Any pumpkin growers?

Penname

My pumpkin plants have flourished but the little female buds all died off so I read up and it said to artifically introduce the pollen from the male flowers to the female..... did that and now I have only one pumpkin starting to grow....

My question is: its very late in the season to be only starting to get a pumpkin now and with this cold weather that's forcast for October, how can I protect this little fella?

Corsendonk

Penname wrote: »

My pumpkin plants have flourished but the little female buds all died off so I read up and it said to artifically introduce the pollen from the male flowers to the female..... did that and now I have only one pumpkin starting to grow....

My question is: its very late in the season to be only starting to get a pumpkin now and with this cold weather that's forcast for October, how can I protect this little fella?

Straw around the plant, I normally grow my pumpkins up in the air supported by string, I get less rots that way with good air flow around the fruit.

Penname

Thanks Corsedonk. Have loads of hay (have guinea pigs) so will do that. I counted three that are starting to swell up so hopefully they will grow into proper fruit.

Can you tell me more about supporting them in the air?

Corsendonk

Penname wrote: »

Thanks Corsedonk. Have loads of hay (have guinea pigs) so will do that. I counted three that are starting to swell up so hopefully they will grow into proper fruit.

Can you tell me more about supporting them in the air?

I grow mine indoors, I have crop wires 8 feet up in the air that I tie support strings to. It gives me a nice even colour without the scarring on the one side from sitting on the ground.

Penname

Oh right, I'm limited in that mine are outdoors in a slightly raised bed. Maybe when they're a bit bigger, I can get my other half to do something with them, re. suspension .... right now, they're very fragile, only about 2 inches from stalk to end.

Thanks again for the advice.

paddy147

My other half has grown some "atlantic giant pumpkins" last year and this year.

1 pumpkin plant alone spread over 18 feet accross the allotment.

She covered in the bases with straw and also manure,then placed a layer of hessian fabric around them.

It worked a treat,they are huge.:D


P.S-Pumpkins need to be fed and watered alot once they take and the male and female polinate,as they thrive on this.

Penname

Thanks Paddy. 18 ft, that's fantastic. They really are amazing plants. Will try and take a pic of my two, they have burst out of the bed and are growing along the lawn.

The year before last I had just the one plant with one golf ball sized lad that I was keeping my eye on. One day, I decided to look in under the plant and found a football sized one that had been hiding under the foliage. To say I got a great surprise is an understatement.