I'm confused about pumpkins

[C00KiE46]

I was excited to notice a couple of pumpkins developing with all the problems I was having with them. I thought the flowers on the vines that lead out were male and the female flowers were closer to the base. The female flowers are the ones that bloom the pumpkins, right? If so why am I having pumpkins developing at the end of some vines?
[img]https://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/M0MMiE_album/IMG_3627.jpg[/img]

Here's a picture of a pumpkin closer to the base of the plant. I was excited about this.
[img]https://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/M0MMiE_album/IMG_3625.jpg[/img]

[stella1751]

C00KiE46, my pumpkins are putting on several females per vine. The vines just seem to keep adding them on as they go. The biggest are the ones closest to the plant because they got started first. Then there are the ones that appear on the secondary vines. I suspect my plants of dreaming beyond their means; it doesn't seem conceivable that all of those females can possibly make it to pumpkin-hood.

Congrats on having a female flower bloom! Mine are big, but they haven't bloomed yet

Aren't pumpkins fun?! I am definitely going to try these again.

[Anna63]

Not sure, but I think that is absolutely normal. I have the same situation, and I never thought that something is wrong.

Agree with stell - pumpkins are funny

[cherishedtiger]

I wish I would have planted pumpkins!!! I got all into my garden for the first time this spring and always associated pumpkins with fall and figured thats when you planted them... then to quickly did I realize I should have done it when I first started!!! No pumpkins this year, doing a few varieties next year though!

[C00KiE46]

Yes they are fun. I am definitely growing some next year too, but have them vine on a tall tuteur due to all the space they take up. I really thought mine were not going to grow. Hopefully they will mature. How can you tell male flowers from female flowers?

[kgall]

The female flowers have a tiny pumpkin behind them.

[rainbowgardener]

If you grow them vertically then you have to give the developing pumpkin a lot of support (some kind of strong sling) or the weight of it will just detach it from the vine. And which ever direction you grow them they still take up a lot of room. I just don't have space for pumpkins...

[cherishedtiger]

I wish I could find a potted pumpkin so I could atleast get some home grown pumpkins this fall... All this pumpkin talk has me ready for fall!!

[rainbowgardener]

ctiger: Your location says California, but it's a big state with a bunch of different climates. If you are in Southern Calif, in zone 9-10, you could still plant pumpkins:

https://www.thevegetablegarden.info/resources/planting-schedules/zones-9-10-planting-schedule

HOWEVER, you will not get Halloween pumpkins, they still take just as long to mature. You could plant pumpkins now for maybe a Christmas pumpkin!

[cherishedtiger]

Hmmm a pumpkin with a big red hat and a beard... not quite the nostalgia I had in mind!
Oh well I am just that much more ready for next year!

I am right in the middle Sacramento, we get valley heat, but unlike southern ca we do get winters.

[garden5]

Pumpkins are just one of those things that really make a garden.

For the male/female flower locations, there is no rule. You can get female flowers close and males out along the stem or vice-versa.

It looks like you're going to get some nice ones .

[stella1751]

Yes they are fun. I am definitely growing some next year too, but have them vine on a tall tuteur due to all the space they take up.

Check out the "First Time Melon Grower (Pics)" thread in this forum. EG has a video on how to sling watermelons, and BP has photos of his watermelons in slings. I also just posted pictures this morning of my pumpkins, before and after shots showing how much they grew in three weeks. (I'm a little proud of them )

The kind of pumpkin I'm growing, Autumn Gold, is a small pumpkin weighing 10-15 pounds and about 7 to 10 inches tall and wide. It's about the same size as the Burpee Fordhook watermelons I'm trying to grow on a trellis, which are supposed to be 14 pounds.

Growing pumpkins on a trellis next year was the first thing I thought about when I realized how much fun I was having, watching them grow.

I just took a peek at them, and the first female flower should open tomorrow. It's starting to show an orange blush at its tip. Hurray!

[gardengrl3]

Cookie-
I live in Long Beach, California and I planted pumpkins in late April. I now have several vines in different areas of my garden which have produced several pumpkins! Today I had to cut alot of vines off because I was getting the powdery white stuff on the leaves-some kind of bacteria. It is exciting to see your pumpkins produce but it is upsetting when they get a fugus on the leaves. Good luck & enjoy your pumpkins!

[rainbowgardener]

gardengrl - I just responded to a different post of yours where you mentioned the powdery mildew. It is a fungus (not bacteria), but as long as you catch it early, it is usually very treatable.

[C00KiE46]

If you grow them vertically then you have to give the developing pumpkin a lot of support (some kind of strong sling) or the weight of it will just detach it from the vine. And which ever direction you grow them they still take up a lot of room. I just don't have space for pumpkins...

Yeah I agree they'll still take up space but I rather take up space vertically than on the ground and I'm also hoping when their grown vertically they'll less likely suffer from powdery mildew.

Check out the "First Time Melon Grower (Pics)" thread in this forum. EG has a video on how to sling watermelons, and BP has photos of his watermelons in slings. I also just posted pictures this morning of my pumpkins, before and after shots showing how much they grew in three weeks. (I'm a little proud of them )

I looked that thread earlier this morning and was showing my bf and telling him we need to do that next year. Seen your pumpkins. Their looking good

[BP]

If you are going to build a trellis for melons, I suggest using wood instead of pvc. A couple of those 5 foot sections on mine are sagging pretty bad from the fruit being tied to them. I'm going to make a few modifications to that trellis and use it for beans and pickling cucumbers next year.
I can't plant melons again til around June 1st, but am already in the design phase of the next trellis for them. It will be wood frame covered with fencing with crossbars fairly close together. I want to build detachable shelves so I can place them wherever I want on any crossbar to set growing fruit on.

[C00KiE46]

^^^I can imagine all the weight their putting on the trellis So I'll most likely use wood. The shelves do sound like a good idea.

[Liska]

I can relate to some of the posts in here! I couldn't stand it anymore, so I planted three pumpkin plants. In a pot, in hopes that the vines would droop over the side of the pot (it's a 30") and take over the patio to their hearts desire! They are strangely doing well, but so far all male flowers but no females. They are growing into the pot surface itself as well, and I know they're crowded, but I'm hoping to get at least one sugar pie pumpkin this year! Next year, they can have their own section of the yard

[stella1751]

They are strangely doing well, but so far all male flowers but no females.

Liska, I have read about a dozen pumpkin-growing websites in the last week or so, and I can't find the one I was going to show you In it, the author said that pumpkins put on male flowers first so the bees learn to include it on their morning run, sort of like penciling you in for an 8 AM pick-up. By the time the female flowers have bloomed, you are a regular stop on their route.

If you want me to find that website for you, let me know. The above is a liberal paraphrase

^^^I can imagine all the weight their putting on the trellis So I'll most likely use wood. The shelves do sound like a good idea.

This link will take you to a fascinating link on[url=https://www.informeddemocracy.com/pumpkin/growing.html#how_much]pumpkin trellisses.[/url] The author describes how pumpkins can be trained to grow up onto a roof. Seriously. It's pretty brief, but it might make you think. I know it's making me think.

[garden5]

I think that instead of a trellis just building a shelf would be best. At the very least, don't bother with the standard trellis sheets. You'd be better off crossing 2x2s so you have the added strength.

[Liska]

Liska, I have read about a dozen pumpkin-growing websites in the last week or so, and I can't find the one I was going to show you In it, the author said that pumpkins put on male flowers first so the bees learn to include it on their morning run, sort of like penciling you in for an 8 AM pick-up. By the time the female flowers have bloomed, you are a regular stop on their route.

That actually makes a lot of sense, I just put the pumpkins in a really freaking stupid place. Up on my patio, by itself, out of sight of any thing that flies by. So I moved it down by the shed to where the bees already hang out instead. Hoping that when they finally do come up with a female flower, the bees are more likely to notice!

[applestar]

Stella, I mentioned the male flowers opening first so the bees are around by the time the female flowers opens as a working theory of mine (as in a passing I had) a while back . I love it when more methodical and scientific brains confirm things I've been noodling about, so do let us know if you come across that website again.

[stella1751]

That actually makes a lot of sense, I just put the pumpkins in a really freaking stupid place. Up on my patio, by itself, out of sight of any thing that flies by. So I moved it down by the shed to where the bees already hang out instead. Hoping that when they finally do come up with a female flower, the bees are more likely to notice!

Liska, here's a brief, user-friendly, clearly illustrated blog on [url=https://gardeningwithwilson.com/2008/04/22/pollinating-pumpkin-flowers/]hand-pollinating pumpkins[/url]. (BP mentioned this re: watermelons in another thread.) I did this for the second time today, and it's easier than I thought it would be.

Cautionary note: Hand-pollination is addictive. I have reached a sorry state in my hand-pollination phase, taking it to excess as I so frequently do when I discover something new and interesting. This morning, I felt a stab of extreme annoyance when I found I would have to wait for a bee to finish with a female flower before I could hand-pollinate the flower with the male anther I was holding in my hand

Stella, I mentioned the male flowers opening first so the bees are around by the time the female flowers opens as a working theory of mine (as in a passing I had) a while back . I love it when more methodical and scientific brains confirm things I've been noodling about, so do let us know if you come across that website again.

Applestar, I'm off to look for it now!

[stella1751]

Stella, I mentioned the male flowers opening first so the bees are around by the time the female flowers opens as a working theory of mine (as in a passing I had) a while back . I love it when more methodical and scientific brains confirm things I've been noodling about, so do let us know if you come across that website again.

Ha! It took a while, but I found it. Best of all, given your reference to "methodical and scientific brains," the article's publisher is indeed reputable, [url=https://urbanext.illinois.edu/pumpkins/qa.cfm]the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign[/url].

Way to go! This wouldn't have occurred to me, but it does make sense.

[applestar]

Thanks, Stella!
I'm going to go read it as soon as I'm done!

[garden5]

I hear what you are saying about the hand-pollination. I found myself going out into the garden every mornig and taking the male flowers around to the female ones.

I wonder which is better, using the actual male flower, or just transferring pollen with a q-tip. I would think that using the actual flower is better.

[C00KiE46]

This was the biggest pumpkin in my garden. My dog got to it and either clawed at it or tried to eat it Will it be ok?
[img]https://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/M0MMiE_album/IMG_3634.jpg[/img]

[stella1751]

This was the biggest pumpkin in my garden. My dog got to it and either clawed at it or tried to eat it Will it be ok?

I'm thinking your dog clawed it. That particular pumpkin definitely looks like a cat or a squirrel and, as such, probably deserved a clawing. (Well, close enough for dogs, anyway.)

I recently found a website that talks about writing your child's name in a young pumpkin, using a sharp instrument, which I found a little odd, but it's been a long time since I had a yound child onsite. Supposedly this is an acceptable gardening practice. Based upon that website, which I can find if you are interested, I'm betting this clawing will not harm the pumpkin.

[C00KiE46]

^^^I'm relieved. That was the biggest one so far so I'm glad it will be ok. I think I read an article about that. I don't remember on how deep they wanted you to carve in. I'm just glad it will be ok

[garden5]

I've heard about that, too. I think you're just supposed to scratch the skin. what will happen is it will scar over and grow with with pumpkin. Haven't yet has pumpkin big enough to try it with, though.

[stella1751]

Re: Hand Pollination. I had five female blossoms this morning! How exciting is that?

I did not touch them. I restrained myself. By mid-morning, two had closed, but the other three remained open. (This was an experiment.) I'm betting, not a lot of money, but a buck, that the three that are closed are closed because they got pollinated. If so, the bee pollination is more successful than my own. Hmmm.

[farmerlon]

My pumpkins came in so early last year, that I decided to move my planting date about 4 weeks later ... this year, I sowed the seeds in the garden on July 2nd. I'm thinking that I should have Pumpkins ready to pick around the first and second weeks of October. I hope it works out that way.
I'm sure that's too late for a lot of folks, but I like to have "fresh" Pumpkins just before Halloween. I will just have to wait and see if I planted at the right time.

[C00KiE46]

I think my pumpkin is a goner It doesn't seem to be growing. It was my biggest one.
[img]https://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/M0MMiE_album/IMG_3643.jpg[/img]

One of my smaller pumpkins is now bigger than that one.
[img]https://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/M0MMiE_album/IMG_3645.jpg[/img]

Hopefully I get a few more with all the powdery mildew that I'm faced with.

[Liska]

I'm still waiting My plants currently are all male flowers. Bleh! I just want one pumpkin before the winter- it doesn't even have to be good in time for halloween, just before it snows!

I did move the planter they were in (30") from the porch to the ground by some other bushes, etc. though where I know the bees hang out. It blooms every morning at least, maybe I will get a few when it comes time for a female flower to appear

[stella1751]

My pumpkins came in so early last year, that I decided to move my planting date about 4 weeks later ... this year, I sowed the seeds in the garden on July 2nd. I'm thinking that I should have Pumpkins ready to pick around the first and second weeks of October. I hope it works out that way.
I'm sure that's too late for a lot of folks, but I like to have "fresh" Pumpkins just before Halloween. I will just have to wait and see if I planted at the right time.

I am envious, Farmerlon! We'll have a hard freeze long before Halloween. I read that they can be stored in a cool dry place, so I might try to put some in the basement, which stays about 55 to 60 degrees. However, if they are as similar to summer squash as I think they are, I doubt I'll make it.

I now have fifteen pumpkins! Those plants are producing like mad. I also have many more female flowers, so I could wind up with a heckuva lot of pumpkins. I sit out and watch the bees do their thing, and the next morning, voila! I have a new pumpkin or two.

Liska, I suspect you'll be happy your pumpkin plant held off. My first pumpkin should be ready in two to three weeks, about two months too early for Halloween

Cookie46, how big are your dogs?!! I've got a 70-pounder who is adamant I not grow peas this year, so I feel for you.

[C00KiE46]

The one that did it is half chihuahua and half dachshund. Last night she was in the garden bed AGAIN While the other two (a boston terrier and her sister) were sitting outside the bed staring at her. She managed to lightly scratch two watermelons, which I'm positive will be ok and left teeth punctures in a tiny watermelon which I know will end up dying. When I seen her in there I ran out like a mad woman and yelled at her. The other 2 seem to get it. I don't know what's wrong with her.

[garden5]

I just harvested my first pumpkin.......it's the size of a large roma tomato! It was growing well, then it just fell off at the slightest touch. Eh, it was rotting on the bottom from being in the grass, anyway .

Now, I've got the problem of pollinated fruit falling off before the female flower even opens. Hopefully, things start to get better.

[Liska]

Liska, I suspect you'll be happy your pumpkin plant held off. My first pumpkin should be ready in two to three weeks, about two months too early for Halloween

I suppose you're right. I'm just worried! Instead of trying to nurse my plants through the hot weather, I ended up letting most of them (except my tomatoes which are doing well) Bolt and go to seed- - it's a learning experience for next year! Fall crops vs Spring ones

Even if I don't get to pick a lot of other stuff this summer, I'd at least like a little sugar pie pumpkin!

[garden5]

sugar pie is a great variety, it's very early maturing compared to some other varieties.

Stella, has the clawed-up pumpkin shown any improvement yet? From your pic, there doesn't look like there was enough damage to its stem to stunt/stop its growth.

[C00KiE46]

I had planted jack-o-latern pumpkins and thier small! There smaller than the size a volleyball. Once they turn orange do they stop growing?
[img]https://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/M0MMiE_album/IMG_3681.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/M0MMiE_album/IMG_3682.jpg[/img]

I have one that is bigger then the other 2. It's starting to turn orange.
[img]https://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/M0MMiE_album/IMG_3684.jpg[/img]

Also, out of all the vines I have I only have 3 jackolanterns! I get female flowers but they drop before they bloom.

I also planted sweet sugar pie pumpkins. I was gonna make pumpkin pies with those. Do you think I can make jackolanterns outta those since I'm short?
[img]https://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/M0MMiE_album/IMG_3683.jpg[/img]