Pumpkins (of the giant sort.)

 

I am growing a pumpkin for our village giant pumpkin competition.
(Don't ask, it's the cause of lots of animosity.)
Are there any experts out there on the finer details of pumpkin
growing?  Variety is North Atlantic Giant.
I have a plant in the conservatory, a plant in the greenhouse and one
out doors. I have concluded that outdoors is no good for pumpkins.
One of my plants persistently produces lozenge shaped fruit that stop
growing at quite a small stage. Is this a genetic or cultural
problem?  Another grows in fits and starts. (I have a tape measure
wrapped round it.) It seems to be temperature/watering/feeding
unrelated. It's 1200 mm circumference at the moment. Sometimes it will
grow 40mm/24hrs, sometimes less than 10mm/24hrs. Ditto question.
Any other hints or tips to promote growth?
And WTF do you do with a giant  pumpkin anyway after the competition?
I thought I might donate it to the harvest festival.  :-)

 



"harry"  wrote

You must have a huge Conservatory if you have one growing in there, or are
you restricting it's growth?
The growers of giant pumpkins plant the seed about Christmas and keep the
plants in heated polytunnels where the soil has been improved (changed
completely) with lots of organic material. Lots of water is provided (at
ambient polytunnel temperature, not cold) which includes all sorts of patent
feed known only to the grower. Another secret is to get the plant to root at
the nodes of the runners so it takes up even more nutrients.
If fruit are not setting then you have a pollination problem, hand
pollinate.
Growth is a warmth/feed/water/light thing so which of those is causing your
problems only you know. On cold nights they often wrap the fruit in a duvets
to keep it warm and growing, I've even heard of hot water bottles being
used.

The end is usually a compost heap after taking the largest seed (near the
flower end) for next years plants.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK
 

 


 I have a huge conservatory.  But this has the plant that is setting
strange shaped fruit that abruptly stop growing. They definately like
lots of heat, the conservatory one (warmest place) is rampant.
The one in the greenhouse has the biggest pumpkin, presently  @  114cm
girth.  I'm growing the one in the greenhouse with "ring culture" in a
mixture of 50/50 sand and compost. I'm feeding with tomato fertilizer.
According to calculations it should reach 200cm girth by weigh in day.
I calculate that to be a weight of 40 Kg  (assuming same density as
water) which is bigger than last years winner by a good margin. Last
year's winner's seed failed to germinate this year, rumour has it.
(Sabotage?)
We live in the rough end of our posh little village (Herefordshire), I
want to put the noses put of the German car owner's brigade.    :-)

 



"harry"  wrote
 "Bob Hobden"  wrote:

Oi, I'm one of those!  :-)
But I've got a 1986 Landrover 90 too.
Anyway, I think you need to be feeding more nitrogen rich feed, tomato feed
is OK if you want more flowers/fruit but you don't, you want one huge fruit.
They do like very rich open, old compost heap, type soil so putting sand in
it seems strange to me. I've only grown them out on the allotment where I
dig a large hole and fill it with old un-sieved compost heap and plant the
pumpkin in that.
I was given some seeds of a huge pumpkin from the Boot Inn Pumpkin
Competition, Berwick St.James, near Salisbury and they all went bad after
sowing so you are not alone.
I know the growers keep their pumpkin patch just for them, no 4 year
rotation, and each year more compost/manure is added.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK
 

 

-)

I have downloaded advice off the internet for growing them.  However I
suspect that the climate for these instructions is different to ours.
I have had trouble with the leaves yellowing & upped the N but it
didn't seem to help. I also think I should have planted them in bigger
containers.