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Pumpkin novice 🎃 - tips please.
AuntyRach
Posts: 5,291
I may have made a school-girl error by sowing some pumpkins (large variety: Rocket)…
It seemed like a cool activity to do with the niece but now I’m
thinking that I don’t have the room or experience to make a success.
It seemed like a cool activity to do with the niece but now I’m
thinking that I don’t have the room or experience to make a success.
Questions:
Can I grow in a large pot?
Should I let sprawl or try an upright support?
Is it just the main plant that needs the good earth/compost and the ‘vines’ can sprawl on grass/patio etc?
Can I grow in a large pot?
Should I let sprawl or try an upright support?
Is it just the main plant that needs the good earth/compost and the ‘vines’ can sprawl on grass/patio etc?
Could I put in my poly greenhouse?
Is it best to nurture just a couple of ‘fruits’?
Any tips gratefully received 🎃
Any tips gratefully received 🎃
My garden and I live in South Wales.
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Posts
I leave mine to grow over the floor not upright as the pumpkins can get very heavy and I wouldn’t be able to support them. Yes the ‘vines’ are able to ‘sprawl’ over your grass/patio if you want.
They need to be pollinated so keep that in mind in a green house.
It depends what your doing with the pumpkins when your done. I eat mine so don’t mind the size. If your carving and want a big one I would limit to one or two pumpkins growing on each plant. Also I remove some that start later in the season as I know there won’t be time for them and it’s a waste of plant energy growing them.
I also trim the shoot ends to stop them getting too big, they always want to make a massive plant.
I find them quite a forgiving plant to grow, if you’ve already got them growing have a go, ‘nothing ventured’ and all that. 😀
Hope this helps
Failure is always an option.
However, this means that you will be tied to watering at least once every day (even when it rains) from mid June till October assuming that you plant in early June. You would also need to feed at least twice a week with half strength liquid feed.
If you don't keep up this regime then the plant will get stressed and fail to set fruit and/or abort fruit even when it is the size of a child's football.
If you increase the container size to 80-120L (black dust bin size) then it becomes a little bit easier.
In all cases, you will need at least about a 2 square meter area for plant spread. This can be horizontal or vertical like a solar panel facing the sun at the most intense period.
The pumpkin vines can be trained to follow any pattern you like. In tight spaces train the primary vine to follow a compressed Sine wave. Allow one or two secondary vines (side shoots) to grow in order to hedge your bets and remove all other secondary, tertiary etc vines in order to force the plant to form a fruit on the primary vine or close to it.
Vine training can be done by tying down against a frame work (I used a metal frame from a bunk bed) or by sticks pushed into the ground to change the direction of growth.
Pumpkin vines can produce roots at every leaf node so bury those points if possible if growing directly on the ground.
It is not recommended to grow pumpkins inside small polytunnels unless conditions are not conducive to growing them outdoors in you local area.
only fer transplant. pumpkin goal is
taking over. 25ftx25ft for one plant
is min space need most of time.
Please post your pics of pumpkins/gords!
It’s not the biggest, but it survived and looks ok! I will give it to my niece for carving (ok I expect I will carve it) and make something to eat with the flesh.
Looks good to me.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.