Keeping Dill & Fennel from cross-pollinating

topic posted Sun, August 3, 2008 - 6:13 PM by  Wendy
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I have limited yard space but could put them at least 10-15 feet apart, which is what I've been told is good for squash (5 feet apart was not enough from keeping the cucumber and zucchini from becoming cucumzini).

Does anyone have experience with dill and fennel or have an idea of if keeping them planted a certain distance apart will help in keeping them from cross-pollinating?

Thanks!
posted by:
Wendy
SF Bay Area
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    Re: Keeping Dill & Fennel from cross-pollinating

    Mon, August 4, 2008 - 10:44 PM
    Briefly, both are insect pollinated (as is squash), so you have to keep the bugs from flying between flowers. And then hand pollinate. With squash, the traditional method is to bag or tie shut the female flowers the night before they open, then gather pollen (on you finger or a brush) from the males, and do the deed manually. Then you tie the female back up and hope for the best.
    I have had success with a similar method with sunflowers, and I assume it would work with the carrot family too. I don't think that dill or fennel are dioecious, that ought to make it easier.
    Distance won't make a difference in the average small garden. In the Williamette valley, farmers have never kept carrot seed, because of the prevalence of Queeen Anne's Lace (wild carrot), and always bought carrot seed from the east ide of the mountains.
  • Re: Keeping Dill & Fennel from cross-pollinating

    Tue, August 5, 2008 - 8:24 AM
    I don't know about fenel and dill cross pollination, but cukes and squash won't. They aren't even in the same plant family, not to mention nowhere near the same genus. It would be like crossing a human with an elephant.
    • Re: Keeping Dill & Fennel from cross-pollinating

      Tue, August 5, 2008 - 10:05 AM
      Squash and cucumber are both in the same plant family: Cucurbitaceae. They are, however, in different genera. Cucumbers are in the genus Cucumis (which includes melons,by the way) and Squash are in the genus Cucurbita. It is unlikely (though not impossible) that they would be compatible.

      If you're producing seed in a small garden in an area where others may be growing species you'd rather not cross with, I think hand pollination is a good idea. But producing seed from a very small population (<100) can be problematic.
      • Re: Keeping Dill & Fennel from cross-pollinating

        Tue, August 5, 2008 - 12:35 PM
        oops, you are absolutely right about the cucumbers being in the same family as squash. My bad. I know that, and am not at all sure what i was thinking when i wrote my erroneous claim. But still, they are not closely enough related to cross easily. I had never heard of them crossing until now.
  • Re: Keeping Dill & Fennel from cross-pollinating

    Wed, August 6, 2008 - 6:58 PM
    I don't think that dill and fennel are even the same species, which means that they won't cross pollinate anyway. Cukes and Zuchs won't cross but zuchs will cross with certain other squashes and not others. There are three commonly grown species of squash. For instance you can grow zuchs, butternuts and butterbush at the same time and none of them will cross with each other because they are all members of different squash species. That's what I do except I grow crooknecks instead of zuchs because they taste better. You should confirm what you hear from second or third sources. There are online resources for seed saving, or I like the book "Seed to Seed". It's worth having as a reference.
    • Re: Keeping Dill & Fennel from cross-pollinating

      Wed, August 6, 2008 - 9:38 PM
      "Sow insitu from spring until midsummer. Do not plant near fennel, as they cross pollinate and flavours muddle. It also self seeds. The seeds are viable for 3-10 years. "

      www.copperwiki.org/index.php/Dill


      Theoretically, different species are sexually incompatible, but those boundaries tend to blur in many plant species. Although dill and fennel are in different genera they are in same family: Umbelliferae. What can I say? Plants are promiscuous. ;-)
  • Re: Keeping Dill & Fennel from cross-pollinating

    Tue, August 12, 2008 - 1:37 AM
    Thanks for the information! I most definitely did not get just cucumber and zucchinis, they were a weird combination thereof. It was Lemon Cucumbers if that makes any difference and some of them were quite different from the rest. Just saying what I ate.
    • J.
      J.
      online 77

      Re: Keeping Dill & Fennel from cross-pollinating

      Fri, December 12, 2008 - 7:16 AM
      You must've had some regular cucumber seed mixed in,or seed which exhibit traits of whatever is used to hybrid lemon cucumbers,
      even if the flowers cross pollinate it wont affect this years fruit,but only fruit grown from the seed of that fruit, as someone who hybridizes many things trust me ,those are the rules.
  • Unsu...
     

    Re: Keeping Dill & Fennel from cross-pollinating

    Thu, January 1, 2009 - 8:58 AM
    there is a specific amount of distance that is generally considered far enough. The folks at Johnny's seeds will probably be able to tell you. I think it is further than 10 or 25 feet, so maybe a better option for you would be to grow one this year and the other next year, or if it were me I would grow the fennel and buy dill at the farmer's market (do you have those where you are?) OR another option is to put the dill in a place that isn't technically a garden, as it is attractive as a landscape plant in a perrennial garden and can be sort of guerrilla gardened in that way.

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