Planting Pumpkin

Pinky123

I have 20 little pumpkin plants that I have brought on from seed and will be ready to plant out at the end of May. Can any one tell me how far apart I should plant then and if I need to put down some ground cover to protect the veg.

Thanks

couerdelion

It depends on the variety and expected size I would guess.

There are planting instructions for a couple of varieties on this great site:-

http://www.seedaholic.com/pumpkin-mammoth.html
http://www.seedaholic.com/pumpkin-munchkin.html

dacogawa

Hi Pinky,

Pumpkins need a lot of space, last year my vine grew to 22 feet, you can cut off the growing tip (I wouldn't do it any less than 8/10 feet) so to be safe I'd plant them 10 feet apart (if you're cutting the tip) & rows about 4/5 feet apart, if you have the space!

This blog will help http://denverpumpkins.com/ goes through all the phases of growing & Jamie's a good guy & would probably answer a few of your questions if asked nicely

I'm growing from his Johnson 820 this year

Morag

Watch out for slugs and snails, last time I planted out pumpkin plants they were eaten.

dm09

Hi, Wondering if any experienced pumkin grower can offer me advice on my first pumpking growing attempt.
The plants have only just started to flower in the last 2 weeks but Im wondering if maybe I planted them too late, Is there any hope of any fruit developing at this stage? I think I remember reading somewhere that pumpkins need at least 100 days growing?
I was also wondering if I should try and self polinate them or is it better to let the insects do their job??:pac:
Pictures enclosed.

mrsbear

My pumpkin look nothing like that, but I did get to them late

Sgt Pepper 64

Mine are a little ahead, I have fruits that are approx tomato size.

I just let nature take its course. Its my first time too and I wonder if the will get to a decent size. I also have butternut squash which looks the same type of flower.

One thing I did do, was cut off a few leaves, so the flowers are clearly exposed. Apparently, the ones with the bulge behind the flower are female and the ones without are male
Best of luck!

Corsendonk

Tomato feed or manure if you want size, I grow mine in a glasshouse and rather than let them grow flat I train them up in the air on strings like tomato plants to prevent scarring and rot. I have a couple of fruit already bigger than a basketball.

prospect

The photos posted by dm09 look like Courgette to me?????

Sgt Pepper 64

prospect wrote: »

The photos posted by dm09 look like Courgette to me?????

yep, them, squash and pumpkin all seem to look the same!

Corsendonk

prospect wrote: »

The photos posted by dm09 look like Courgette to me?????

Same family, Cucurbitaceae, gourd family so cucumbers, melons, pumpkin, marrows, squashes.

mrsbear

Pumpkin grow across the ground courgette grow up

My pumpkin are a disaster but my courgettes are ok, I'll get a few I'd say :P

prospect

Ah,

Thanks for that guys.

Yep, my Courgettes are doing well, overtaking one of my raised beds, I may need an alternative location for them next year.

mrsbear

I'm not gonna have any fruit this year!

Looks like I'll be hollowing out butternut squash for halloween...or my dad did a marrow one year :cool:

Micheal GIY

Prospect. You are right about courgettes, they can really take up space especially if they have a bucket of manure underneath them. One way to make the best use of space if you have them in a raised bed is to plant them near an edge and train them out of the bed. If you want to see monster courgettes, try growing them in a tunnel or greenhouse - last year I had to attack when the plant reached 7 ft across!

For pumpkins, I know that you are supposed to stop them by cutting off the growing tip so that the plants efforts go into swelling the fruit. However, I have seen quite a few of my pumpkins begin to rot just after the flower falls off while still small so I am loathe to stop them yet until I know that there are a few viable pumpkins coming off each plant.