[alwayshopeful]

Having unsucessfuly tried to grow pumpkins in the past, this is my final year before I give up completely!  Most of my problems have stemmed from not having female flowers open / develop at the same time as the male so pollination is very difficult (even though I had 8 pumpkins on the go last year).  This year my pumpkin (shop bought I'm afraid as I was not going to bother and bought it on spur of the moment!) has got loads of male flowers and no sign of any female flowers.

My question is can I pick the male flowers off and save the pollen in an envelope to pollinate the female flowers when they finally develop?  Also if i pick off most of the male flowers, will this encourage female flowers to develop?

Don't worry - I am not entering the biggest pumpkin competition so any advice given will not go against those who are!!

[mumofstig]

If you Google 'saving pollen' there appears to be a way to do it, if you want to go to those lengths. and picking off flowers doesn't seem to help make the female ones appear.
All of the squashes/pumpkins/courgettes seem to go through this routine of male flowers first, and they usually sort themselves out 'weather permitting' and this is what's not been helping the last few years