WEEKS of only male squash plants
So, we went to an environmental fair in May, and my son got to plant a pumpkin seed and take it home. We transferred it to our veggie garden. It sprouted into a lovely green thing and started producing flowers by the end of June (we live in southern NH). We're now in early August, and it's only still producing male flowers. I've scrutinized it quite closely for female flowers; there are/have been none. We've had a rainy season, and I know that can cause female flowers to postpone/die before opening, but this seems extreme! We also had one bad run-in with a groundhog who removed all the leaves (they've since grown back). So, 20+ male flowers later with no females in sight, can we chalk it up to weather? Animal pests? Or that this pumpkin seed's origin is a question mark? Anyway to "force" female flowers? Thanks for the help! Btw, we have two other cucumber family plants, and they are producing female flowers/fruit. They haven't been the hardiest this season, but the pumpkin plant is definitely the odd "male" out.
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rainbowgardener
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Pumpkins are slower than cucumbers. So yes, be patient.
But you didn't say anything about where you are located. If you don't have any pumpkins set yet, you may not have time left, depending on how long your season is, when you expect fall frost, and what variety of pumpkin it is. Different pumpkin varieties have anywhere from 80 - 160 days to maturity (from when the seed sprouts).
The rain and the groundhog probably did slow all the processes down.
But you didn't say anything about where you are located. If you don't have any pumpkins set yet, you may not have time left, depending on how long your season is, when you expect fall frost, and what variety of pumpkin it is. Different pumpkin varieties have anywhere from 80 - 160 days to maturity (from when the seed sprouts).
The rain and the groundhog probably did slow all the processes down.
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TheWaterbug
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If your pests are anything like my pests, they might eat the female flowers as soon as they appear. Inspect your pumpkin plant every morning, and as soon as you see a female flower even begin to think about appearing, cover it with some sort of barrier or cage:kinalli wrote:We also had one bad run-in with a groundhog who removed all the leaves (they've since grown back).
All good suggestions. This is a mystery pumpkin seed so I don't know the maturity for it (I'm sure it came from a standard jackolantern type pumpkin). I need to remind myself what the frost date is, but I believe it's sometime in Oct. So, I'll continue to be patient and hope for the best! Need to invest in cages with TOPS. Great idea.
I have a volunteer vine that is coming out of my compost and it is 12 feet long now and still growing every day. I think it is a pumpkin. Having the same issue.
I had the same thing come up last year and it was mid august, I think, when a female flower finally came out. It turned out to be a little pumpkin, a little smaller than a basketball, and that was all I got. It was yummy. I am hoping I get 1 out of this volunteer vine this year
I had the same thing come up last year and it was mid august, I think, when a female flower finally came out. It turned out to be a little pumpkin, a little smaller than a basketball, and that was all I got. It was yummy. I am hoping I get 1 out of this volunteer vine this year
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6sparkpug6
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Kinalli: how long is your vine so far? Not all of my pumpkin plants are producing females. I've only had one come through so far... And I have about 7/8 plants (really close together... 
). 1 aborted female; another 3 look like they are shriveling. My most successful ones are further out on the vine.
Ill attach a picture of mine. Not the best shot but it gives the idea. Only the furthest out one has a pumpkin growing. Can you add a picture of yours too?
). 1 aborted female; another 3 look like they are shriveling. My most successful ones are further out on the vine. Ill attach a picture of mine. Not the best shot but it gives the idea. Only the furthest out one has a pumpkin growing. Can you add a picture of yours too?
