# The Official 2010 Pumpkin Growers' Thread !



## Ms. Wicked

Although it's a bit early to actually start the seeds, it IS the time of year when people start planning their gardens! I'm one of those people!

I hope like heck that this summer will not be as wet and cold as last year. I still managed about seven pumpkins in the end, but they should have been better.

What varieties will everybody grow this year?

I'm going to grow Jack 'O Lantern and something else, though I'm undecided as of yet.

Am I the only one that's excited?


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## RoxyBlue

Spooky1 and I will be growing some again this year. I think we might try a smaller variety - save a bit of space that way


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## NytDreams

Oh yes, definitely trying for pumpkins again. Did great my first year, only got Jack-be-Littles last year. 

I get this nasty white fungus that spreads like wildfire and I can't get rid of...kills my vines. Terribly frustrating....:zombie:


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## Ms. Wicked

NytDreams, congratulations on your first pumpkin crop! It sounds like your vines suffered from _mildew_, a very common disease on pumpkins (and other squashes). It's caused by the combination of extended wet and cooler temps. I had that problem last year as it was not a typical summer here in the midwest!

Here are a couple of links with good pumpkin growing information for everybody to reference.

http://www.pumpkin-patch.com/growing.html

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

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

This link is specifically about pumpkin mildew:

http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/BP/BP-140-W.pdf


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## Frighteners Entertainment

We may....though it will depend on room...if you didn't already know...I'm a canning crazy person!


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## RoxyBlue

Frighteners Entertainment said:


> We may....though it will depend on room...if you didn't already know...I'm a canning crazy person!


Just so you're not canning crazy persons:googly:


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## Howlinmadjack

One question, can we grow pumpkins this far south (Miami)? I've grown yellow crookneck squash but not the jack o' lantern type.


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## SKAustin

My best Pumpkin plants in the past came from pumpkins that were left out to rot over the winter. So this past fall, I took all of the guts from our Jacks, and stored it in a large bucket until after Halloween. I took all of the jacks and diced 'em up after the holiday, then tilled the meat into the soil. I took all of the guts, spread them out along with a few whole smaller pumpkins, in a section of our garden. I covered it all up with the straw left over from our display. Now it's just "hope for the best".

I also plant garlic, which is harvested in july, so that will give my pumpkins more room as they grow.

Last year was my first (quasi) successful pumpkin planting experience. I grew a total of 6 pumpkins. I've tried many times in the past, but never with any success. They would always get to the size of a light bulb, then shrivel up and die.


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## Joiseygal

I'm definitely going to give it another shot this year. I will have to get out my paint brush to do some pollinating though. I'm just trying to figure out where I'm going to plant them because I needed more space last year.


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## fick209

howlin mad jack said:


> One question, can we grow pumpkins this far south (Miami)? I've grown yellow crookneck squash but not the jack o' lantern type.


According to this, yes you can grow pumpkins in even Miami
http://www.examiner.com/x-27399-Tam...kins-in-Florida--USDA-Hardiness-Zones-8-9--10

I will be planting the Gian, Jack O lantern, & Heirloom once again


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## Bone Dancer

I was thinking I might give it a try this year. I have a nice open area next to my yard that I can plant in. Was thinking I could just plant in small plots or hills through out the area and let the vines go where they will. Thanks Kellie for the info links. I can start my homework.


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## Bethene

I might try it again this year, really don't have alot of room, but still, might . I have done ok other years, never a bumper crop, but would get a few. my have to try a bushier plant, due to room issues


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## Draik41895

I bought some seeds recently, but have not much idea of what to do, so i waited for this...should be fun


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## scarymovie

Yes I tried to grow pumpkins but they never grew I guess I needed more fertilizer or something! I will like to try again if not I will get my pumpkin from a farm or pumpkin patch as usual!


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## NytDreams

Here are a couple of links with good pumpkin growing information for everybody to reference.

http://www.pumpkin-patch.com/growing.html

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

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

This link is specifically about pumpkin mildew:

http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/BP/BP-140-W.pdf[/QUOTE]

Cool, thanks for the links. I've done research and asked a friend who knows about plants, so hopefully combining that with those links, I'll be able to keep that danged stuff from destroying the vines. Terribly frustrating. It'd spread to my cucumbers too, seems to like the viney plants.
I was so proud of my first year, had a nice little crop of pumpkins that I even got share with my neighbors...since they were nice enough to let my vines creep crazily into the corner of their backyard, thought it only fair to give them the ones that grew on their side of the fence. :jol:


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## Spooky1

We won't start our plants for about a month. Still need to pick up some seeds.


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## dflowers2

I am going to grow some this year. My daughter picked out two types. We have the Big Max (100 lb +) and Casper Pumpkins. The Casper pumpkins will be new to me, they are completely white. I have never seen the before. Although I am sure this will not work with the Big Max pumpkins, I am going to try and grow the Casper pumkins on a trellis, supported by a hammock type support for the pumpkins. We saw this on a recent trip to Disney. Seems it may help with mildew issues since more air will get to them and they will dry quicker.


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## wAkethedeAd

where can i find pumpkin seeds, i mean the traditional jack o' lantern kind, maybe even the smaller jacks. i always thought it would be great to have a small pumpkin patch, since i carve several every year (7-12), and as we all know pumpkins can get pretty pricey...


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## Spooky1

wAkethedeAd said:


> where can i find pumpkin seeds, i mean the traditional jack o' lantern kind, maybe even the smaller jacks. i always thought it would be great to have a small pumpkin patch, since i carve several every year (7-12), and as we all know pumpkins can get pretty pricey...


Check any place that has a garden shop like Home Depot or any local nurseries.


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## RoxyBlue

The Target stores in our area often carry seeds as well. I've even seen them sold in grocery stores.


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## Bone Dancer

http://gurneys.com/default.asp

Another mail order catalog for seeds.


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## NytDreams

Walmart has quite a selection of seeds too. Lots of hardware stores have them....and we all like the hardware stores, don't we?


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## Joiseygal

Anyone in my general area...New Jersey...please let me know when is a good time to start planting my seeds? I never can determine the last frost situation. I think I might jump the gun.


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## RoxyBlue

Joiseygal said:


> Anyone in my general area...New Jersey...please let me know when is a good time to start planting my seeds? I never can determine the last frost situation. I think I might jump the gun.


Here's a link to a site with first and last frost dates for New Jersey:

http://www.victoryseeds.com/frost/nj.html

Depening on where you are, you're looking at late April/early May before it's safe to plant *outside*. You can start seeds indoors a few weeks before last frost to get a jump start on the process, which is what we do.


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## Eeeekim

Someone ask about seeds?
You can't swing a dead cat (prop) without seeing a seed display this time of year.
I tried last year to grow some pumpkin but I don't get any fruit until just before halloween so they never had time to grow very big or turn orange. My kids and I were very sad about it BUT I pulled the vines and hung them along my "Spooky fence", it was a great effect. I'll Give growing them a try again this year. Wish me luck! Good lUck to everyone else.


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## Frighteners Entertainment

ok, now I'm going to have room for a few pumpkins this year.
Still have a few junk box elder trees to take out but have a new spot for another garden.
Around 60ft by 40ft also adding apple, pear, cherry, plum, peach trees (yes 2 of each) and whatever else I think I can fir in the area.
I should have taken a before picture!!


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## Joiseygal

I am having trouble trying to figure out where I can have a pumpkin garden???? I had it in the dog area last year, but ran out of room. I'm also using that area to grow corn. I want so much to have a pumpkin garden, but I just can't figure out where in my yard would be enough room.


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## trentsketch

My family has attempted to grow pumpkins for years now. They fail miserably every time. That's why I'm taking over and doing it right. I need a bit more than a single, sickly jack-be-nimble, thank you very much.

The rest of the family can stick with growing my corn stalks and killing enough plants that I have tons of vines and dried out plants to decorate with.

I'm aiming for many luminas and standard orange pumpkins for carved and un-carved displays.


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## fravak

We've decided to plant pumpkins for the first time this year. The kids want to plant seeds NOW.


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## MorbidMariah

Yep, I'm gonna give it a shot too this year. Should be fun!


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## Black Cat

Gonna try growing pumpkins this year. We have an area behind our newly moved Raspberry patch where the pumpkins can spread out. Still have a few more tree limbs to remove so the area gets maximum lighting. I planted about 18 Big Max Seeds yesterday in seed starter trays with about 72 other veggie seeds. Got the garden tilled and we have started to add in compost and peat moss. Hoping for better weather this summer. Cold and Rainy like last year is not good for the growing season.


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## Joiseygal

I found a location that I'm going to plant my pumpkins in, but I still have to build a flower box and get the dirt ready. I figure I should be able to plant the pumpkins in two weeks. Thanks for the frost schedules Roxy because I should be right on target if I go by those schedules. BlackCat can I still plant my pumpkins by the seed without starting them in starter kits? I bought starter kits, but I just can't see me attempting that this year.


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## BadTable Manor

Started our Big Max seeds a couple weeks ago, and BOY, they did not disappoint! 
Last year I started too late, and kept them in pots. This year I'll be transplanting them onto my slope.


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## Goblin

My friend Julianne grows huge pumpkins. 500 lbs. She offered me some of the seeds but
I have no space to grow them


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## RoxyBlue

Spooky1 started some Big Max and Jack-O-Lantern seeds this weekend. He usually plants 2-3 seeds per pot, then thins them down to the three best plants once they've grown a bit. They'll go into the yard somewhere probably late May - three vines is pretty much all we have space for.

I'm hoping with the Jacks that we get enough pumpkins to share with the neighbor kids - I think they'd enjoy that. With the Big Max variety, we pretty much have to settle for one good pumpkin per vine.


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## Baldzillabill

I want to try to grow some myself this year. Maybe a very small patch, I like to carve about 6-7 jacks each year and I have a great connection for free pumpkins every year. I just want to see if maybe I can grow a few this year.


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## Sickie Ickie

how much attention do these really need? I mean, every day type of thing or what?


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## BadTable Manor

Sickie, from what little I've heard/read, they do like lots of full sun and lots of water. Also, planting mint or marigolds between them will keep away the pumpkin-eating beatles. 
I'm sure the pros on this thread got lots of good advice.


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## Frighteners Entertainment

got my seeds today, also my pie pumpkin seeds as well.


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## Ms. Wicked

I potted up all of the seeds for my veggie garden today, including my pumpkins.

I'm growing two varieties: JOL and Prizewinner. I hope it is not as cold and wet as last summer!


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## RoxyBlue

We're still waiting for the seeds we planted last week to sprout.


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## Spooky1

Five of nine of the seeds we planted in pots have strouted.


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## MorbidMariah

Woohoo! ALL my seeds have sprouted!  But now I'm worried that the plot I planted them in is much too small. :/ Any tips for how to keep the vines in check once they start growing?


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## SKAustin

As an update, I have probably about 100 plants that have come up from the mound of pumpkin guts. Squirrels did a number on the seeds towards the surface, but still I have so many plants that have come up, many with their second set of leaves already. Not too shabby for upstate NY.


SKAustin said:


> My best Pumpkin plants in the past came from pumpkins that were left out to rot over the winter. So this past fall, I took all of the guts from our Jacks, and stored it in a large bucket until after Halloween. I took all of the jacks and diced 'em up after the holiday, then tilled the meat into the soil. I took all of the guts, spread them out along with a few whole smaller pumpkins, in a section of our garden. I covered it all up with the straw left over from our display. Now it's just "hope for the best".
> 
> I also plant garlic, which is harvested in july, so that will give my pumpkins more room as they grow.
> 
> Last year was my first (quasi) successful pumpkin planting experience. I grew a total of 6 pumpkins. I've tried many times in the past, but never with any success. They would always get to the size of a light bulb, then shrivel up and die.


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## RoxyBlue

MorbidMariah said:


> Woohoo! ALL my seeds have sprouted!  But now I'm worried that the plot I planted them in is much too small. :/ Any tips for how to keep the vines in check once they start growing?


Seeing as how the vines can grow 20-30 feet in length or more (at least for the bigger varieties), about all we've ever done to keep them in check is direct them along a fence line or around our shed. The most we've ever had in our yard was three plants because of their size, and we have a decent size yard. Flowers will develop all along the vine, but once one pumpkin gets started on a vine, none of the others flourish (again, at least for the bigger varieties - takes a lot of plant energy and resources to grow a 50 pound and larger pumpkin). I don't think we've ever cut them back to keep the size down.

We're trying the Jack-O-Lantern variety this year along with Big Max (which we've grown in years past) to see if we have any success getting more than one fruit from a plant and maybe not quite so monstrous a vine.


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## Ms. Wicked

My "Prizewinners" have germinated, but "JOL" has not. I feel like it's on its way though!


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## RoxyBlue

As of yesterday, we had two of the Big Max and four of the Jack-O-Lantern up.


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## Bone Dancer

I just got my seeds today. Maybe I should start them in pots. This is way early to plant right now even with all the nice weather we have had. I just know there will be a killing frost one of these nites.


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## RoxyBlue

Bone Dancer said:


> I just got my seeds today. Maybe I should start them in pots. This is way early to plant right now even with all the nice weather we have had. I just know there will be a killing frost one of these nites.


You should be able to start them in pots indoors about two weeks before the last expected frost in your area. That will give you a jump start on the growing season.


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## Bone Dancer

Thanks Roxy, this is my first try at pumpkins.


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## RoxyBlue

^ You're welcome!

Whatever you do, though, don't try to plant 30 of them in your yard. They're like triffids - they'd take over the world given half a chance


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## Ms. Wicked

One of my JOL's germinated this morning!!!!!!!!!

Bill, you'll do just fine with the pumpkins. You're a great gardener!


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## STOLLOWEEN

We are planning a pumpkin patch this year, my mother-in-law has a large garden she has offered to us and we immediately thought...pumpkins!


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## kid

RoxyBlue said:


> ^ Whatever you do, though, don't try to plant 30 of them in your yard. They're like triffids - they'd take over the world given half a chance


You aint lyin'!!!

I planted just 6, and one day I opened the blinds in my bedroom to find a foot long vine INSIDE the house:googly:


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## MorbidMariah

So, I planted mine in a raised bed...and now realize it's much too small. :undecidekin: Will the vines come out over the side of the block barrier and grow that way ok? If so, that's great! I don't mind 'em spilling into that part of the yard. Or should I real quick try and build a bigger bed? :confusedkin:


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## kid

Yes, the vine will find it's way over the barrier...believe me. Just make sure the pumpkins are supported off the ground when they start up. Keep them level and supported, and they'll look great


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## MorbidMariah

Thanks, kid! :jol:


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## Frighteners Entertainment

got the seeds in the ground yesterday along with my pie pumpkins.

perfect spot growing with in the corn that I got in as well...was a pretty good day.


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## dflowers2

So I guess this means it is time for me to get off my kister and plant my pumpkin seeds? I did not know you planted them this early for Halloween. The work never ends....


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## Spooky1

It got down to 36 degrees last night . Our pumpkin plants looked have survived. I hope you folks in the Midwest and Northeast didn't lose any plants if you've already planted.


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## BadTable Manor

Got a frillion baby plants ready to take over the yard... but they do seem to be growing a bit slow. I fed them a week ago, so we'll see what they do. Excited!


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## fick209

Spooky1 said:


> It got down to 36 degrees last night . Our pumpkin plants looked have survived. I hope you folks in the Midwest and Northeast didn't lose any plants if you've already planted.


Yup, some goofy weather going around, but I'll keep sticking to my grandama's rule of thumb, pumpkins and squash get planted on Memorial Day Weekend. I've never been disappointed with the quantity or the quality so I'll be planting mine in in 3 weeks


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## Spooky1

Mine are in pots right now so I can bring them indoors if i needed.


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## Eeeekim

I planted a hill last week. i still need to get some manure to add to my soil is it OK to do that after the fact. I put the hill at the edge of my garden so the vines can grow out into the yard without taking over the hole bed. I hope the timing is right. Will they grow until you pick them or do they stop growing after at a point?


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## RoxyBlue

Eeeekim said:


> I planted a hill last week. i still need to get some manure to add to my soil is it OK to do that after the fact. I put the hill at the edge of my garden so the vines can grow out into the yard without taking over the hole bed. I hope the timing is right. Will they grow until you pick them or do they stop growing after at a point?


We don't typically add anything to the soil where we plant our pumpkin vines and have never had a problem getting good growth (we'd probably get better if we did), so I'm thinking you can add composted manure after the fact without issue. I've also seen recommendations to add fertilizer in areas the vines will cover since the plants can send down secondary roots along the length of the vine. You'll definitely want to be sure the plants are watered regularly. Growing pumpkins get thirsty.

Timing of planting is partly last-frost dependent (in our area, that would be May 1, so you're good there) and partly time-to-maturity dependent for the variety of pumpkin you plant. The big ones can take up to 150 days to mature. Each variety has a programmed (so to speak) size at maturation. Once ripe, they aren't going to get significantly bigger.


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## Spooky1

Here's our pumpkins from last week. I hope to get them in the ground this weekend

DSC02370 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## Joiseygal

Looks like those plants are going to produce some nice pumpkins Spooky1.  Do you have your paint brush ready or do you have all those bees living in the dragon again?


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## RoxyBlue

LOL, Joisey, he'll have the paintbrush ready We haven't seen a return of wasps yet to the dragon's mouth, but I did leave the nest there in the hopes it might discourage them from using a location so close to where we have to work


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## Fester

To those of you growing Big Max. How big of a bed is needed? I have 2 4'x32' beds, but they are full of veggies through the summer. I am thinking of cranking out a 12'x12' in a full sun area of the back yard. Would that be big enough toi grow out 1 plant?


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## Spooky1

Fester, The Big Max vines will grow to about 30' long. A 12 x 12 bed should work if you spiral the vines around the bed,


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## Fester

Spooky, Thanks for the info. My back is still smarting from the two big raised beds, but the gang really want to grow pumpkins this year. I guess its time to fire the tiller back up again 

What is everybody doing for the area beyond the mound? I'm just worried about grass growing in and getting out of control.


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## RoxyBlue

You'll pretty much have to live with grass growing up in areas where the pumpkin vine spreads. We plant our vines in mulched beds and one will always end up growing along the fence line out into the yard since we can't divert it anywhere else. Spooky1 cuts the grass as close to the vine as possible, but lets the rest go until the pumpkin is harvested. If it really bugs you, you can always trim by hand closer to the vine than you can get with a lawn mower.

BTW, we've never used the mound method with pumpkins and they don't seem to mind


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## RoxyBlue

Here are some recent shots of our plants. Two were put into the back beds in our yard, and the rest are serving as backup replacements in case the planted ones are eaten.

Big Max planted to the left of our shed:

DSCF2922 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Jack-O-Lantern on the right:

DSCF2927 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Plants in reserve:

DSCF2962 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## MorbidMariah

Just thought I'd share some pics of my babies...they are just going like gangbusters! :jol:


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## RoxyBlue

Wow, you have flowers already, MM! Tucson must be a great place to grow pumpkins


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## Spooky1

Nice plants, MM! Your growing season must start earlier down there in Tucson.


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## MorbidMariah

Thanks, Spooky1! Yep, we plant pumpkins here in Southern AZ frm April 7-21st or so.
We're currently hovering at 104-108 degrees. Summer is HERE in the Old Pueblo! So my pumpkins are drinking lots of water.


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## CaliforniaMelanie

I have given up on pumpkins out here (in the southwest).  Boo. And not in a good way. 

I just can't seem to time when it will be hot enough, v. when it will be too hot for my females to flower.

I'm trying for gourds this year instead. I have heard they're more prolific and just generally easier to grow. I will post pics tomorrow. My little plants never really took off (I planted them a month and a half ago) but now suddenly they're beginning to grow, and I got two male flowers.


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## BroomRide

I'm trying to grow Giant pumpkins. So far they look great. Last year was awful in upstate NY. Hopefully I have better luck this year.


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## Joiseygal

Morbid your pumpkin plant is looking amazing! I planted my pumpkins about a week ago. I bought a plant at Home Depot instead of seeds. I want to do a test trial this year because the area I planted it doesn't get much sun. If it doesn't grow this year than I think I will have to give up on pumpkins because I have no other area to plant them.  Anyway so far it seems like it is doing ok.


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## thefireguy

*Speeder's 2010 Pumpkin Growing*

Alright today was the day I planted. I planted 3 seeds in each large hole in 6 holes with a total of 18 plants of the Heirloom Seeds (10-20 lbs.) Here is a few pictures of the planting session.





































I'll let you know how it turns out.

Speeder


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## RoxyBlue

Here are a few new shots of our pumpkins.

Emergency backup pumpkins in pots (in case we lose one of the planted ones). These have been putting out male flowers only so far.

DSCF2979 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Big Max vine - we've had some blooms on this one, also male only so far:

DSCF2989 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Jack-O-Lantern vine:

DSCF2990 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## Spooky1

I swear the Big Max pictured above (by Roxy) grew at least 6 inches yesterday.  We're watering them every day and giving them some Miracle Grow once a week.


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## Joiseygal

Wow everyone's pumpkin plants are looking great! I still don't have flowers, but it looks like the same size plant as the rest so I'm happy. Good Luck Fireguy with your pumpkins. How many days does it say it will take to grow? I'm thinking it will be really close to Halloween. Oh and are they your kids because they are adorable.


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## Ms. Wicked

My pumpkins have taken off... unlike much of the rest of my garden that took a beating while I was gone for 2 1/2 weeks.

I'll try to get some pics up today.


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## Ms. Wicked

Here are my pumpkins. There are four plants in there: Two Prizewinner and two JOL.


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## Joiseygal

Wow Kellie you weren't kidding when you said your pumpkins are taking off. You are getting so many flowers and it is a huge plant so far. Really nice job so far.


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## SKAustin

So I went out and peeked around in my garden this evening and discovered that I have 2 pumpkins already, each about the size of a baseball. I have 2 more females about to bloom, so as long as the bees are out doing their job tomorrow morning, I should have two more. 

On another note, my wife and i have decided to expand our garden by several hundred square feet. In fact, we will be increasing the size of our garden by nearly 200%, from the current 182 sq feet to a total of 544 sq feet. Now I'll have room for more pumpkins, and maybe a small crop of corn. SWEET!


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## MorbidMariah

Man, I'm jealous! I'm sooo sad...my vines are getting scorched terribly by our insane AZ sun.  No matter how often I water, and I've put up shade cloth...they continue to look rather unhappy. And I was off to such a good start!


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## RoxyBlue

We haven't seen our first pumpkin yet, but the blooms are appearing regularly and the vines are taking off.


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## SKAustin

Update: Harvested the Garlic today. It's a few days early, but seems to be good. Needed the room for the Pumpkins. With the garlic removed, I found 4 more pumpkins that I hadn't seen prior. Total pumpkin count now up to 8. WooHoo!



SKAustin said:


> So I went out and peeked around in my garden this evening and discovered that I have 2 pumpkins already, each about the size of a baseball. I have 2 more females about to bloom, so as long as the bees are out doing their job tomorrow morning, I should have two more.
> 
> On another note, my wife and i have decided to expand our garden by several hundred square feet. In fact, we will be increasing the size of our garden by nearly 200%, from the current 182 sq feet to a total of 544 sq feet. Now I'll have room for more pumpkins, and maybe a small crop of corn. SWEET!


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## tuck

I decided this year to try and grow some of the small gourds as well as my punkins...yes punkins is the correct spelling...well for me anyway....regardless. I was curious if anybody has ever tried to get their gourds to vine up a trellis. I am trying it to see if it works, but I'm not sure how the vine will take the weight of the gourd. I plan on supporting the gourds with some of the wife's pantyhose if the start getting too big.


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## The Bloodshed Brothers

we planted 3 plants this year. its our first year planting pumpkins all the are doing great right now. we hope to get at least 5 off the tree of them so we dont have to spend a fortune on them this year


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## Fester

*To cull or not to cull.....*

I'm late to the party as usual, but I finally have something to look at 

Here is my patch this year. I only ended up with 16x8 with 2 Big Max plants going. The intent was to cull one when they got bigger, but I'm thinking of just letting them take over this back part of the yard. I tilled in about 300 lbs of manure into the bed and dug a hole 3'X2' and added in 25lbs manure and ~45lbs of peat moss to form a mound.

I started them 3 weeks ago in beer cups for a week and then transplanted to this bed 2 weeks ago. The seeds germinated surprisingly quickly, only 3 days and they were up out of the soil. I filed the edges of the seeds to help them start a little quicker. It seemed to work.

I've been watering every couple of days by letting the hose run on low for about a half hour. I just fed for the first time yesterday as I had added a good deal of manure to the mound. I'm hoping to see some flowers in the next week or so.:jol:


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## Spooky1

Latest pics of our pumpkin plants. No pumpkins yet, though.

Jack-o-lantern

DSC02506 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Big Max

DSC02505 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## RoxyBlue

The picture of the Big Max vine that Spooky1 posted above was taken three days before this one. This shot will give you an idea of how fast these vines grow. Note the branch going up the fence by the woodpile and the second branch heading toward the back of the shed. So you have an idea of the length of the plant, the bed is about eight feet deep from the front brick line to the back fence.

DSCF3052 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

It does appear we'll be seeing some female flowers soon - woot!


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## Catatonic

Oh my.... I've just planted my pumpkins and it appears as though I've done everything wrong. First of all.... I JUST planted. Secondly, I planted 10 plants in an area about 10x12. Perhaps no pumpkins for me after all. Suggestions??


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## Fester

RoxyBlue your not kidding with the BMs. These things must be growing >6" a day.

Here they are just 4 days later:









Good news, lots of these on each plant, now I just need to some male flowers 









Bad news is that the squash borers have shown up in full force. I had to cut larvae out of every single squash and zucchini plant in the veggie garden and found one in one of the pumpkin plants yesterday. Don't know if any of y'all have to deal with these, but these things are pure evil.


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## RoxyBlue

Catatonic said:


> Oh my.... I've just planted my pumpkins and it appears as though I've done everything wrong. First of all.... I JUST planted. Secondly, I planted 10 plants in an area about 10x12. Perhaps no pumpkins for me after all. Suggestions??


Well, the good news is, since it's warmer now, they should sprout and grow faster Depending on what variety you planted, one plant can easily take over a 10' X 12' area. Just thin down once the plants have been growing for a bit to the one or two healthiest looking vines.


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## Ms. Wicked

My vines have really taken off... and with the heat, the leaves have been wilting. In addition to the veggie garden watering system, I've been giving them extra to help keep up with it.

There are several fruits which appear to have set. I've only planted four vines this year and will have a smaller crop than last year, so fingers crossed there are no pumpkin disasters!

I'll try to get pictures later and see if I can download them on my new laptop.


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## Catatonic

Thanks for the suggestions Roxy. Hope everyone has a fantastic crop!


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## Ms. Wicked

Here are two pumpkins that seem to have set; there are two others that are much smaller.


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## Death's Door

Looks like you're off to a good start Ms. Wicked! 

Catatonic - you should be fine. You'll have a later crop which you'll be harvesting in October. I planted Big Max, Cinderella, and JackoLatern seeds on July 5th and they popped out of the ground within two days of planting. 

I'm a littled concerned with this heat because last year we had a wet summer with low temps and the pumpkins didn't get any mold and did well. We're having the dry and very hot temps this year so I don't know what to expect.


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## Fester

It might be a little premature to call this a pumpkin, but it looks pretty good so far.









There are two others that are a little smaller. Bad news is that one is on the same vine as this largest and will probably have to go later. The second plant looks to be just a few days behind.


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## RoxyBlue

We had one little pumpkin start to set, then it rotted off - bummer


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## Morticia

Wish I could plant some. The dogs and/or the varmits around would get to them though I'm sure.


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## Spooky1

No pumpkins yet on any of our 3 plants (lots of male flowers only), and my Big Max has started to wilt some in the afternoon heat. I'm starting to get discouraged.


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## SKAustin

Ive got about a dozen or so pumpkins now. Some of the Pie Pumpkins are already starting to turn orange. WHAT THE HECK am i going to do with pumpkins in August????

Anyone have any idea how long they can stay on the vine after they turn orange?


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## RoxyBlue

SK, here are a couple sites that discuss harvesting pumpkins. It appears they can stay in the vine for a while, but they can certainly be stored for some time if they're properly cured first and you have a cool place to put them.

http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/harvesting-pumpkins/index.html

http://www.weekendgardener.net/blog/2007/08/how-to-harvest-pumpkins-properly.htm


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## MorbidMariah

Yeah, my first patch of pumpkin vines took off and were so huge and healthy looking. Then we hit our Sonoran Summer...105-110 degree days one after the other...and they died.  I planted a second patch which are in shade 90% of the time. They are looking rather healthy and have flowers, but I'm not holding my breath.


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## Spooky1

So far half of our Big Max plant has died and for some reason the female flowers on all of the plants seem to die before they even bloom. May not be a good year for pumpkins here this year.


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## Fester

I think it's safe to call it a pumpkin now 









The largest on the second plant.









There look to be about 4 on the main vines on each plant so far. I've read that I need to cut that back to one per vine, but I'm not sure if I want to do that or not. I'm hoping that if I pump plenty of water and fertilizer that the two plants can manage a number of pretty large pumpkins.


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## RoxyBlue

Those pumpkins are doing well, Fester! As to cutting back on the number per vine, you may find that Mother Nature does that for you. Our experience with Big Max in previous years has been that, once one pumpkin gets a head start, the others on the same vine die off. It will be interesting to see if additional watering and fertilizer work for you.


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## ScreamingScarecrow

Grow Pumpkins Grow!
Grow Pumpkins Grow!
Grow Pumpkins Grow!!

Hope that helps!


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## Warrant2000

I swear, all I did was throw some seeds on the ground, kick some dirt on it, and walk away!

I have 1 large long vine that sneaked behind a row of bushes, with 1 volleyball-sized pumpkin growing on it. It's dark green and getting orange splotches. My vines grow super fast, and I have 4-8 flowers at a time.

The problem is the rest of my vines all get the same problem...the leaves get white patches, then eventually wither and die, and the vine eventually dies. The plant does not have a problem resrpouting another vine that grows like crazy. 

I live in Southern California, the soil is a mix of dirt and sand. Daily temps are in the high 60's/low 70's, nights are mid-50's. The hot weather starts next month and is expected to reach into the 90's. The auto-sprinklers come on every night, but I've moved my one good pumpkin to a dry area and put it in some shade (it's still connected to the vine). 

Do I have to worry about the withering leaves?
Should I trim off all the dead leaves or let it sit for nutrients?
Should I let it bake in the sun or keep it in the shade?
Should I turn the pumkin every few days to get it an even coloring?


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## tuck

Not sure if anybody else is battling Squash Borers or not but we found a technique that seems to be working. If you notice at the base of your plant an area that looks eaten away or if you are having leaves that are dying off it could be caused by this bug. We found if you take a razor blade and cut off the effected leaf then slice up the stalk of the leaf that you may find a grub. This is what eats away your plant and can cause it to die. They can also get into the main stalk. If this happens we simply sliced away at the stalk, not cutting it completely through but just enough to see what's going on inside the stalk. After we find the bug we send them to the killing fields and then cover the effected area with dirt and water like crazy. We have been able to save a pumpkin plant and two zucchini plants using this method. It doesn't always work and can kill the plant but it is better than the alternative. If you let the Squash Borer go it will kill the plant 100% of the time. The grubs we found range in size from a quarter inch up to about an inch. They are white and sorta look like meal worms (if anybody goes fishing they will know that is)

The symptoms to look for that we noticed are withered and dying leaves. (Try and water first, sometimes the heat of the day can cause them to wither) and small eaten away areas at the base of the stalk or leaves. 

HTH


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## tuck

Wife cut this out and I thought it was kinda funny. Thought I would share.


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## RoxyBlue

I love Mutts!


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## Fester

Roxy, you were dead on with the other pumpkins dying off as soon as these two were set. Even the blooms on the other vines died off.

It looks like it will be just the two this year unless one comes along in the next few days.

I can't get this one turned upright as the vines are way too rooted to move. So it will have to stay on it's side.









This smaller second one I was able to get turned up last night. It looks like it should be a nice shape.









I've been watering every day or so, but I have only feed once. I am starting to feed at least once a week now that the fruit are starting to pack on some size. I also put a couple of inches of sand under them as I had read that this help keep the bottoms dry and deter insects.


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## Spooky1

Nice looking pumpkins Fester. Our Big Max plant has died and both of the Jack0lantern pumpkin plants continue to have the female flowers wither before ever opening. I've only had one female flower bloom and no fruit started. The male flowers are all blooming away. It may be a store bought pumpkin year for us.


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## Spooky1

We finally had a female flower bloom on one of the Jack-o-lantern plants. I'm crossing my fingers that it will fruit. I did help it out by painting brushing in some pollen from some male flowers.


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## Frighteners Entertainment

Here are a few pics of some of the plants growing this year.
Have a few of the pie pumpkins turning orange already.


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## Spooky1

Our one pumpkin so far.

DSC02616 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## Death's Door

I have been checking my pumpkin garden for a week now and a few blooms but that is it. There have been no changes in the size of leaves or anything. It's like the garden hit a standstill-no additional growth whatsoever. I'm thinking it's due to the hot weather we have been experiencing this summer. Last year I had a ton of flowers and vines all over the place. The temps were cooler last year also. Today our temperatures is 73 and off-and-on rain.


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## TheOneAndOnlyKelly

I tried, this year, to grow some pumpkins for the first year. But, alas, we had so much rain in the spring and early summer that they perished from what my neighbor called "root rot". So I am stuck buying once again.


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## MorbidMariah

I treid too. At first all was going SO WELL! Then we hit many days of 105+ degrees, and they just couldn't take it, no matter how much shade and water I tried to give 'em. SIGH. Aw well...I guess maybe Southern AZ isn't the easiest place to grow pumpkins.


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## Fester

*Squash Bugs-2/Fester-0*

I lost the battle to the squash bugs. They managed to kill both plants and start in on the pumpkins themselves. I was too passive in my reactions early and paid the price later. 

The pumpkins got to 43" around and 32 pounds, but started to rot so I let the kids get some pleasure out of them. They gutted and carved one, but the other was just a little to funky inside. So I have a rather large JL in front of the house now.

Next year I start a little earlier and won't be afraid to "go nuclear" earlier if I have to. I was surprised to see how effective the soapy water was directly on the bugs.

Definitely marked up as a "Learning Experience"


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## RoxyBlue

Sorry to hear you lost your pumpkins, Fester

Soapy water is definitely effective and, for humans and pets, non-toxic. We've used it on stink bugs (of which we have a plethora this year for some reason).


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## Spooky1

Looks like I have a second pumpkin starting. There should be enough time for it to grow to full size (depending on the weather).


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## RoxyBlue

Here are the latest pictures of the two pumpkins we have growing - both are Jack-o-Lantern variety. These were taken a day ago.

The older of the two - it's just starting to get some orange color to it:

DSCF3258 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

A second pumpkin on a second vine of the same plant:

DSCF3259 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

The back-up, in case of emergency vine growing in a pot on our patio:

DSCF3257 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

An open female flower on the patio vine that we hope will develop into a third pumpkin:

DSCF3256 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## spidermonkey

Hey all...

I think I need to start mine a little later in the season. 

This year, I moved my squash (in a brand new raised bed) and pumpkins but still ended up with those horrible squash borer worms. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to prevent this for next year, I would be most grateful.

Any how, I got a few pumpkins out of the batch and have a couple more still in the garden.


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## Hauntiholik

Think BIG my friends! These pictures were taken on the drive into work this morning.


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## Death's Door

Cool pics Haunti - Yep it's time for braggin' rights. Unfortunately I got shafted this year - all vine, a few flowers, then zilch, nothing, nadda!


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## RoxyBlue

Whoa, now THAT'S a Pumpkin King

Looks like we'll end up with two carvable pumpkins and possibly one small one just for decoration if the vine on the patio doesn't die first.


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## Frighteners Entertainment

sorry to hear about lack of pumpkins this year.
Mine did very well and would gladly share them.
The butternut squash did even better.

and did you know that butternut squash and pie pumpkins taste almost the same?
the sugar content is pretty close so you could use either...cool huh?


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## Spooky1

Our meager pumpkin crop for the year. We got 2 that are carvable.

DSC02927 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## sakko303

Hi guys, though I didn't grow any this year, I did have fun in 2010, and blogged about it. I thought I'd share. My blog is not so active anymore, so I'll just cut and paste here

One tip before we get started and I really hope it's okay to link stuff on this forum, all my pumpkin growing knowledge I got from http://www.pumpkinnook.com, they have the whole pumpkin story cradle to grave and and article on just about everything in between.:


A long time ago, in a blog not so far away, I'd planned to post about the results of my 2010 garden. Specifically, about the 3 pumpkins I grew from it. Blog template problems and not enough time, made that not happen, but that doesn't mean I can't share it with you now. I've got some cool pictures, and had put a lot of work in to the whole gardening thing, so without further adieu, here we go.
​
Grand total, 3 pumpkins. I am really proud of them! They looked fantastic. What a trip. Digging the garden. Getting the sprinklers working. Planting the seeds. Watching it all grow. Freaking out at every bug I saw. Preparing for disappointment. Worrying about disease.


Our three pumpkins. Wolfman and Jekyll on top, and Frankenstein on bottom.

Cutting the pumpkin vines was pretty exciting for me. Finally nothing could go wrong with these wonderful orange things I had worried about so much.

Frankenstein was clearly our largest pumpkin. Though a very respectable size, any pumpkin gardener is going to ponder the question "How can I make more big pumpkins next year?". Well, there are a few factors. One may very well be species. My pumpkins are rather smooth looking in comparison to store bought jack-o-lantern pumpkins. The big ones, from what I have seen anyway, have deeper "veins" along their surface. I might need to work out a better "size" species specifically, and order the seeds, instead of just picking whatever is available from a home and garden store. For 2011, I ordered something a little "special". We'll get to that in another post.



Frankenstein boasts a very large secondary root system near the pumpkin itself. This could attribute much to its final size. 
It does stand to consider that Frankenstein got big because things just went right though. Take a close look at his vine. This thick stocky vine is what connects pumpkins to the main vine. The thin dirty tendrils coming off the top are secondary roots that formed right at the very spot the pumpkin was connected to the vine. This pumpkin got a VERY close and robust source of water and nutrients. Very ideal.

So the waiting game was over. I put them in a closet for a few weeks hoping things would be okay for their big day. A nice dark, safe closet with consistent temperatures is the best place for them. Halloween came and they were ready for carving. They felt and looked as good as the day I picked them. The kids helped scoop the goop.... for 30 seconds, then watched cartoons. My wife helped me carve and we were all done!



We had a guest at carving time, so we had an extra pumpkin from the store.



We dried out the seeds and baked them, but they are not the most popular Halloween treat. Respect to the C-A-N-D-Y.


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