Pumpkins

[grubbysoles]

Hi,

I'm trying to get a pumpkin plant going for my 2 year old for Hallowe'en (ok, for me, but she's a good excuse...). I planted a couple of seeds and nothing happened, so I have tried again in better compost and put them in the airing cupboard. One has sprouted but it looks a bit, urm, strange. It sort of looks like 2 roots are sticking out of the compost. Have I planted the seed the wrong way round, or is it supposed to look like this! I can see the rest of the seed just under the top of the compost - should I flip it over or something so that the little rooty-looking things are going down rather than up?

I would post a photo but I'm just no good at such things...

[becks77]

Experience shows pumpkin and squash are very hungry and need to be planted in very fertile soil, we put ours in the rest of the pile of muck left over and they came up a treat.
If yours go out in the ground they will probably right themselves and grow beautifully.

[grubbysoles]

Thanks for the tips - I have covered the roots over with the compost and a 'proper' seedling is now pushing through. So, all I need now is a cow or a horse to provide me with lots of poo to keep it well fed Do pumpkin plants like chicken poo? I have lots of that. And if so, can I lob it straight in the ground where said pumpy plant is going or would it need to rot down a bit first? I will be hung, drawn and quartered by Madam if I don't successfully grow her at least one pumpkin...

[Millymollymandy]

Fresh chook poo will burn the plant's roots so it needs to be composted first. If you don't have any home made compost then just fertilise the soil where it will be planted. I grew pumpkins successfully on sandy soil with no compost added when I didn't have any my first year here. I just had to water a lot!