30-40 pumpkins.

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/tHGWGOUHunFv1rggplq4wcGB83GAa2spD22yOOjZIZM/10946ca9ebbe43a3a97fc1fd0968d668.webp?size=large)

### Fern \<3 commented on 2023-06-14

First time pumpkin grower as well.

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/HUM7Gz4nIjIKmTEJm79CdvnN1yI_ZjEc-lHnvvKnjBQ/139e2a4af0ee4290b7d5ca084ba62fbb.webp?size=large)

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