Golf Ball Sized Pumpkins - What to do next?

Mutantk

Morning everyone, after all the hot sun we've had recently in the South, I now have around a dozen golf ball sized pumpkins on my plants...this is my first year of growing so am very pleased but also gather that pumpkins are notoriously difficult to grow to a decent harvesting size - Wondered therefore if you can give me and tips/suggestions on what I can now do to ensure that they continue to grow well and don't die...anything at all much appreciated, thankyou!!

Kay_Peel

You don't say which variety you are growing, but here's a few tips:

Water in the morning, not the evening, and water only around the roots and vine. Pumpkins don't like cold wet leaves overnight and tend to get mildew. Give them a deep watering, not a sprinkle with about a washing-up bowl full of water, every 2-3 days.

If you want big pumpkins then when you've got about 5 golf balls on a vine, pinch out the growing tip between your fingers. Let it put all it's energy into those 5 golf balls rather than grow a longer flowering vine. It's a risk because some of your golf balls will die off naturally or just wither to enable the best pumpkins to survive. Count yourself lucky if two survive.

Put something under the golf ball to raise it off the ground - a tile, a brick, a piece of wood. Pinch off any leaves that are blocking out the sunlight from the pumpkin. It needs a lot of sunshine and warmth.

Pull out or hoe off any weeds that may be robbing your pumpkin of nourishment. If you've got any plant food then use it to feed the roots - I make my own 'nettle and comfrey' tea fertiliser.

The things that kill pumpkins are - drought, overcrowding, the cold, mildew and rotting of the fruit, so just be aware of those risks.

Good luck!

Mutantk

Wow thanks KayPeel - that's all really useful and certainly gives me some things I KNOW need doing there already - space certainly is sparce and due to this the big leaves are creating a lot of shade in some places. I knew they needed a lot of water and have been soaking them morning and evening but perhaps will do it late afternoon for the second time to give them time to dry before it cools down. I have put some rested the pumpkins on upturned flower pots to keep them off the ground but in doing this noticed there were dozens more fruits starting to form so will take your advice and pinch out...disappointing to think that out of so many only a few MAY survive....still that's the name of the game I suppose! I have done a few varieties, Jack-be-Littles, Jack O'Lanterns and a couple of others with less memorable names....as I said this is my first year but I have already learned to be more careful with labelling and noting what's what and where! Thanks again for your comprehensive reply!

foxgloves

I grew ''Wee B Littles' last year, two plants, both in containers. I got a few very small golf-balls which later dropped off when it got colder & rainy for a while but I think they probably hadn't pollinated properly. In the end, I got 3 pumpkins and very nice they were too. Only one 'Wee B Little' seed left to sow this year so transplanted it to the top of a compost bin so it's got loads of rich stuff to get its roots down into. 3 golf balls so far, but have to say the plant looks much healthier than last year so fingers crossed.

alisong_2

I'm sure I've seen somewhere about the golf ball sized pumkins rotting but can't find it now. Guess what mine are doing!!! They seem to be rotting from the top, do I need to pick the flowers off early on to prevent this? Thanks very much, I've learnt such a lot from this thread already and am really enjoying my garden this year.

Kay_Peel

Pumpkins are really having a hard time in this weather. In the Northwest we have had downpours overnight and pumpkins hate it when their leaves and flowers are cold and soggy. They like plenty of water on their roots but not on the rest of the vine.

The pumpkins that set and swelled before this rainy spell seem to be struggling through. I try not to handle them at all and make sure that they are not in contact with any soil by standing them on tiles and bricks. There are also small weak yellow fruits that haven't grown at all or are rotting at the crown. They haven't been pollinated properly - I remove them because they are just taking energy away from the plant.

I'm experimenting by putting a clear piece of plastic over one of the vines, to protect the flowers and leaves from overnight rain. I take it off in the morning and leave it in a sunny place to warm up.

What we really need is a hot dry spell.

alisong_2

Ah, I think mine may be unpollenated then, although I've seen lots of bees going in and out. Thanks for the really helpful reply, I've learnt quite a bit from your posts already!