How are your pumpkins and squash?

[TheWaterbug]

It should be fine. When I was studying pumpkins last year, I came across a site that said some people actually carve their names into pumpkins early in their development. As the pumpkin grows, the scar becomes more pronounced, and the mature pumpkin has a big old name in it

Thanks for reminding me about this! My largest is presently the size of a grapefruit, which about the right size for my 7-yr-old to "write" his 4-letter name

BTW I have an image in my mind of you "studying pumpkins." It's weird!

[SPierce]

Well, in hopes of saving my other pumpkin plants (which, slowly, seems to be growing!) I gave it a little Alaskan Fish Fertilizer on it's leaves, and a little bit of plant-tone around by the stem. Guess I'll see what happens from here!

[stella1751]

Well, in hopes of saving my other pumpkin plants (which, slowly, seems to be growing!) I gave it a little Alaskan Fish Fertilizer on it's leaves, and a little bit of plant-tone around by the stem. Guess I'll see what happens from here!

I can remember worrying about my pumpkins early last summer. They got off to a really slow start, and I wondered whether I would get any pumpkins at all before the first freeze. By the end of the summer, everyone was talking about planning their pumpkins around Halloween, and I had just harvested my last one and was getting ready to pull the plants. Duh.

Once they get going, they really produce fast. If your current pumpkins don't make it, maybe those seeds you planted will prove just the ticket for Halloween pumpkins!

[cherishedtiger]

Hmmm... maybe I planted mine too early? I have one thats about the size of a bowling ball right now, still green, just staring to yellow. While at the same time I have a bunch of oh... smaller than golf ball size growing. Wonder if I am going to be with pumpkins before Halloween or if they will be ok.

[img]https://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k82/cherishedtiger/DSCN0712.jpg[/img]

This was taken on July 10th, so if you can imagine the plant has grown quite a bit in just a few days.

How long do pumpkins store?

[SPierce]

Hmmm... maybe I planted mine too early? I have one thats about the size of a bowling ball right now, still green, just staring to yellow. While at the same time I have a bunch of oh... smaller than golf ball size growing. Wonder if I am going to be with pumpkins before Halloween or if they will be ok.

[img]https://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k82/cherishedtiger/DSCN0712.jpg[/img]

This was taken on July 10th, so if you can imagine the plant has grown quite a bit in just a few days.

How long do pumpkins store?

I had a few that lasted me until Feburary the next year- don't worry Not all of them do that, but some will.

[TheWaterbug]

How long do pumpkins store?

I had a few that lasted me until Feburary the next year- don't worry Not all of them do that, but some will.

Were these on the vine? Or picked?

I know that picked pumpkins last forever, but I'd like to leave mine on the vine for a month or so past maturity. I planted May 7, but I want to have them picked on October 23rd at our 2nd annual Pick and Paint Pumpkin Patch Party.

[TheWaterbug]

Aww, thanks! I put a few more seeds in the ground, but.... :/ I don't know what killed it. It's driving me nuts.

We're just about 90 days from Halloween, and if you're planting 90-100 day varieties, it's going to be close.

Does your local nursery have pumpkin plants that might already be 2-3 weeks old?

[SPierce]

Aww, thanks! I put a few more seeds in the ground, but.... :/ I don't know what killed it. It's driving me nuts.

We're just about 90 days from Halloween, and if you're planting 90-100 day varieties, it's going to be close.

Does your local nursery have pumpkin plants that might already be 2-3 weeks old?

\
I'm actually not too worried... I still have one pumpkin plant left; if I get one, I get one. Otherwise, I'll try again next year! I did plant some pumpkins from a local nusery last year, but I had horrible luck with the plants doing all of NOTHING then dying off. I prefer to start from seed.

[stella1751]

Hmmm... maybe I planted mine too early? I have one thats about the size of a bowling ball right now, still green, just staring to yellow. While at the same time I have a bunch of oh... smaller than golf ball size growing. Wonder if I am going to be with pumpkins before Halloween or if they will be ok.

[img]https://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k82/cherishedtiger/DSCN0712.jpg[/img]

This was taken on July 10th, so if you can imagine the plant has grown quite a bit in just a few days.

How long do pumpkins store?

That's a beautiful pumpkin plant, Cherished Tiger! Last year I picked mine in late August and early September. I gave two away, and the recipients told me they had saved them for Halloween. There's a trick, too, for making them last longer. You wipe down the outside with a bleach dilute and store them someplace cool. I don't think either person did that with the ones I gave them, so it might not be necessary.

[cherishedtiger]

Thanks!! Its going crazy out there!! Every time I go out I am finding more and more baby pumpkins that seem to grow up over night!!!
Knowing they will last a nice long while I am not so worried anymore. I cant wait to get full grown ones though! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin breads, jack-o-lanterns.... I love fall and it can never seem to come quick enough!

[soil]

I am going to be overloaded with winter squash this fall, which is a good thing. my plants are doing fantastic.

[TheWaterbug]

Should I thin my cantaloupe vines?
[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/CantaloupeVine072911_web.jpg[/img]
The seed packet instructed me to keep three plants per hill, but they look mighty crowded in there, and the vines just aren't very long. Nor are they fruiting, despite being sown on May 7th.

I thinned my pumpkin vines to 1/hill more than a month ago, and they're about to take over the Western hemisphere, while these poor cantaloupes are just crawling along, growing perhaps an inch/day.

My pumpkin vines are the same age, and the vines are literally covering 4x-10x the area of the cantaloupes. Then again pumpkins are just naturally bigger, aren't they?

Or do I just need to be more patient?

[TZ -OH6]

The few different muskmelons I have grown have all been smaller than even Delicata squash plants, which are waaaay smaller than big pumpkin plants.

On a differnt note...

I've been eating young butternut squash as a summer squash and am very happy with the flavor. Unlike the last zuchiini I remember eating there is actually some flavor to the summer-nut.

[sheeshshe]

I think more patient. my canteloupes did crazy nuts like that and lots of flowers and no female flowers... until one day when I was showing my friend how its loaded with nothing but male flowers, I came across a bunch of fruits! I can't believe I missed them!

[jal_ut]

I would not thin those melons. Give them some fertilizer.

[Fig3825]

Update as of today, July 31, 2011...

This is the bed housing my squash and melons. On the left are several watermelon plants and in the same row, but farthest from camera is a younger cantalope. You can't really see it all that well, but the butternuts are growing all over the place. There are 6 vines winding around on the weed mat, three on the closer side and another 3 on the opposite side.
[img]https://jtnewton.com/Images/Garden/07312011003.jpg[/img]

A better shot from the opposite side of the bed. The cantaloupe is the vine that seems to be pointing to the plant label/stake. The rest are watermelons.
[img]https://jtnewton.com/Images/Garden/07312011010.jpg[/img]

This is a peek inside the large of the two summer squash plants. There are two squash about the same size, including the one in the picture and another that is about half that size, presently.
[img]https://jtnewton.com/Images/Garden/07312011006.jpg[/img]

This is a little butternut. It's about 4" long as of now.
[img]https://jtnewton.com/Images/Garden/07312011009.jpg[/img]

I have several little watermelons starting to grow. Closer shot of one of them.
[img]https://jtnewton.com/Images/Garden/07312011007.jpg[/img][/img]

[hockeymom519]

Here are a few more pics of our Atlantic Giant pumpkins. We have 2 plants with 1 pumpkin on each plant.

Smaller of the 2 pumpkins
[img]https://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i361/hockeymom519/Mobile%20Uploads/100MEDIA_IMAG0234.jpg[/img]

And the big one...It looks like a giant butternut squash.
[img]https://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i361/hockeymom519/Mobile%20Uploads/100MEDIA_IMAG0230.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i361/hockeymom519/Mobile%20Uploads/100MEDIA_IMAG0232.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i361/hockeymom519/Mobile%20Uploads/100MEDIA_IMAG0233.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i361/hockeymom519/Mobile%20Uploads/100MEDIA_IMAG0238.jpg[/img]

[SPierce]

Well, my pumpkins and gourds all got pummeled and torn apart by hail! I doubt I'm going to get any this year, but, bless them, they're still trucking along and there's new growth on them! So, for me it's a waiting game.

Same with my zucchini, the thing looks so broken it's amazing it's still alive! alas, though, it's still blossoming and making baby zucchinis, so we'll see!

[TheWaterbug]

. . . they look mighty crowded in there, and the vines just aren't very long. Nor are they fruiting, despite being sown on May 7th . . . . Or do I just need to be more patient?

Well, lookee what happens when you're not watching!
[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/FirstCantaloupes080511_web.jpg[/img]

The little one is about the size of a racquet ball. There's another one, off-camera, that's the size of a squash ball .

None of my other cantaloupe vines is fruiting yet, but maybe if I ignore them for a week they'll surprise me as well

SPierce, good to hear that they've survived!

[TheWaterbug]

Here are a few more pics of our Atlantic Giant pumpkins. We have 2 plants with 1 pumpkin on each plant.

That's awesome! I think I'm going to try an Atlantic Giant next year.

I'm just not sure how much space I need to give it.

Where did you buy your seeds, and what kind of ground preparation did you do?

[hockeymom519]

Where did you buy your seeds, and what kind of ground preparation did you do?

We got the seeds at Lowes. Our first time ever growing pumpkins. Just tilled the ground and added a little 10-10-10. Started the seeds indoors for a couple weeks then planted outside.

[stella1751]

. . . they look mighty crowded in there, and the vines just aren't very long. Nor are they fruiting, despite being sown on May 7th . . . . Or do I just need to be more patient?

Well, lookee what happens when you're not watching!
[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/FirstCantaloupes080511_web.jpg[/img]

The little one is about the size of a racquet ball. There's another one, off-camera, that's the size of a squash ball .

None of my other cantaloupe vines is fruiting yet, but maybe if I ignore them for a week they'll surprise me as well

SPierce, good to hear that they've survived!

I am hoping for a similar surprise, Waterbug. My watermelons have begun to flower like crazy, and I've been hand-pollinating steadily for the last three days. I keep hoping I will see a baby watermelon hiding under the leaves. Maybe this morning!