Growing Pumkins

[Lincolnshirelass]

I'm intrigued by all this talk of pumpkins...

I've tried the past two years and the first year I got zilch, and this year I got two tiny pumpkins (about the size of a huge beef tomato). I just can't seem to get the fruit to set. They flower OK, and on the advice of a friend I took to fertilising the female flowers by hand to make sure (the bees don't seem too interested...).

But they just wouldn't set - they'd apparently fertilise and then wither.

Any ideas as to my problems? Not enough poo? I'll admit to not pre-fertilising any more heavily than on my normal plot (which is mostly just compost from the previous year's heap...)

[supersprout]

So how long should pumpkins/squashes store for once cut off of the plant?

Several months, depending on variety (butternut shorter, Australian Blue types longer), if kept cool and dry. We ate the last of the 2005 crop in June 2006.

I'd keep them somewhere you can see them often and whisk away any that show the slightest signs of rot - once they decide to 'go', it's pretty fast! Our punkins sit on the stairs

[9ball]

Great pic!

Do you get a domino/slinky thing happen if the top one gets knocked down?

[supersprout]

Good one 9ball!

[hedgewizard]

Our punkins sit on the stairs

Extreme trip hazard!

If you grow enough to afford to lose maybe a quarter, you should be eating them into the spring or even later with no problem at all. This year we're growing squash instead because they are more versatile and taste better - a couple of compact bush-types for summer use, and the rest sprawly winter-storage ones. Oh, and one giant pumpkin for Halloween!

Lincoln, if you've got problems you might solve it by putting a little wood ash into the soil, or watering with tomato feed (more potash = more flowers and fruit), or by growing more than one plant to increase the chance of fertilisation. Another thing that occurs is to include a nearby clump of a beneficial insect attractor like poached egg plant or coriander. Alternatively, they like having wet feet so if you think dryness might be the cause then bury a lump of compost or similar six inches down. I use half-arsed german mounds, and they work brilliantly.

[Milims]

erm..... can't find the half arsed german mounds. Highly amused by the chicken thing tho!

[hedgewizard]

Bloody hell, now I can't find it either! Since I was growing in very poor topsoil/subsoil mix, I dug a bunch of holes 60cm wide and 60cm deep - not too arduous really - and 1m apart. These got half-filled with crappy twiggy woodchippy stuff, and then flooded with water to make sure it was nice and soggy. Then I filled the rest in with rough compost and a bit of blood, fish and bone meal, flooded it again, marked the position of the holes with sticks and raked all the fill out even(ish)ly over the area. It worked a treat.

Of course the worms will have diluted all that twiggy goodness by now, but hopefully they've brought in more nutrients with them. In the autumn I capped them with more rough compost and put squares of old carpet over them to keep the rain out, and then broadcast sowed forage peas as a green manure. Once I strim those down in spring and fork over, the whole strip should be fairly high in nitrogen and organic material. Roll on summer!

[Chocobed]

When I grow them I usually make a trench Runner bean style, then cover that with an equal depth above soil of manure, compost or similar and bury one drain pipe per plant station vertically. Water into the pipes after the plants have settled. Use dilute worm compost liquid, varying the strength until you are pouring near neat mix towards the end of the growth season. limit plants to about 3 fruits each.

[hedgewizard]

The vertical drainpipe is a good solution, though I don't limit the number of fruits simply because more, smaller fruits are more useful in the kitchen. What sort of worm bin do you have, and how do you collect the liquid?

[Chocobed]

I was growing for size then but you're right, I'll be trying for more managable kitchen size fruits this year. Friend had a wormerey at home and gave me the juice free..lol

[chadspad]

Has anyone had success growing the smaller variety squashes up poles or those twisty type tomato pole things (hope someone knows what I mean ).

[red]

we grew vegetable spaggetti - which is a squash up trellis.. does that count?

[chadspad]

Yes Red that does count thanks, it shows it can be done. I have 7 different types of squashes to try (gone a bit mad on them this year!!) and Ive read that they might cross-pollinate so want to try putting them in different places to separate them as much as possible. Thanks again