Cross Pollination
 

My hydroponic system is inside. My question for you experts out there concerns cross pollination. Do tomatoes, cucumber and green chile need to be cross pollinated? Are there certain plants that don't need to be cross pollinated? If so, what types are they? If not, how do you deal with cross pollinating? I'm determined to learn all I can about this process and would like some advice from the experts. Thank you!

There are lots of plants out there that dont require cross pollination. Most varietys of tomatoes produce both male and female flowers and take care of it themselves. As well as some varietys of cucumbers. I'm not sure about the green chili but I'm sure a quick google search would turn up answers. Just search for 'how do you pollinate green chili'. It is strain dependent and theres way to many strains for me to have any interest in compiling a list. But the information is out there. Google is your friend. Peace

All chili species and varieties are self-fertile and have pollen and stigma in one blossom (autogamy). No female and male flowers here, same for tomatoes. Actually most night shades are self-fertile (tomatillos are an exception, there is need of at least two plants of a kind). Cucumber, gourds and pumpkin have female and male flowers.

Indoors you have a lack of insect activity and wind (no so called biotic pollination) you need to give a little help by gently shaking chili plants or bushes, when flowers are open and have pollen. And for cucumber and relatives it is best to manually pollinate a female flower with a male-one. Of course you need to wait maturity and available female blossoms as well as male pollen in male flowers.

Pollination

PS: hybridization is another topic and problem (cucumbers, tomatoes and chilies) as it is frequent. If you have different cultivars and varieties growing close you need to protect blossoms if you want to avoid hybridization between varieties.

I don't have any more information on which plants need to be cross pollinated than the above answers. Although I have seen and read that when growing plants indoors it is common to use a small paint brush (like the ones you would use to paint a portrait with) to pollinate plants that need to be pollinated and you have the lack of bees and insects to do it when growing indoors. They even use that technique growing outside in some cases.

A small and soft paintbrush might indeed be useful, especially if hand-pollinating male pollen to female flowers. But here you need to take care to use one brush per variety (in case you have more), otherwise you risk to hybridize on purpose! For chili and tomatoes, actually a little vibration is good enough.