Organic pulination

Good week!
First of all, changes for the next week (not this week) and the week after that (the week of Shavuot).

Jerusalem Day week, starting on 25.5:

Jerusalem Wednesday route will be done on Tuesday 27.5

Orders until Monday at 12:00

Tel Aviv route, will arrive to you on Wednesday 28.5

Orders until Tuesday at 12:00

Week of Pentecost starting on 1.6 we will need to prepare early for the Chag!

On Sunday 1.6, we will deliever to Wendsday Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Valley of Elah to Tzur Hadassah, Ma'ale Adumim to Alon and Sheila.
Deadline for orders Thursday 29.5 at 12:00

On Monday, the 2.6 we will deliver to the Moshavim around Beit Shemesh and Beit Shemesh.

Deadline for orders Sunday the 1.6 in 12:00

Rehovot people will recieve on Thursday 5.6, in addition to usual Thursday deliveries, but we need your orders before the holiday, until Monday 2.6 at 12:00

Organic delicious flowers

Summer squash, winter squash - a playful family. Flowers and organic fertilization. Inspired by my sister Ayelet :)

The Cucurbitaceae family is a summer family who stars in the garden this season. They all have yellow or orange flowers of different sizes.

Pictures of Melon, Cuccumber and Zuchinni flowers - a beautiful delicacy

I grow melons, watermelons, zucchini, and a variety of different pumpkins: chestnut, Japanese, Kabotche, Dlika, Cinderella , Butternut and Provence. There are of course many more, I listed only those that we already have and can be enjoyed.

There are many more species with a variety of names that change according to what is produced by each grower. And why?
So let's start from the beginning. First, this is a family of fruits, not vegetables. A fruit is actually a developed ovary that contains seeds.
Second, this is a monoecious family. It means that the same plant has male flowers and also female flowers. One plant can create the next generation without needing the aid of another plant.
Third, this is a monosex family. Monosex means that every single flower is either male or female.
The male flower has a stamen.

The female flower has a style and ovaries

In order to create a fruit, the female flower needs to be fertilized by the pollen of the male flower. Bees do this work diligently and conscientiously, at least in our garden. However, the death of bees around the world - a phenomena that is gradually increasing, is a real danger to all of us... but about this another time.

The female flower begins to develop the fruit even before the full fertilization occurs. It is a seasonal family that creates the next generation and ends its life within several short months, so time is crucial. A good mother saves time and tries to avoid disasters.

The pollen needs to reach the stigma (the opening) on the style, and then the ovary of the flower continues to develop into a fruit.

However, it is not that simple!

The pumpkin aphid likes to suck the zucchini flowers, if they are organic. This scars the flower and causes a change in its cells. When the fruit develops, the sucking point rots and then we see a brown spot on the fruit. This is okay. We like to say that "what is good for them, is good for us", proof that it is organic.  You can just cut it out, it is small and local only.

There have been times in the garden that most flowers were of one sex. This occurs when the plant is under distress. It will grow the female flowers only when conditions are right to bear fruit - when the plant is strong and the environmental conditions are good for it - dryness, wetness, heat, sunshine.... and probably many more variables that the plants know better than we know. :)

Also, the female flower is open and ready for pollination for only a few hours early in the morning and that's it. There were seasons in which there were plenty of female flowers and few male flowers so I pollinated manually. We do it with a paint brush or a feather - simply to physically touch the powder and transfer it to the female flower. My father worked once on a kibbutz pollinating date palms with a parmesan cheese shaker.

There are also opposite situations when there are many male flowers and few female flowers. In this situation, except for zucchini flowers, there is not much future - very few fruits.

The playful bees are free to come and feed as they wish and at the same time they do the work of pollination. A fruitful cooperation - literally!

But what happens when a bee travels from the flower of the zucchini squash to the flower of a chestnut squash? They're both pumpkins, so fertilization is possible. What is produced? Maybe a Chestnut zucchini? Or a zucchini'ed chestnut pumpkin? This creates a new sub-species, and a variety of new names. Most importantly we get magical fruit! You know the movie, the stories and songs about magical pumpkins? The woman who lived inside a watermelon, the magic pumpkin, Cinderella, and more. It is easy to understand the magic.

This year the garden is full of females and there are also enough males. There is a rich supply of zucchini flowers still with the young zucchini attached. This is a treat that cannot or should not be gotten except directly from a grower. It is very significant and important that the flower be very very fresh.

Recipes for zucchini flowers, a Mediterranean dish considered a delicacy - simpler than you'd think!

Have a beautiful blooming week, fruitful and delicious.

Yours,
Maggie and the garden team

And we can expect along with zucchinis, in our baskets: (draft only)
Artichokes
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Carrots
Parsley
Eggplant
Turnip
Beet
And zucchini course :)

Larger ones also:
Cherry tomatoes
Peppers
Potatoes

Fruit baskets:
Apricots, peaches and red grapefruit