Gardening and DIY: Pinching out PLUS paintbrush pollination

Photo / Paul Thompson

Growing tips on beans, cucumbers, melons and more.

Pinching out the growing tip of climbing beans, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squashes and zucchini plants when they get to about a metre in length encourages plants to produce side shoots. These side shoots carry more of the flowers that produce fruit. Use your thumb and forefinger and simply pinch off the tip - about an inch should do the trick. You should only need to do this once per plant.

Lateral shoots on tomatoes.

The opposite rule applies to productivity in tomatoes. Here we want to get rid of side shoots so that plants grow as tall single stems - or cordons. This focuses the plant's energy on producing flowers and ripening fruit rather than wasting it on creating foliage. If plants are allowed to grow side shoots and develop bushy foliage they produce smaller fruit, plus they are more susceptible to fungal diseases that thrive on plants with poor airflow around their foliage.

Around now, tomato plants start to produce small upward-facing shoots in the crook of leaf stems. These side shoots are called 'laterals' and are pinched out as and when they appear. It's best to do this on a dry day so that wounds heal quickly thereby reducing the change of a tomato fungal infection.

Simply push the shoots over with your thumb - they should come away easily (incidentally you can plant these shoots and grow more plants). As they start to grow upwards, tie plants to bamboo canes and keep removing laterals - these sneaky bits sometimes reappear where they have been previously pruned off. When you have about 5 trusses of flowers growing off the main stem pinch out the tip of the plant to stop further growth and encourage plants to ripen fruit.

Hand pollination for a better harvest

Plants like aubergine (egg plant), cucumbers and melons can benefit from hand pollination to help them produce a good crop.

In some years cucumber and melon harvest can start earlier than others. These kinds of delays stem from colder springs which means bees aren't quite up and at 'em yet. If flowers appear to not develop into fruits on your plants before withering, use a soft paintbrush and hand pollinate on a warm, sunny day by dabbing gently from the centre of one open flower and onto another.

Male flowers have a slim base and stalk and female flowers have a small swelling at their base. To pollinate, gently brush from a male to a female.

Bees are not overly drawn to aubergine flowers so, when flowers appear, hand-pollinate them using a soft paintbrush and gently brushing across the centre of each flower. Each flower has male and female parts so all you are doing is helping make that all important momentary connection which will bring forth delicious offspring.

Gardeners on the go

- Remember to thin your seedlings when they are still small, it's easier and faster

- Stop feeding garlic as foliage begins to yellow at the tips

- Stake young capsicum seedlings - plants can become heavy with fruit. Bamboo canes work well

For full-scale, seasonal edible gardening advice and inspiration see www.podgardening.co.nz or check out Pod Gardening on facebook.