Wind Pollination - an indoor challenge

Wind pollination is one of the techniques for pollinating things like corn, grasses and tomatoes. The wind either carries the pollen or it moves the plant flowers to promote self-pollination in the flowers of the plant.

In the case of corn, the tassels on top of the stalk provide pollen for the silk at the ends of the ears of corn. If corn isn't exposed to wind, the ears of corn aren't pollinated, and seed development is inhibited.

Less than 10% of plants are pollinated by the wind.

Many tomato varieties are self-pollinated, and some are self-pollinated within their own blossoms, so they need movement to fertilize themselves. Without movement of the blossoms, fruit set will be limited. Wind and animals helps provide movement to the tomato plant, thus supporting pollination.

Inside a greenhouse, there won't be much air movement to speak of, so a little help is necessary to make pollination take place.

One approach is to circulate air with a oscillating fan. This will help distribute pollen throughout the greenhouse to support fertilization. If you're growing corn indoors, an oscillating fan will be very helpful.

Another approach is to shake plants like tomatoes so they release pollen inside their blossoms and complete their own fertilization. This is a very effective technique for tomatoes that are largely self-fertile.

Since pollination by wind is limited to perhaps 10% of all plants out there, it shouldn't be a vegetable gardening issue to contend with, unless you're growing a lot of corn indoors, and that's unlikely.

Done with Wind Pollination, take me back to Pollination