A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 eggplant not getting polinated

my eggplant has a bunch of flowers on it, but i have seen no fruit at all for the last month, just flowers. i have heard people write about pollinating plants by hand, and was wondering if this is posisble for eggplants.

if so - how so you know which is the male part and which is the female? i can't figure that out on my zukes either.

thanks!

well, i think, personally, its pretty hard to pollinate eggplants by hand. in fact, i haven't had much luck with eggplants either. Make sure there is nothing delaying the growth of the plant or the fruit--such as having the roots or the plant in a bad place. Maybe the plant used all its energy up, try fertilizing it, if u already do, try fertilizing it more and give it a little more/less water. maybe its just a flop plant, but i'm not sure--ill post again if i get any other ideas on why this could be happening! good luck!!

hey there! The FEMALE flowers will have a small sac behind it. . . which in turn will become the fruit. on zuchini/squash it should be plainly obviouse cuz they get rather big (a few inches anwyays) before the flower opens . least mine did. just look for the fruit behind the flower. the males only have the stem. its really obvious wich is which once you know what to look for. good luck!

btw hand pollinate!!! I do that even if i do see bees in ma garden. that way i ensure it pollinates correctly. . i've already thrown away a few cukes that were 1-2" and brown/dead