# The 2009 Pumpkin Growers Thread



## Ms. Wicked

So, who's going to grow their own pumpkins this year?

I planted seeds on Sunday for two varieties: Jack O'Lantern (medium sized fruit) and Big Moon (ginormous size fruits that can reach 150 lbs or more!).

Last year I grew the Jack O'Lantern variety and was very pleased with my results; I had either seven or nine pumpkins (I can't remember now exactly how many).

Hopefully I'll have success again this year.

Who else is in?


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## Draik41895

im planing on planting some soon.i hope mine turn out well


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## Eldritch_Horror

I was toying with the notion of giving this a try, but I have no idea how to go about doing it. I'll have to do some research.


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## RoxyBlue

Spooky1 just put four seeds in starter pots. This will be the third year he's grown pumpkins (Big Max) from seed.

Eldritch, we haven't found that pumpkins need much in the way of special treatment. We always start them in small pots, then plant the strongest seedlings outside. The vines do take up a lot of space once they get going. We did have trouble with animals chewing on them last year for the first time (either rabbit or groundhog, or both), but we still ended up with one 60 pounder or so, and a small one for decoration.


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## Bethene

i will give it a try again this year, every year it gets better, and i get a few more. it's too early to start them , have to wait a few weeks, but am raring to go.


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## charlie

Awesome thread topic! I plan on planting pumpkins this year!


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## Monk

I originally planned on growing a pumpkin patch using the Stolloween method (paper mache), but maybe I will give it a go and plant some seeds as well.


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## Spooky1

Monk said:


> I originally planned on growing a pumpkin patch using the Stolloween method (paper mache), but maybe I will give it a go and plant some seeds as well.


I've never had any luck with paper mache seeds.


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## RoxyBlue

Here are the two we grew from seed. Note the chew marks on the big boy. The small one we pulled while it was still unripe only because it was getting chewed as well.

marker for picture replacement Halloween2008/DSC00752.jpg


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## Ms. Wicked

Very nice Roxy. I think the chew marks give the big guy character!

Exciting development: my pumpkin seeds have germinated!!!! woo hoo!


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## Sickie Ickie

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Who wants germy seeds?


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## spidermonkey

will have another go again this year. last year i had about seven on the smaller side.

This year have planted jack o lanterns, big max, and caspers.


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## HauntCast

Funny, I was just talking to my daughter about planting a patch. The soil around here is very sandy, so I'll probably have to pick up soil etc... Any good sites for a person who has no clue how to do this?


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## Ms. Wicked

djchrisb said:


> Funny, I was just talking to my daughter about planting a patch. The soil around here is very sandy, so I'll probably have to pick up soil etc... Any good sites for a person who has no clue how to do this?


Here is a link to a site called The Pumpkin Nook that might help you! http://www.pumpkinnook.com/growing.htm

...On Sunday, I potted on my pumpkins into bigger pots. I have 15 plants in total: 8 Big Moon and 7 JOL.


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## RoxyBlue

We have four plants up and growing rapidly - Spooky1 has been taking pictures and hopefully will post a few for you guys to see.

I'm impressed by how fast these things put on biomass.


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## frstvamp1r

Last year was my second year planting pumpkins. First year I had nothing. The vines grew like crazy but no flowers. Last year got vines and flowers and had to pollinate them myself (boy did i get funny looks from the neighbors), and had two pumpkins my little girl picked. This year I hope to get a few more going. Remember, always read up on how to help them pollinate if you have no clue on what you are doing.


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## Sickie Ickie

http://www.howarddill.com/ check this out!


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## Spooky1

My pumpkins so far.

Click on image for slideshow.

http://w460.photobucket.com/albums/qq325/SpookyTJ/Pumpkins%202009/?action=view&current=5ad5ea35.pbw


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## InfernoFudd

I live in Texas and I can't keep them watered enough to do any good. Daily waterings in the 100 degree heat gets a bit expensive, so I'm leaving it up to the professionals this year.


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## Ms. Wicked

The vegetable patch is more than half way dug over... I'll be able to plant my pumpkin plants next weekend. 

Woo Hoo!


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## Spooky1

I need to get my plants in the ground. They're out growing my pots. I just need it to stop raining for a day.


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## Ms. Wicked

I planted my pumpkins in the veggie patch today.

Here is the veggie patch; only the pumpkins are in thus far:










These are the pumpkin plants, variety _Big Moon_:










These are the pumpkin plants, variety _Jack O'Lantern_:










This is the first year I'm growing _Big Moon_. They are supposed to have the potential to be very large, exceeding 200 lbs. Last year, I grew _Jack O' Lantern_ with great success. They are medium sized fruits that are great for both cooking and carving. Fingers crossed for this year!

Info on _Big Moon_: http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pd_c7bf.html

Info on _Jack O' Lantern_: http://www.seedfest.co.uk/seeds/pumpkins/pumpkins.html#jackolantern


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## RoxyBlue

Spooky1 gave one of his plants to a co-worker and put two in the ground this weekend. The third is still in a pot (he calls it the emergency back-up plant in the event one of the planted ones gets nuked by the dog running over it or a rabbit/groundhog eating it). He'll post some updated pictures soon.

These things grow faster than triffids!


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## Bethene

still too cold here for planting, had a freeze advisory for the last 2 nights now, plus am going camping for a few days next week, don't like to leave while things are new, so will plant when I get back. You guys make me very anxious to get planting!


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## Joiseygal

I have the seeds for two different pumpkins: Hercules and Triple Treat. I didn't start growing the seeds inside, but I could plant them this weekend outside. If I grow them now will I have pumpkins in time for Halloween? I would love to pick up the big moon pumpkin seeds since Mrs. Wicked mentioned that they grow up to 200 lbs. I guess they would remain in the pumpkin patch if they grew that big. Anyway this is a great thread to keep up the progress of everyone's results with the pumpkins they planted.


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## Ms. Wicked

Sharon, check the seed packet for the time to harvest. Most varieties take between 85-125 days to mature. The seed packet should have this information printed on the back.


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## Dragonomine

Last year we got some really big pumpkins at Sam's Club and we kept the seeds. Now we just need to figure out where to plant them because there's not enough room in the garden!


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## Spooky1

I've planted in late May (maybe early June) before and had pumpkins for Halloween, so it's not too late yet Joiseygal.


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## Monk

I picked up some seeds yesterday and will plant them tonight or tomorrow.


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## Sunkenbier

I planted a week ago and the seeds are all coming up. I planted in pots using potting soil


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## Dragonomine

We just put the seeds in the ground today!


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## Ms. Wicked

All of my pumpkins that I just planted got wiped out by the strong T-storms that we had over last week. I've just replanted some new seeds. 

I _WILL _have pumpkins!!!!!!


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## Parabola

My tactic to deal with spring weather is to use pieces of very thin PVC, poking each end into the ground forming an arch. Add extra arches every 5 feet and cover with plastic. I then weigh down the plastic with rocks and voila=miniature greenhouse! You can take of the plastic when the weather is better, and can always put it back up in a hurry if needed.


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## Merlin (The Quiet One)

OMG is it that time already?!


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## Spooky1

Here are my pumpkins after being in the ground for a week. I always start them out in pots till they're big enough to survive the slugs out back.

051709-1 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

051709-2 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## Joiseygal

Kellie I'm sorry to hear about your pumpkins getting washed away, but it is still early so you get another chance. Nice job so far on your pumpkins spooky1. I didn't get a chance to plant my pumpkins yet because we had a crappy weekend in Jersey. Anyway I'm shooting for this week. Only problem is the place I'm planning on planting them doesn't get constant sunlight, so will that still work?


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## Adam I

Well here's some of mine.


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## Demon Dog

Ms. Wicked said:


> All of my pumpkins that I just planted got wiped out by the strong T-storms that we had over last week. I've just replanted some new seeds.
> 
> I _WILL _have pumpkins!!!!!!


I like the determination, Ms. Wicked!! Good luck with the new seedlings.

And for those that thin their pumpkin blossoms to reduce the crop and make the remaining pumpkins larger, pumpkin blossoms dipped in egg batter and pan fried are truly wonderful. If you like morel mushrooms, you'll like pumpkin blossoms.


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## Ms. Wicked

Everybody's plants are looking good!!!

Planting pumpkins always gets me excited for Halloween!


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## RoxyBlue

Joiseygal said:


> Only problem is the place I'm planning on planting them doesn't get constant sunlight, so will that still work?


We put our pumpkin plants in a back bed near our shed that gets a fair amount of shade during the day, and that doesn't seem to bother them. Last year the two vines had branches going into the ferns and around behind the shed as well. I'd say give it a try.


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## MotelSixx

planting pumpkins today, as well as trying my hand at a decent quantity of corn for stalks.


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## MotelSixx

RoxyBlue said:


> We put our pumpkin plants in a back bed near our shed that gets a fair amount of shade during the day, and that doesn't seem to bother them. Last year the two vines had branches going into the ferns and around behind the shed as well. I'd say give it a try.


Every year my nextdoor neighboor tries to grow record breaking pumpkins. His garden in predominantly shaded by his house, and he puts some 50 gal pastic barrels (cut in half) around them to keep animals out, and he fairs pretty well. I'm not 100% sure on what it takes to grow a pumpkin, but his seem to grow in the shade for some unknown reason. Hell, for all i know he could be doping em up with Enzyte or something. So I agree with Roxy, it seems like shade doesnt bother them too much.:jol:


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## Troy

I cureently have 7 healthy seedlings that are starting to Vine, this is my first year growing pumpkins (Jack-o-Lanterns), I can't believe how fast they grow.


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## Dragonomine

my babies are starting to come up


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## zombiehorror

I'm giving my own pumpkins a go this year, here's the plants so far;

This plant is from seeds I saved out of a pumpkin last year.









And these 2 plants are "BIG MAX" Burpee brand seeds.









I didn't bother growing them indoor just planted the seeds (a little over a month ago) and hoped I was lucky. Let's hope my luck continues!


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## Ms. Wicked

Your plants are doing really well zh. 

It's great to see how many people are growing their own!


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## halloweengoddessrn

We are have a pumpkin growing contest for all the facilities in my corporation! Im a team leader (since Im the Halloween queen!) So we shall see what the outcome is..hope its a big one!


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## hallloweenjerzeboy

When is the latest I can plant my seeds? Never grew before but I am goin to this year. Any tips on how to grow best and when I should plant?


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## RoxyBlue

HJ, you'll need to look at the seed packet for the variety you're interested in growing and check how long it takes to grow a pumpkin ready for picking. It takes anywhere from about 120 to 150 days from germination to get ripe pumpkins from a seed, so you would need to plant now if you want to make the Halloween deadline. Stick with a smaller variety for this year, since the big boys need more time and you'd be cutting it close with the time you have between now and Halloween.

We start ours in small pots, then transfer the seedlings to the garden once they have their second or third set of leaves.


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## hallloweenjerzeboy

Sorry posted that twice by accident from my phone, still left on from yesterday. How small r we talking?


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## RoxyBlue

hallloweenjerzeboi said:


> Sorry posted that twice by accident from my phone, still left on from yesterday. How small r we talking?


If you mean the starter pots, this year we used those little paper-based Jiffy pots. They're about 2 inches tall and 2 inches wide - one seed per pot. We've also used whatever flower pots of any size we had handy.


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## Ms. Wicked

Seven out of eight of my replacement pumpkins have germinated. One of my originals has actually survived, so I'm back to eight plants!

They are still in the pots; I'll probably plant them early next week. Fingers crossed that nasty storms don't take them out this time!


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## Dragonomine

I need to take pictures of my babies.


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## Spooky1

I'm surprised ours haven't been washed away with all the rain we've had, but they're still alive and growing.


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## Joiseygal

Yeah...finished building my flower box for my pumpkins and vegetables. I think I might have a little room in my garden, so I threw in some tomatoes and a couple of watermelons. I am so clueless when it comes to growing vegetables and pumpkins. I really hope I get atleast four pumpkins I can carve for Halloween. I'm getting excited now! This should be fun! I didn't plant them actually I'm doing that today, but should I plant a few seeds in each hole? Also how far apart from each area should I plant more seeds?


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## RoxyBlue

Joiseygal said:


> Yeah...finished building my flower box for my pumpkins and vegetables. I think I might have a little room in my garden, so I threw in some tomatoes and a couple of watermelons. I am so clueless when it comes to growing vegetables and pumpkins. I really hope I get atleast four pumpkins I can carve for Halloween. I'm getting excited now! This should be fun! I didn't plant them actually I'm doing that today, but should I plant a few seeds in each hole? Also how far apart from each area should I plant more seeds?


We plant one seed per hole/starter pot. You're going to need room for the vines once those babies start to grow. The big varieties Spooky1 favors have vines that run 30 feet or more, so we usually start with 4-6 seeds and plant no more than 2-3 seedlings.


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## Ms. Wicked

...What Roxy said! 

I'm growing eight vines this year; last year I grew seven... I have a large vegetable patch and run the vines along the back side of it.

Here are a couple of links with informative reading about growing pumpkins; I strongly suggest that you read them. They are obviously written by pumpkin growing enthusiasts; Pumpkin growing is addictive!

http://www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/pumpkin.htm

http://www.pumpkinnook.com/growing.htm


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## Joiseygal

Thanks Ms. Wicked for the links. I planted them today, so hopefully they will grow. I will post pictures as they get bigger. I dug eight holes with four seeds in each hole. I also planted watermelon, cucumbers and tomatoes. I hope something grows. I'm pretty good at growing flowers, but not to sure how I will do with vegetables.


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## Troy

My 7 plants are getting very big and all seem very healthy, will see flowers before long.


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## MotelSixx

planted 12, five germinated, of those five I got two left due to whatever animal it was that devoured them. But, my cornstalks are growing!!!!!!


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## Joiseygal

Ok just wanted to post a picture of what I planted. I hope I have enough room for the pumpkins. I haven't finished the garden because I'm going to put up some lattice behind the pumpkins so I can hang the vines on it. The two different pumpkins I planted were Triple Treat and Hercules. I have a feeling I don't have enough room for everything, but I guess this will be my trial and error year for planting in the garden.
The pumpkins are planted on the far left side to the back corner and up towards the right mid front.


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## Adam I

Joiseygal said:


> . I also planted watermelon, cucumbers and tomatoes. I hope something grows. I'm pretty good at growing flowers, but not to sure how I will do with vegetables.


For your tomatoes sprinkle about a tablespoon of epson's salt around the base and water it in also take an crushed egg shell and place it at the base to help prevent blossom end rot. We mulch the tomatoes with grass clippings to keep the weeds away and hold moisture.

The cucumbers vines can climb up a trellis to save on space.

Have fun and watchout for bugs.


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## Troy

Ok here is a pic of 7 healthy jack o lantern plants I can already see several healthy female flowers getting ready to open.


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## Ms. Wicked

I got my replacement plants in yesterday. There are a total of nine plants now!

Hopefully, there won't be any violent storms again while they're still little.


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## Joiseygal

Ok it has been raining almost every day since I planted my pumpkins. I checked to see if anything has come up, but I don't see anything? It has been a week since I planted the seeds is it to early to see anything growing? I worried that the rain might of caused the same problem Ms. Wicked had?


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## RoxyBlue

Joisey, expect anywhere from 4 to 10 days (4-7 is typical) for the seeds to germinate. If nothing comes up after 10 days, you might want to start a second batch.

I've been looking at various pumpkin seed germination how-tos on the internet, and I'm amazed at the trouble some people go to (like filing the edges of the seed coat). We've always just stuck them in potting soil, kept them moist but not wet, and they've done fine.


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## Monk

I got two plants going right now, which is better than I expected really. I just bought another bag of seeds to try another batch.


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## Ms. Wicked

Sharon, the problem I had was that my young _*plants *_were annhilated by a severe thunderstorm with hail and very heavy rain. It wasn't a problem with germination (seeds sprouting).

I started my seeds in pots, the same as Roxy and Spooky1. After the plants germinated and started to grow, I then planted them in the garden. I've never had problems starting pumpkins from seeds this way.

You might want to consider starting the seeds differently in the event the ones you planted don't come up. From which site/source did you follow instructions?


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## Spooky1

I need to download the latest pics from my camera. We're getting blooms on our plants already.


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## Joiseygal

LOL..it is raining again here in Jersey! Anyway I checked when I got home and actually I see four leaves coming up from the area I planted the pumpkins. I think I might have pumpkins coming up. Yeah!!! Four out of eight I guess isn't too bad.


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## Troy

Joiseygal said:


> LOL..it is raining again here in Jersey! Anyway I checked when I got home and actually I see four leaves coming up from the area I planted the pumpkins. I think I might have pumpkins coming up. Yeah!!! Four out of eight I guess isn't too bad.


I'm in South Jersey (Pennsville) and I was able to get 7 of 8 to come up, Today I got my first Flowers, now awaiting to see that first pumpkin. I have been giving my plants miracle grow (about 1 1/2 oz. per gallon) and they are loving it, now that Flowers are appearing I'll back off..I was fertilizing them twice a week.


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## gmacted

I've been growing pumpkins for several years now (I live in Cental Massachusetts). I usually plant Jack-o'-Lantern sized pumpkins and sugar pumpkins (for pies of course). I've found if you plant too early, you'll get orange pumkins about mid August and if you don't pick them, they'll rot in the summer sun. When they're fully ripe (totally orange or slightly green (and I mean slightly green)) cut them from the vine and store them in a cool dry place. I usually store them in the basement. They will usually store for several weeks. One year I gave a pumpkin to a librarian at the local library and it didn't start to rot until February! It was displayed/stored in a cool area in the library (downstairs).

I've found it best to plant seeds a little later (mid to late June). Don't worry they'll catch up and you'll start getting pumpkins about mid to late September. I have six mounds about 6 - 10 feet apart with one plant per mound. They need their space! 

Last year I harvested about three dozen pumkins and the "Great Pumpkin" (actually my two children) delivered a pumpkin to each child in my neighborhood.

I had several pumpkins left over (that I didn't carve) and after Halloween I buried one in each of the six mounds. Five of the six mounds now have several pumpkins plants growing from them. I then decide which is the strongest plant and cut the rest to leave just one per mound. I have done this in the past (when I had pumpkins left over) and have had great success with it. I find that the decaying pumpkin is a great source of food for the growing plants.

I usually also start seeds in trays just in case something goes wrong with my other method. I will usually give those plants out to whomever wants one. the kids love to watch them grow!


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## Joiseygal

I found two more leafs today so that is 6 out of eight. I just hope I have enough room after reading gmacted's last post. They seem very close together...yikes! I will take pics in the next few days.


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## Monk

Thanks for the info gmacted.
Right now I have two plants in mounds about 4 feet apart. I have lots of lawn and yard space to work with; however, I have two chocolate labs that like to eat everything they can find (wood, plants, birds, etc.) so where I can plant in the yard becomes limited. As for the lawn, there seems to be a bit of a gopher issue where I would like to start a garden. My idea is to let my dogs try and get the gopher for me sometime this week. We'll see.


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## gmacted

They will definitely need their space. 

There will be a main vine that will run and eventually stop (well maybe slow down), but then it will start to shoot arms. You can train the main vine and the arms to grow in the direction you want, but you need to do so while it's growing. Once it's been in one spot for a while it will start to root there. On the part of the vine that's touching the ground it will grow short white stubby roots that will hold it to the ground and the tentacles will grab onto anything they can. Be care not to break the tentacles or the stubby roots. The stubby roots provide another source of water and nutrients for the plant.

The other problem for me is overgrowth. Once the vines take over, there is no way to cut the grass between them, so it basically becomes a field of tall grass. Mulching helps, but the plants become so big it's hard to mulch such a large area.


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## Monk

That's good to know too.


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## Spooky1

Our pumpkin plants from this weekend.

Our emergency backup still in a pot. 

DSC01397 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

DSC01398 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

DSC01399 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## divinedragon7

I tried growing pumkins a few years ago, got one really good sized guy but bad weather killed it off early. last year i tossed the jack-o-lanter guts outside into a area me and my brother used to dig in when we were little joking that they might sprot. i then forgot all about them until a few weeks ago when i saw something growing in the remains of a hole. took me a few days to remember i had pumkin seeds there. 

i remember having read that pumkins like partal shade so i moved an old outdoor trampalen over it, mostly to keep the neghbors horses from snacking on it and its taken off. hopefully i'll get a crop from it, oh and a second little guys popped up next to the first.


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## Joiseygal

Ok I checked my pumpkins and they seem like they are doing pretty well. I wanted to show you the progress.








The second photo is a photo of my entire garden and how much it has grown from when I started two weeks ago.








Oh and it looks like I'm getting another area where it germinated so now I think that makes seven possible pumpkins.


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## RoxyBlue

Hmmmm, you're gonna need a bigger garden, Joisey


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## Joiseygal

OHHHHHH!!!!! So it doesn't look good for anything to successfully grow in my garden????


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## RoxyBlue

Joiseygal said:


> OHHHHHH!!!!! So it doesn't look good for anything to successfully grow in my garden????


It's more like, they may be so successful that they will _overgrow_ your garden.:googly:


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## RoxyBlue

Here are some updated shots of two of our plants as of June 24:

To the left of the shed:

DSCF1585 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

To the right of the shed:

DSCF1583 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Pumpkin flowers:

DSCF1587 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Unrelated to the pumpkins, we do have something else growing in our butterfly garden. The yellow "dots" you see in this dragon's mouth are wasps on a nest. I do have a macro setting on the camera, but I didn't really want to get too close in case they objected to having their picture taken.

DragonWaspNest2 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## Joiseygal

Holy crap Roxy who is the one who discovered that? That is massive! Anyway your garden is really pretty and your pumpkins are looking really good!!!! Stay away from the dragon he is dangerous!


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## RoxyBlue

Joiseygal said:


> Holy crap Roxy who is the one who discovered that? That is massive! Anyway your garden is really pretty and your pumpkins are looking really good!!!! Stay away from the dragon he is dangerous!


I think it was last weekend that I saw a wasp go into the dragon's mouth and mentioned to Spooky1 that it might be looking for a place to build a nest. He bent down to take a look and then said: "Too late, there's one already there" (or words to that effect). It's not really that big, maybe palm-sized or a little smaller. We hope to co-exist peacefully, since it's near a bird bath that I refill daily and we have to deadhead plants regularly in that garden so they keep blooming.


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## Ms. Wicked

They build nests in the darndest places.

We stopped one that was building a nest in the tubing of our patio chair!

In the meantime, my plants are really taking off. Between the rain and hot temps (it's been in the 90's), they are getting big. I'll get a picture later on.


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## Johnny Thunder

My bud The Evil Squire gave me a few sprouts and they are in the ground now. First time trying, so we shall see come Autumn.


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## Sunkenbier

When the pumpkin flowers should we pinch it off or wil it not affect the growth of the pumkin itself.


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## RoxyBlue

No need to remove the flowers - they're very short lived and will drop off by themselves. Also, the pumpkin grows from the base of a pollinated female flower, so you don't want to be removing a flower prematurely.

BTW, unrelated to pumpkins, removing spent flowers (called "deadheading") on flowering plants such as marigolds encourages them to rebloom.


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## Ms. Wicked

My vines are really taking off now. I have lots of flowers, both male and female. I'll try to get some pictures later!


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## Troy

I have to post another picture of these things, my god they are growing faster than any plant I have ever seen, I have at least 7 little pumpkins already with many more waiting to flower. These plants are taking over my back yard!


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## Spooky1

For my past plants, I get very few pumpkins per plant. There always seem to be more male flowers than female, and maybe 1 in 5 female flowers develop a pumpkin (even with me getting a paint brush and trying to help the pollination process along).


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## tuck

I thought I would post a few pictures of my little pumpkin patch that I took today. The small pumpkin is only the size of a large olive but the larger pumpkin is about 3 inches already . I've got about 7 smalls on 4 plants.


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## Dragonomine

Awww he's so cute!


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## RoxyBlue

Looking good, Tuck. We've been getting flowers pretty regularly, but no baby pumpkins yet. My one tomato plant, however, is doing its part and starting to kick into tomato production mode



Troy said:


> I have to post another picture of these things, my god they are growing faster than any plant I have ever seen, I have at least 7 little pumpkins already with many more waiting to flower. These plants are taking over my back yard!


It's because they're actually a cross between tomato plants and triffids!:googly: The only other plants that could give them a run for their money in the "taking over the world" scenario are maple trees.


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## tuck

Our Tomatoes are growing big and strong. No reds yet just lots of greens. We have harvested zucchini, yellow squash, and cucumbers though.


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## Joiseygal

Nice job Tuck! Should I be worried that I haven't seen any flowers yet??? Anyway since I last posted my picture of my garden I have made some changes. Roxy mentioned that it might be too crowded. So I didn't want to sacrifice my pumpkins, so I gave my neighbor my two watermellon plants and one tomato plant. So now I have three tomato plants, two cucumber plants and six pumpkins. I actually had seven pumpkins originally, but I stepped on one when I was putting up my trellis. Oh and I made my own tomato plant holders because they want close to 7 bucks around here for one.


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## tuck

Well I am no expert at pumpkin growing but I did not see any flowers appear on mine really until it started to vine. What date did you plant on? I live in Indiana and I planted around May 15th. Also my soil was amended with some regular soil, peat moss, compost and vermiculite. One thing I did notice is your plants are in the shade. How much sun are they receiving? My wife who gardens much more than I do, stated that if you are using miracle grow to possibly stop. Plants in the squash family do not like excess nitrogen, which is one of the ingredients in miracle grow. We started using it on our squash earlier this spring and got no flowers. After some reading we stopped using it and now they have exploded with flowers and fruit.

I think you will end up having pumpkin vines growing outside your lattice though. How large of an area do you have? Hopefully you can keep it contained within your area but I swear once they start growing they are amazing to watch. I know mine were vining literally 6 inches some days. 

Your garden looks great though. Great work on the trellis work and the tomato holders. I'm all about DIY work no matter the hobby .


----------



## RoxyBlue

Here are some new pictures:

Left of our shed:

DSCF1607 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Female flower on the vine:

DSCF1609 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Right of the shed. This one is circling around itself:

DSCF1610 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

And a closer shot of the wasp nest growing in one of our garden dragons. Spooky1 took this picture while I observed from a safer position:

DSCF1613 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


----------



## Joiseygal

Looks great Roxy. I think I would stay clear of that dragon though! 
Also thanks for the nice comment on my trellis and tomato holder Tuck. I love doing projects around the house. I especially always love to find a reason to use my circular saw. I actually made the trellis for privacy from my neighbor and to have the pumpkin vines go up it. Someone told me that won't work because the vines get too heavy? Since this is my first year growing pumpkins does the pumpkins grow on different area of the vines or does the pumpkins grow close to the root? Basically my questions is that will I be able to have the vines run up the trellis????


----------



## tuck

No my pumpkins are all far away from the root. The closest one is probably 7 feet from the root. I have also been told that they will not vine up a trellis as the pumpkins will become too heavy and the vine can not support them. 

I agree with you. Any reason to use the circular saw is a good reason!!

Great pictures Roxy. I like the one that is circling around itself. That makes a nice little space saver. Are those paper wasps growing in your dragon's mouth???


----------



## RoxyBlue

tuck said:


> Great pictures Roxy. I like the one that is circling around itself. That makes a nice little space saver. Are those paper wasps growing in your dragon's mouth???


Yes, they are, and it's a nice little nest they're making. Any time I have to go near them (we have a birdbath within a few feet), I try to become one with Nature so they accept my presence

We're going to redirect the circling pumpkin a bit so part of it heads around the shed. I expect we'll have another of the vines going along the fence line like we did last year.

You are correct, Joisey - pumpkin vines are not suitable for trellises.


----------



## BadTable Manor

Everyone's plants look good n' healthy!
I have several vines with big, showy male flowers on them. My problem is the leaves (and stems) look very pale. The leaves are also browning all along the edges. All the gardeners I spoke with said "more water!", but I'm starting to doubt that. Also, I noticed a lot of you have your plants in partial shade, while mine is in full, So Cal sun. Hm. Maybe they need some shade?
Any thoughts and comments are appreciated, thanks!


----------



## Joiseygal

I just recently put the trellis up, so I'm not sure how my pumpkins will do with the shade. They were doing fine with the full sun light. Although I am all the way on the other side of your neck of the woods, so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. I'm really hoping the pumpkins have no problem growing with the trellis up because I needed it for privacy from my neighbor. It seems like it will do fine from the other post I read because they say that pumpkins need a little bit of shade? I'm new at this though so I would wait for these expert pumpkin growers to respond. I'm thinking if you post a picture that would help. Good Luck!


----------



## Dragonomine

Mine are full sun except very early morning so I hope that's ok.


----------



## BadTable Manor

Well, so much for the showy flowers. As of today, they're all shrivelly. See?


----------



## Joiseygal

Yikes...I see what you mean. Ummm...maybe you need to dig it in the ground????? Give it a couple of days and I'm sure people will respond. I hope your plant will be alright until than.


----------



## RoxyBlue

Shade won't hurt the plants - ours are in the back of our yard where they get shade most of the time and they do fine.

BadTable, we have one plant still in a pot (we call it our emergency back up plant) but it is not thriving now that it's gotten bigger and started to flower. We water that one daily since it dries out faster and haven't seen the browning you're getting, but it (and I expect yours) just needs to get planted in the ground somewhere.

The showy flowers last all of about one day each, so don't worry about them shriveling up and dropping off - that's normal.


----------



## RoxyBlue

Speaking of gardening, here is our resident toad. We hope he eats any slugs that might be thinking about chewing on our plants:

DSCF1633 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

DSCF1628 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


----------



## BadTable Manor

Adorable little Toady!

Thanks, RoxyBlue and JoiseyGal, for the planting tips. Hubby is heading to WalMart as I type to pick up some compost, and we'll plant these guys as soon as he returns. Keeping fingers and toes crossed that my plants eventually look as good as all of yours do.
*gives Toad a crunchy fly snack*


----------



## Mobile Mayhem

I have 5-6 growing on one of my vines right now, so we shall see how they progress.


----------



## tuck

Well I have learned my lesson. I have lost 5 of my baby pumpkins before they even had a chance to grow. No longer will I leave pollination up to nature. From here on out. I will pick male flowers and pollinate every single female flower I see.


----------



## zombiehorror

HAAAAA!! SQAUSH BUGS!!! One of my vines was overrun with them but I dosed them with soapy water and all is well again. Had a small pumpkin ('bout golf ball size) growing but went to check it yesterday and it came right off the vine with barely a touch. It was obviously a weak gourd, maybe a test run for the vine, now it's time to bring on the winners.


----------



## RoxyBlue

tuck said:


> Well I have learned my lesson. I have lost 5 of my baby pumpkins before they even had a chance to grow. No longer will I leave pollination up to nature. From here on out. I will pick male flowers and pollinate every single female flower I see.


Goodness, that almost sounds....promiscuous

Yeah, you definitely get a lot of false starts on the vine if that female flower isn't wooed at the right moment.:googly:


----------



## Ms. Wicked

RoxyBlue said:


> Goodness, that almost sounds....promiscuous
> 
> Yeah, you definitely get a lot of false starts on the vine if that female flower isn't wooed at the right moment.:googly:


There is nothing worse than a false start; it's so disappointing as timing is everything.

I've taken a few pics of my vines. They're really taking off now. I have lots of little fruits (which have hopefully been properly wooed-there are tons of bees in the flowers) and one fruit that is growing and bigger than baseball sized now. Fingers crossed.

*The vegetable garden; pumpkin vines are at back, behind the staked tomatoes:*









*The back of the vegetable garden and the pumpkin vines. They are a good 10-12 feet long:*









*This fruit is a bit bigger than a baseball. I don't know if it is from a Jack O'Lantern or Big Moon plant. Hopefully it won't fall off of the vine.*


----------



## Spooky1

Our first pumpkin was a false start and aparently wasn't fertilized. I helped the bees out on the next one and it looks to me like it's growing, so I have my fingers crossed.


----------



## tuck

my big one is now about 3/4 of the size of a baseball. I hope it doesn't get too big too fast.


----------



## tuck

whoops I said baseball, I meant basketball


----------



## Ms. Wicked

I'm so excited! I'm getting so much fruit now!

The largest one is not quite basketball sized now, but it's growing so much every day. I must be a Big Moon! I hope it makes it to maturity!

The others are putting out lots of fruit and my vines are swarming with bees. 

How are everybody else's doing?


----------



## tuck

Well my first one is about 75% orange already. I'm starting to think it may not survive until fall. There are three more that are growing nicely and a couple more females that will need pollinating in a couple of days. I think this will become a yearly tradition for me


----------



## RoxyBlue

We have two growing, one on each vine, and more flowers appearing every day.


----------



## gmacted

tuck said:


> Well my first one is about 75% orange already. I'm starting to think it may not survive until fall. There are three more that are growing nicely and a couple more females that will need pollinating in a couple of days. I think this will become a yearly tradition for me


Once it turns mostly orange, cut it from the vine and store it a cool dry place. I store mine in the basement and they last a couple of months. Be sure to use a very sharp knife as the stems can be quite hard.


----------



## Johnny Thunder

I have a few flowers each week - then they fall off - then more flowers. We shall see


----------



## RoxyBlue

If the bees aren't doing their job, JT, you may have to go out with a paintbrush and help Mother Nature along by transferring pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers. Gotta work fast, because each flower is only open for a day.

In case anyone does not know the difference, the female flowers have a distinct bulge at their base.


----------



## tuck

gmacted said:


> Once it turns mostly orange, cut it from the vine and store it a cool dry place. I store mine in the basement and they last a couple of months. Be sure to use a very sharp knife as the stems can be quite hard.


Thanks for the info. I do not have a basement but I do have a crawlspace. I'll try and keep it down there.


----------



## Spooky1

Our pumpkins have been producing a plethora of male flowers, but no females lately. We have one pumpkin on each plant so far. Hope to get a few more soon. Historically we lose a few pumpkins along the way. Once they get to be a little bigger than a softball they usually survive (barring critter attacks).


----------



## Joiseygal

Ok I just took some recent pictures of my pumpkin patch. I have plenty of flowers, so I am very excited. I still don't know how to tell if it is a male or female flower, but hopefully from the pictures someone can tell me. Oh and one of the vines is growing up my trellis, so I think I am going to have a problem if I can't direct it back down the trellis. What should I do????


----------



## RoxyBlue

Joiseygal said:


> Ok I just took some recent pictures of my pumpkin patch. I have plenty of flowers, so I am very excited. I still don't know how to tell if it is a male or female flower, but hopefully from the pictures someone can tell me. Oh and one of the vines is growing up my trellis, so I think I am going to have a problem if I can't direct it back down the trellis. What should I do????


Female flowers have a little round bulge visible where the petals attach to the stem, sort of a precursor to the pumpkin that will grow if the flower is fertilized.

Growing up a trellis is not a problem. Growing up a trellis and then developing a large heavy pumpkin is. I'd redirect it now just in case.


----------



## Spooky1

I found this picture of a female pumpkin flower online. Male flowers have a straight stem with no bulge.


----------



## Joiseygal

Thanks so much! Now does that mean the male flowers will not produce a pumpkin? I am going to check how many look like males and females. The picture was a big help!


----------



## RoxyBlue

Joiseygal said:


> Thanks so much! Now does that mean the male flowers will not produce a pumpkin? I am going to check how many look like males and females. The picture was a big help!


Correct - only the females produce a flower. Pollen needs to be successfully transferred from a male flower to a female flower for a pumpkin to grow. If you have bees, they will do this for you, but note in posts above comments about helping things along by doing the transfer yourself.

Remember each flower is only open for a day.


----------



## zombiehorror

Here's what my plants have done so far....

I'll definitely have to get this one closer to the ground..









Both of these photos are Burpee Big Max pumpkins, currently around softball size...


















If I get nothing else done for this Halloween I'll at least have some homegrown pumpkins hopefully.


----------



## Joiseygal

We just had a bad storm here, so I noticed that some flowers fell off. I also noticed you have to be very careful handling the flowers because they can break off easily. Anyway I think I have mostly male flowers so that isn't any good.


----------



## Spooky1

There will always be more male flowers than female (the ratio on my plants seems to be about 1 female for every 10 males).


----------



## RoxyBlue

Spooky1 said:


> There will always be more male flowers than female (the ratio on my plants seems to be about 1 female for every 10 males).


And that's why the female flowers never have to worry about getting a date for the barn dance.:googly:


----------



## Joiseygal

RoxyBlue said:


> And that's why the female flowers never have to worry about getting a date for the barn dance.:googly:


LOL


----------



## Spooky1

We lost our smaller pumpkin over night. I found it split open this morning.  It was an odd shape and looks to have split because of different growth rates on two sides of the pumpkin. Our other one is about the size of a honeydew melon.


----------



## spidermonkey

SIGH! The only one that is producing and is health and happy is the wild one that popped up in my garden. 

The ones I planted big max and jack-o are looking very puny and I have lost some of them due to rot. 

All the rain hasn't helped.


----------



## spidermonkey

Spooky1 said:


> Once they get to be a little bigger than a softball they usually survive (barring critter attacks).


Spooky: Try placing sections of panty hose around them. This seems to keep those "critters" away.


----------



## Ms. Wicked

Here are pics of a few of my pumpkins. I've placed a baseball next to them so that you can see the size.

A few of the smaller fruits have rotted and fallen off. I know that this happens, I just hope that it's not because of mildew. It looks like some of the leaves have a mildew on them and I'm hoping that my vines aren't stricken with it... results could be disasterous. It's been a cold and wet summer, the kind of conditions in which mildew thrives.

Anyway, fingers crossed:


----------



## Spooky1

I wonder if once a pumpkin develops, if it produces a hormone that inhibits new female flowers. I haven't seen any new female flowers bloom since a pumpkin developed on each plant.


----------



## Ms. Wicked

Spooky1 said:


> I wonder if once a pumpkin develops, if it produces a hormone that inhibits new female flowers. I haven't seen any new female flowers bloom since a pumpkin developed on each plant.


Spooky, I do remember reading some years ago (though I don't remember where, but it was from a resource when I lived in England) that (most, but not all) pumpkin varieties produce one fruit per vine.

Having said that, I frequently get vines that produce two although one is significantly smaller than the other.

Edited to add: I just found an excellent site that answers this question as well as other common questions about growing pumpkins. Scroll down the page to find the question about "how many fruits per plant"

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/00-031.htm


----------



## sparky

Ms. Wicked said:


> Spooky, I do remember reading some years ago (though I don't remember where, but it was from a resource when I lived in England) that (most, but not all) pumpkin varieties produce one fruit per vine.
> 
> Having said that, I frequently get vines that produce two although one is significantly smaller than the other.
> 
> Edited to add: I just found an excellent site that answers this question as well as other common questions about growing pumpkins. Scroll down the page to find the question about "how many fruits per plant"
> 
> http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/00-031.htm


 Thanks Ms. Wicked, that was a good site for some info on pumpkins! I was going to try some pumpkins this year for the kids but didn't get to it. Not much room in the back yard but that just means less grass to cut!!!!


----------



## tuck

For the mildew we used a water and baking soda mixture. It's suppose to be a natural way to get rid of the stuff. 

I've got one pumpkin that will be ready for harvest in a few more days and 3 others that are growing good. One even looks like a large green peanut.


----------



## gmacted

tuck said:


> For the mildew we used a water and baking soda mixture. It's suppose to be a natural way to get rid of the stuff.
> 
> I've got one pumpkin that will be ready for harvest in a few more days and 3 others that are growing good. One even looks like a large green peanut.


What ratio of baking soda to water do you use?


----------



## tuck

1 Tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon liquid soap
1 gallon water

Here is the whole article on it. Please read it as it does have precautions to follow.

http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenproblems/qt/PowderyMildew.htm


----------



## Spooky1

We finally got a female flower on our second plant (since I cut off the broken pumpkin). I was able to get at it with a paint brush to help fertilize it, just hope the rain today doesn't wash out the pollen.


----------



## Spooky1

Ms. Wicked said:


> Spooky, I do remember reading some years ago (though I don't remember where, but it was from a resource when I lived in England) that (most, but not all) pumpkin varieties produce one fruit per vine.
> 
> Having said that, I frequently get vines that produce two although one is significantly smaller than the other.
> 
> Edited to add: I just found an excellent site that answers this question as well as other common questions about growing pumpkins. Scroll down the page to find the question about "how many fruits per plant"
> 
> http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/00-031.htm


Thanks for the info & link Ms. W.


----------



## gmacted

Thanks for the link.


----------



## spidermonkey

UGH the horror! I had to pull eight of my plants due to the SQUASH VINE BORER. 
Nasty little devils. 

Have to go online to fnd out where they come from and how to prevent them for next year. 

The other two plants are not infected but are small and weedy. All I think I will get this is some wild sugar pumpkins.

SIGH!


----------



## Johnny Thunder

Mine is growing but I'm just letting it go wild and see what comes of it.


----------



## thefireguy

*Pumpkin Patch*

I started growing 4 plants (from Lowe's) about 3 weeks ago and now I have approx. 10 per plant starting to grow. They haven't even began to stop growing. I wouldn't be surprised if I had 30 for each plant. I'll try to take a picture and post it.


----------



## RoxyBlue

Here are some shots we took today:

Vine to the left of the shed - one pumpkin growing at the moment

DSC01449 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Closer look at the one pumpkin we have:

DSC01451 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Hopefully a new pumpkin starting on the vine to the right of the shed:

DSC01452 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


----------



## Ms. Wicked

Looking good Roxy!


----------



## sparky

Very nice.....the great pumpkin is growing, getting ready for Halloween!!!!


----------



## Parabola

I'm really starting to wish I had grown some this year...


----------



## Joiseygal

Roxy, Zombiehorror and Ms. Wicked your gardens are looking great! I have a few questions about what I see in my garden. 
I thought I would start with my tomatoes. I have little brown spots on the top where the vines are. Does that mean it is rotten inside the tomato? 








Ok now for my pumpkins. I think I know which ones are the female flowers, but I took a picture of a flower that is female? Is that a female flower?








Ok I also included pictures of before and after a two month process. Also I had to extend the garden since my pumpkins need a little more room. I just hope it doesn't kill my trees.
6/11/09








8/10/09


----------



## Joiseygal

Do you think they will kill my trees? Also a lot of flowers have fallen off does that mean I have no chance of a pumpkin growing there??? Sorry for all the question, but this is all new to me.


----------



## Spooky1

I don't think the pumpkins would kill the trees, but they may try to climb them. The flower in your picture is a male. Female flowers have a bulge (baby pumpkin) at the base of the flower (see picture on pg 13 of this thread). The flowers are only open for a day. They start closing by the afternoon and old flowers will drop off. I try to get out with a paint brush each morning to brush pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers to make sure they get pollinated. If the female flower gets pollinated the bulge at the base of the flower will being to grow into a pumpkin. If it isn't pollinated then it just shrivels up.


----------



## Joiseygal

Yes I saw the demonstration on page 13, but apparently I can't tell the males from the females. So Spooky what do I have to get to pollinate the flowers. I did see a bee near the flower when I went to take a picture. I really want some pumpkins to grow and I think I should see something by now. HELP! I need to [email protected][email protected]?!?!?!?!


----------



## RoxyBlue

Use a small, artist's paintbrush, Joisey. Run it along the stamen in the male flowers (the structure poking up in the center of the flower - you'll see the yellowish pollen coating the hairs on the paint brush), then brush the pollen-loaded brush on the pistil of the female flowers. You'll get the most pollen first thing in the morning right after the flowers have opened. Spooky1 often has to compete with the bees when he does this - they love pumpkin flowers, and fortunately they don't mind sharing


...this is starting to seem a little like Pumpkin Sex 101.


----------



## Joiseygal

RoxyBlue said:


> ...this is starting to seem a little like Pumpkin Sex 101.


Ummmm.....you said it not me  but thanks I will give it a try. I just can't say I won't feel dirty after I do it.


----------



## Dragonomine

Joiseygal, do you have another pic of your tomatos? We have lost 95% of our tomatos to blight this year. It's going around really bad.


----------



## Joiseygal

Uh Oh that doesn't sound so good. I do have another picture. Can you tell from this picture?


----------



## Spooky1

Your tomatoes look fine to me.


----------



## tuck

Well I ripped one plant out today that has already produced one pumpkin. It was starting to look dead so I took it out and replaced it with two new seeds. Maybe I can get two harvests in one season. I've got two more pumpkins that should be ready this week and one the week after. Hopefully they will keep until fall.


----------



## Dragonomine

Joiseygal said:


> Uh Oh that doesn't sound so good. I do have another picture. Can you tell from this picture?


No they look fine so far. This is what blight starts out looking like...










The bottom of your tomato plant stalks start to die as well. It's so depressing.


----------



## gmacted

Well, I picked three orange pumpkins last night. They are about the size of a basketball. As I said before, they should easily store until Halloween as I always store them in my basement.

My patch is huge. It's the biggest it's ever been. It probably covers a distance of 75 feet and the pumpkins are too numerous to count. I took a few pictures last week and haven't had the time to post them. I'll try to find some time later this week to post.

My tomato plants have also been infected with blight. Such a shame.

Joiseygal,

Your tomatoes look fine to me. Watch out for horn worms! They usually start to appear this time of year for me. They can eat an entire plant in the matter of a day or two and they're hard to spot. Keep a watchful eye out!


----------



## Joiseygal

Thanks for the info gmacted and Dragonomine. This gardening is something right out of a horror film. Fore play according to Roxy and violence with the blight and horn worms. I think anything called horn worms I will keep my distance. I will keep an eye out though. Sorry to hear about your tomatoes also.


----------



## RoxyBlue

Deer love tomato plants, too. We have just one plant for cherry tomatoes and half of it disappeared one day due to what was likely deer grazing.

I agree with the previous assessments of your tomatoes, J - they look normal and healthy to me.


----------



## tuck

So everytime somebody mentions blight attacking their tomatoes my mind automatically wonders to the scarecrow that pumpkinrot made a few years back named blight. I just see this wicked dead creature scarecrow swooping down and infecting all your tomatoes. Ha. I'm sure everybody knows what I'm referring to but just in case you don't.

http://www.pumpkinrot.com/pages/Page21.htm


----------



## gmacted

tuck said:


> So everytime somebody mentions blight attacking their tomatoes my mind automatically wonders to the scarecrow that pumpkinrot made a few years back named blight. I just see this wicked dead creature scarecrow swooping down and infecting all your tomatoes. Ha. I'm sure everybody knows what I'm referring to but just in case you don't.
> 
> http://www.pumpkinrot.com/pages/Page21.htm


Great reference!

Now I'll never get that out of my mind!


----------



## Ms. Wicked

What a great name for a scarecrow!


----------



## gmacted

I finally had some time to upoad some pictures of my pumpkin patch. Here's the pumpkin patch 2009 pictures by gmacted - Photobucket.


----------



## RoxyBlue

What type of pumpkin is that, G? It has a very watermelon look to it.

And man, you have some space for those vines


----------



## Spanky

joiseygal, watch out for those horn worms they're huge and they hiss! 
Fortunately my wife's tomatoes (I hate tomatoes, btw) are doing really well this year, no blight here. I need to get a pic up of my pumpkin patch, as of a few days ago there weren't any pumpkins yet but I've been at work for a few days straight now so I haven't been able to inspect them.


----------



## gmacted

RoxyBlue said:


> What type of pumpkin is that, G? It has a very watermelon look to it.
> 
> And man, you have some space for those vines


They're a Jack 'O Lantern variety. They do start off looking somewhat like a watermelon, but in the end they do turn orange. I guess that's all that counts.

Even I've been amazed as to how well they did this year.


----------



## Joiseygal

Spanky said:


> joiseygal, watch out for those horn worms they're huge and they hiss!


Thanks Spanky I will stay clear of the horn worms.

Also gmacted your pumpkin patch is so big. It is cool how you can just let it run wild though out the yard. Doesn't the deer get out it?


----------



## spidermonkey

gmacted said:


> They're a Jack 'O Lantern variety. They do start off looking somewhat like a watermelon, but in the end they do turn orange. I guess that's all that counts.
> 
> Even I've been amazed as to how well they did this year.[/QUO
> 
> They look amazing.
> 
> How big are they going to get?


----------



## gmacted

Joiseygal said:


> Also gmacted your pumpkin patch is so big. It is cool how you can just let it run wild though out the yard. Doesn't the deer get out it?


 For some reason the deer stay away. Maybe it's because they're too busy eating everything else in my yard. Last year, however, at the end of the year, something large decided to take a nap in the patch. I have no idea what it was, but it left a large imprint in the grass, but didn't do any damage to the pumpkins.


----------



## gmacted

spidermonkey said:


> They look amazing.
> 
> How big are they going to get?


They will vary in size, but for the most part they will be the size of a basketball. Some smaller, some larger.


----------



## Ms. Wicked

gmacted, I had great luck last year with the Jack O'Lantern variety last year.

This summer has been wet and generally cold. My vines seem plagued with mildew and are starting to die out. I have about nine fruits or so and I'm worried that most will not have a chance to ripen.

Therefore, today I harvested one of the pumpkins that already ripened. I doubt that it will last until Halloween so I will use it for cooking. There's another one that's already quite orange, but not quite as dark as this one.

Fingers crossed for the rest.


----------



## RoxyBlue

Wow, that's a great basketball you grew, Ms W!


----------



## Joiseygal

Wow that pumpkin is almost perfect!


----------



## spidermonkey

Thats a great looking pumpkin.


----------



## Spooky1

Our pumpkin progress:

Plant #1 (1 pumpkin)

DSC01482 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Plant #2 - pumpkin #1

DSC01481 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Plant #2 - pumpkin #2 (just starting out)

DSC01483 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

I hope one of the first 2 beats my 60lbs pumpkin from last year.


----------



## Joiseygal

Wow very nice Spooky1 and Roxy. I have no signs of pumpkins so I'm thinking this pumpkin growing season is down the tubes!


----------



## Eeeekim

Nice pumpkins guys. I planted some this year and all I got was vine. Miles of it, Lots of bloom not one pumpkin. Someone told me that if you pinch off the Long bloom stems, you'll get more fruit. anyone try that?


----------



## Eeeekim

Ms. Wicked I like the fact that you used brownies a size reference in your picture  You wouldn't happen to have any of the brownies sitting around that you don't need anymore do you?


----------



## scareme

Joiseygal said:


> Wow very nice Spooky1 and Roxy. I have no signs of pumpkins so I'm thinking this pumpkin growing season is down the tubes!


If you don't have any by now, you won't have any at all. You planted yours in the shade, didn't you? Next year try a sunny bed. Pumpkins love sun.


----------



## scareme

Spooky1 said:


> Our pumpkin progress:
> 
> Plant #1 (1 pumpkin)
> 
> DSC01482 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/
> 
> What kind of pumpkin is this? I love the texture.


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## RoxyBlue

I think it's a Big Max, Scareme. The texture is probably accidental. It was lying on its side in the mulch for a while until Spooky1 turned it up on end so it would sit properly once converted to a jacko. Those may be dents left by the mulch pieces.


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## Spooky1

Scareme, both plants are from the same (Big Max?) seeds. So I really don't know why the one has such a different texture. Roxy's guess is as good as anything I can come up with.


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## Spooky1

Eeeekim said:


> Nice pumpkins guys. I planted some this year and all I got was vine. Miles of it, Lots of bloom not one pumpkin. Someone told me that if you pinch off the Long bloom stems, you'll get more fruit. anyone try that?


The long stem blooms are male flowers. You don't want to pinch them off. Anytime I see a female flower on my pumpkin plant I go out (in the morning) with a paint brush to take pollen from the male flowers and pollinate the female flowers.


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## gmacted

I've started seeing pumpkins for sale in stores around here (Massachusetts).

I picked my last pumpkin this week. I ended up with ~30+ pumpkins of varying sizes. They're in my basement awaiting distribution.

Any other final reports?


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## Spooky1

gmacted said:


> I've started seeing pumpkins for sale in stores around here (Massachusetts).
> 
> I picked my last pumpkin this week. I ended up with ~30+ pumpkins of varying sizes. They're in my basement awaiting distribution.
> 
> Any other final reports?


Holy crap, 30+ pumpkins! How much space do you have to grow your plants. We only get one, maybe two pumpkins per plant. What variety of pumpkins did you grow?


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## gmacted

Spooky1 said:


> Holy crap, 30+ pumpkins! How much space do you have to grow your plants. We only get one, maybe two pumpkins per plant. What variety of pumpkins did you grow?


I posted pictures of my patch in post #174. Here's a pumpkin patch 2009 pictures by gmacted - Photobucket.

They are Jack 'O Lantern variety pumpkins.


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## RoxyBlue

Spooky1 just harvested the two big pumpkins we have this morning. I'll get hime to post pictures later.

We have one more pumpkin that's was a late starter on one of the main vines. Something has been nibbling on it, though


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## RoxyBlue

Okay, Spooky1 just handed me the camera, so here are some shots:

Sept19a by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Sept19b by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Sept19c by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

And this one is still growing. Hopefully it will pick up the pace now that it's the only one left on the vine.

Sept19 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## Ms. Wicked

Those look great Roxy and Spooky! What variety are they?

Here are the three that I harvested last week. The one in the middle is the one I already took pics of. The one on the left doesn't "stand up"... but it's a good size.

There are three more that are ready to harvest, and one that is also a late bloomer.


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## Spooky1

Our pumpkin variety is Big Max. In the pictures above (Roxy's post) the one on the left is 38 lbs and on the right is 58 lbs.


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## Death's Door

I have the Big Max ones tooo. This is the first year that we had a pumpkin patch. We planted the seeds in our mulch pile and I have one on the vine that is about 25 pounds right now. Even the leaves are huge. I also have one growing on the fence but is much smaller. I go out to the pumpkin patch every day to check on the pumpkins and compliment Mr. Big and the others on their color and size while giving them love pats. I think it's working.


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## Spooky1

Da Weiner said:


> I have the Big Max ones tooo. This is the first year that we had a pumpkin patch. We planted the seeds in our mulch pile and I have one on the vine that is about 25 pounds right now. Even the leaves are huge. I also have one growing on the fence but is much smaller. I go out to the pumpkin patch every day to check on the pumpkins and compliment Mr. Big and the others on their color and size while giving them love pats. I think it's working.


They need lots of watering too. I'll give each plant a gallon or two of water any day it doesn't rain, and occasional fertilizer too.


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## RoxyBlue

Da Weiner said:


> I go out to the pumpkin patch every day to check on the pumpkins and compliment Mr. Big and the others on their color and size while giving them love pats. I think it's working.


Awww, that's sweet


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## Death's Door

This year in NJ we had rain almost every couple of days or a steady rain on the weekend. We didn't have to water as much and we have them in half/sun-half/shade so they don't dry out fast. Of course, I firmly believe that talking, complienting and the love pats have a lot to do with their success. Just my opinion. 

Before I went for a jog last night, I checked on them and had our quality time, I discovered one had doubled its size and is sitting upright all by itself. I think he's trying to show off.


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## RoxyBlue

LOL, Da Weiner, you're cracking me up


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## Death's Door

I brought hubby out to the pumpkin patch after work yesterday and we were looking at all the pumpkins and he noticed that we have a few smaller green pumpkins on the vine. I did plant the Big Max variety along with the JackoLantern ones and I think the JOL are finally growing. The Big Max ones are yellow from the getgo. Is The JOL are probably 7 inches in height and width. I guess I am expecting them to be bigger by now and turning orange. Is this the average size for now for the JOL?


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## Spooky1

My third pumpkin is getting nibbled on by some critter. I even put chicken wire around it and it's still getting nibbled where the pumpkin is against the chicken wire.


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## Death's Door

Good thinking about the chicken wire Spooky! I would have went for the BB gun approach!


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## Spooky1

Da Weiner said:


> Good thinking about the chicken wire Spooky! I would have went for the BB gun approach!


I don't have a BB gun, but if I ever saw what was doing it I'd be tempted to get out my .22 or bow. The dog will chase any small furry critters she sees, but they just come back once she's inside.


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## Ms. Wicked

We have wire around our veggie patch.

Make sure to post pics of your pumpkins DaWeiner!


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## Ms. Wicked

_*Despite years of therapy, the basketball refused to admit that it wasn't part of the Cucurbita pepo family.*_

...Here they are, my 2009 pumpkin harvest. I got seven in total, although the first one I picked started rotting before I had a chance to cook with it. So the above is a pic of the six that remain.

We also harvest a 5 gallon bucket of tomatoes, a bucket of mixed hot chilis and about 20 green onions. We've started to rip out the plants to prepare the veggie patch for winter.


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## RoxyBlue

Hey, what's that pumpkin wannabe doing in that shot?!?!

You got a nice group of pumpkins, Ms Wicked!


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## Death's Door

Ms. Wicked - I think the basketball just wants to be with the "in" crowd. 

I will be starting to take pictures soon to post.


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## Revenant

Yo Kellie -- nice setta gourds there, babe!


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## Joiseygal

Nice Job everyone on your pumpkins. Unfortunately this pumpkin growing season is a bust for me. I will have to get my paint brush out next year and do some pollinating. I guess this pumpkin growing thing needs a little tender loving care.


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## Spooky1

Nice crop Ms. Wicked.


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## Death's Door

Because I got home last night around 7:15, it was already dark. I took a flashlight out to the pumpkin patch to check on that orange studmuffin, Mr. Big, and the other pumplins that are vying for my attention. When I came in, hubby was held captive in his recliner and I just said, "If anyone approaches you about someone in our yard with a flashlight, it was me checking on the pumpkins." He just looked at me and smiled to himself.


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## spidermonkey

Very Nice pumpkin photos. 
I great little haul from the wild sugar pumpkins that grew, 31 in total. 
The jacks and big maxs I planted I died due to infestation. SIGH! 
As usual, I guess my husband will have to buy me pumpkins instead of flowers.


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## RoxyBlue

spidermonkey said:


> As usual, I guess my husband will have to buy me pumpkins instead of flowers.


Well, you know, that is kind of romantic in a Halloweeny way


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## GPSaxophone

This was my first year trying to grow pumpkins. I managed to get one about the size of a soccer ball. We had a cold summer so not much grew here, so I'll definitely try again next year.


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## Spooky1

I harvested my final pumpkin last week.

The last one harvested was nibbled on by some unknown critter.

Good side

DSC01620 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Nibbled side

DSC01618 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Top

DSC01619 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

The whole 2009 crop

DSC01622 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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