Because I have other pumpkin plants blooming 150 feet away and did not want the bees to pollinate it with those other males. I pollinated it my self with its own male flowers.
YOu tie the female shut the night before it opens, then open it the next morning--pollinate it with your choice of male flowers----from other plant or same plant---then close it up and tie it shut so no other pollen gets in there from bees. This way you can keep up with the new pumpkins Genetics. Some Genetics grow bigger better pumpkins. YOu have to study other pumpkin genetic line to see how well they grow so you know what you want to grow.
Some pumpkins tend to grow kinda flat and long, some round and fat, some orange, some salmon. Some have thin vines some have thick vines. The pumpkin patch really becomes a science lab of cross breeding.
Inside the female are segments. Each segment has an ovary. Each segment could be pollinated by differant males---just like dogs or cats end up with differant fathers in the same litter of babies.
This plant was from a good cross with good genetics that grew huge pumpkins. If I happen to grow a huge giant pumpkin, the seeds will be wanted by other growers. And they require knowing its genetic crossing. This plant grows huge leaves, huge vines, very vigorous, round tall pumpkins and light orange color.
