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Quick question re pumpkin

blameitonthedogblameitonthedog Posts: 122
in Fruit & veg
First time I have grown pumpkins so apologies for the rather inane question.  They have many, many small flower buds underneath the foliage (the plants themselves are healthy and have grown enormously over the last few weeks) and they are well fed and watered.

My question is...the flower buds are still 'tight', completely green and have been that way for a good few weeks.  Is this normal for getting on for mid July?  They were planted out at the end of May. 

Thanks.





Posts

  • blameitonthedogblameitonthedog Posts: 122
    Bump
  • ItalophileItalophile Posts: 1,731
    Give them time. Pumpkins can take a while to get to a flowering stage. Frustratingly, you will probably also find a plethora of male flowers before a female emerges.
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    I remove almost all of my male flower shoots, allowing just one or two per plant.  The energy is being used to produce more and more male flowers.  If the flower has a bump behind it - that is the pumpkin leave it on the plant, if the flower has a straight stem behind it then remove - bar one or two. We use this format for our courgettes, cucumbers, squash and pumpkins.  We have been growing squash for 5 or more years and courgettes for almost 40, we sell what we cannot use/give away.
  • ZeroZero1ZeroZero1 Posts: 577
    Keep them well watered as they can drop their fruits if you don't. 
  • ItalophileItalophile Posts: 1,731
    Don't waste the male flowers if there aren't any females around. Nip out the stamen, shake the flower to get rid of any ants or insects. Mix up a light batter - 125g cornflour, 1/2 cup of cold water, 1 egg white. Put about an inch of sunflower oil in a pan, heat to 180C. Working in batches of two or three, coat the flour in batter, drain the excess, fry to light golden colour and crisp, turning as needed. Sprinkle with salt. Delicious.
  • Womble54Womble54 Posts: 348
    Sounds great Italophile. When’s best to pick the flowers to cook? When they open? Just before or after? Thanks
  • ItalophileItalophile Posts: 1,731
    As soon as they're properly open. Best picked early in the morning when they're freshest. They go downhill, get a bit floppy, pretty quickly if it's warm. Don't worry if you tear the petals a bit when removing the stamen. They will keep for a couple of days, if need be, in the fridge in an airtight container.
  • blameitonthedogblameitonthedog Posts: 122
    Thank you all so much.  It's only a couple of pumpkin plants but you know how it is.. we have put so much into tending them, it would be disappointing to see them fail!
  • Womble54Womble54 Posts: 348
    Fingers crossed BIOTG. Hope you get a nice crop of pumpkin for the autumn.
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