I don't think so Chrissy. Most of those look like they are yet to open. Some look like they have though. What I usually do is clip off the entire male flower and peel back the petals exposing the stamen. Then I just swab it on the female flower's stigma. You can do multiple female flowers with one male flower. Sounds kinky, but it works...

You can really pick your beans at any stage, but if you let them get too big they won't be as tender. Also, if you harvest them every day or so, they will continue to produce. What variety are they? They look great!

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John - Zone 6

went out today to do just what you said, and guess what, there were bees in my flowers. Not sure why they where stuck in the closed flowers, but it was a surprise!! HOPEFULLY they'll have done the job that they were there for...lol.
Thanks John!

*Goes bean picking*

Ciao Chrissy,

What Carol Deppe, the bigtime plant breeder advocates if you want to do your own squash pollination for seed-saving practices or if you want to purposely cross your squash into something different, is to masking tape them closed the night before they're about to open (you'll need to do a bit of plant micro-management to figure this out) and then in the morning, first thing, untape them and do as John says, take the petals off the male flower and use it as a pollen applicator. It should have yellow fluffy-looking pollen clinging to the anther. Brush the pollen from the male anther onto the female stigma. Then tape the female flower closed again. She says bees will sometimes bite into taped flowers so check for holes in the taped flowers and don't use the fruit for seed-saving if you see holes. Be sure to tag the female flower for future reference so you'll know which fruit to save for seed.

I got Carol Deppe's book "Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties" for my birthday. John, you should get this book if you don't already have it.

Cheers,
Julianna

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