# The 2013 Pumpkin Patch thread



## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Yeah, I have a lot of work to do on ours this year. As soon as a nice day stretch of days hit to dry the ground I want to get out there to till. I plan on building up the soil a bit this year as well.


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2013)

Our tiller is being serviced/fixed right now. I have 2 flats of various pumpkin seeds and sunflowers ready to go!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

woo! been waiting for this thread all year lol.

i got my patch tilled and planted today, so excited for things to start growing!


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

What's a good websight to visit to learn about planting pumpkins? I wondered if it was too late but, I see maybe not. For several years I've wanted to plant some.. I even have a few packets that I purchased a few years ago but, never made it into the ground  Any links would be much appreciated!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

i just winged it last year with some of the cheap seeds from walmart... was a lot of frustration watching all my female buds fall off and die before they'd even open up to be pollinated. but i did finally have some open and get fertilized. 

if you're wanting to plant the ones you have, try some in a clear baggie with a wet paper towel or cotton balls to see if they're still any good. 

otherwise, google is great to get some tips and im sure someone in this thread knows a lot more about it than i do since this is only my second year growing and even still, im just winging it again lol


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

ALKONOST said:


> What's a good websight to visit to learn about planting pumpkins? I wondered if it was too late but, I see maybe not. For several years I've wanted to plant some.. I even have a few packets that I purchased a few years ago but, never made it into the ground  Any links would be much appreciated!


http://www.allaboutpumpkins.com/growing.html


Oh no, its not even close to being too late. I see you're in Idaho, so I'd guess you want to be planting around the end of may/first of june for temperature reasons, but could get away as late as mid june.


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## Druidess (Sep 2, 2010)

I'm attempting this year. Semi blindly after much failure in TX. Wee bee's and Hercules are about 6 in Che's high. I've got only one vine of cinderella's coming up, about a foot already though, and the sugar pies are good. I can't seem to get my baby boo's to sprout. I've planted fresh seeds three times now. For some reason the squirrels around here seem to really like those particular seeds and keep digging them up before germination. Looks like no white pumpkins for me this year...I'm still very stoked about the progress thus far.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

this thread needs pictures. so heres mine. just my plot obviously since things dont germinate overnight lol. 










gonna be pretty crowded since its only about 10x8 and i planted quite a lot of seeds but thats alright. dont have much space in my yard for a bigger patch so i work with what i have.


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

MIne is started. Now it is super windy and the darn quail won't stop trying to sand bathe in my tilled dirt!


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> i just winged it last year with some of the cheap seeds from walmart... was a lot of frustration watching all my female buds fall off and die before they'd even open up to be pollinated. but i did finally have some open and get fertilized.
> 
> if you're wanting to plant the ones you have, try some in a clear baggie with a wet paper towel or cotton balls to see if they're still any good.
> 
> otherwise, google is great to get some tips and im sure someone in this thread knows a lot more about it than i do since this is only my second year growing and even still, im just winging it again lol


Thankyou Mariposa for the suggestion on how to check my old seeds. I'll get that started tonight. I hope they're good but, if not, seeds don't cost too much anyway


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

killerhaunts said:


> MIne is started. Now it is super windy and the darn quail won't stop trying to sand bathe in my tilled dirt!


lol i had a bunch of black birds worming in mine yesterday. i had to keep shooing them away because i had already planted the seeds. 

darn birds!


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> http://www.allaboutpumpkins.com/growing.html
> 
> 
> Oh no, its not even close to being too late. I see you're in Idaho, so I'd guess you want to be planting around the end of may/first of june for temperature reasons, but could get away as late as mid june.


Thanks for link! I'm thrilled that it's not too late here. I'm hoping I can get these planted the end of this month. It did freeze here last night too so good thing I didn't get ahead of myself (like that would ever happen.. I'm such a procrastinator)


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> lol i had a bunch of black birds worming in mine yesterday. i had to keep shooing them away because i had already planted the seeds.
> 
> darn birds!


LOL.. Placing a net over your plot might help keep them off. They sell netting at Lowes, Home Depot and many other farm stores that are specifically for keeping birds off. Good luck and thanks for posting a pic!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Went out today and cut and resized the patch area. Step Dad brought over the tiller and did that as well. All I have to do now is fill it with some fresh soil and seed! This is now 8'X6'.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> Went out today and cut and resized the patch area. Step Dad brought over the tiller and did that as well. All I have to do now is fill it with some fresh soil and seed! This is now 8'X6'.


how many are you planning on planting in there? my plot is just a little bigger than yours and ive got over 30 seeds in it lol. i know its going to be super crowded but if i work the vines right it should work out pretty decent.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

mariposa0283 said:


> how many are you planning on planting in there? my plot is just a little bigger than yours and ive got over 30 seeds in it lol. i know its going to be super crowded but if i work the vines right it should work out pretty decent.


I'll be interested in how yours work out then. 

Presently, my Uncle (who is at my Grandpa's old place) plants pumpkins for us, but he's no spring chicken and I need to plan ahead for when that's not possible. I'd have to crowd pretty hard to get the ~100 pumpkins/year we use out of our plot.

Mother nature is blessing us with rain the last couple days, which is good since my irrigation pump is busted. Hoping to have corn sprouting soon.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

yea im anxious to see how mine is going to turn out. last year i just used the strip along the side of the garage (2x8), dumped 8 seeds in one spot and they all sprouted within days but only about 2 vines actually put anything on. some of the seeds i used in the garden this year are ones i dug out of one of our JOL's last year so we'll see if they do anything at all. so far its been a week and still nothing is sprouting.. but its also been dry up until last night. hoping i get some green besides weeds soon.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Saving seeds out of pumpkins is a lot like playing roulette. 

I dumped literally thousands, if not millions of seeds into the garden (cleaned 110 pumpkins, so however many that works out to) when we cleaned pumpkins in 2011. 2012, I would say not even 1 in 10 sprouted from those (which was fine, I was planting anyway, not counting on the volunteers). And what did sprout yielded some quite varied results, from bicolored pumpkins to nice jacks, to tiny little things. The way pumpkins breed, you don't see the crossbreeding features until the following year, so it really is a crapshoot what those seeds will turn out to be. Especially when you're planting oddball varieties like I do. 

Then, I didn't dry out and actually plant those either, just dumped them in the fall and dealt with what came in the spring, so you should have a much better germination than I did.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

my bed from last year has a ton of random pumpkin seeds that we tilled in, once the pumpkins rotted we just tossed them in there and let them decompose into the soil, so im expecting maybe a few volunteers in that patch. but the ones i saved specifically from the big JOL we bought im not expecting much from. and i wont even know whats what anyways until things start getting bigger since i just threw them in there randomly lol.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

mariposa0283 said:


> how many are you planning on planting in there? my plot is just a little bigger than yours and ive got over 30 seeds in it lol. i know its going to be super crowded but if i work the vines right it should work out pretty decent.



Ill plant about 10 seeds or so and then thin out once they start growing. I usually only have about 6 vines going and get about 5 -6 pumpkins.


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## byondbzr (Sep 9, 2012)

New life. First pumpkin seedlings of the year breaking through the soil. I always start mine indoors and place outside the last week of May. (We have frost warnings for this weekend.) I love watching this, it thrills me every time. Yesterday morning, just the tiniest tip of the seed was peeking out. In 24 hours, she's grown this much and her friend is also breaking through. Grow my pretties, GROW... (And this is a small packet of Jack-O-Lantern seeds, I planted all 7 in the pack 5 days ago on Sunday. So far I have four sprouting.)


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

ugh none of mine are sprouting yet 

guess when you plant them outside earlier in the year (like sooner than the middle of july lol) they take longer than 4 days to germinate. but jeebies by this time last year, 2 weeks after planting the vines were already huge! been about 11 days since i planted and i keep checking on them. wonder whats taking so long....


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

heres last years patch just 2 weeks after i planted the seeds.


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## Danceswithdoom (Sep 18, 2012)

Planted some of my pumpkin seeds a couple weeks ago. Only one has sprouted, but I am excited because that is more than I have gotten in the past couple years. 
I saw just a little bit of green when I left it last Monday, came back yesterday and that sucker had sprouted and was at least triple in size from when I left it. I am proud of my little pumpkin sprout. Maybe I can actually get some pumpkins this year.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

byondbzr said:


> New life. First pumpkin seedlings of the year breaking through the soil. I always start mine indoors and place outside the last week of May. (We have frost warnings for this weekend.) I love watching this, it thrills me every time. Yesterday morning, just the tiniest tip of the seed was peeking out. In 24 hours, she's grown this much and her friend is also breaking through. Grow my pretties, GROW... (And this is a small packet of Jack-O-Lantern seeds, I planted all 7 in the pack 5 days ago on Sunday. So far I have four sprouting.)
> 
> View attachment 153567








Hard to tell if it's the corn I planted coming up or just leftover grass that didn't totally get killed off. 

If I'm not mistaken, though, I might actually have a volunteer pumpkin coming up already. We purposely tried to avoid that by dumping all the guts last year, only composting the rinds, so a little surprised. 

Still not planning to plant the pumpkins for a while yet.


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## Druidess (Sep 2, 2010)

My single sprouted Cinderella vine is a couple of feet now, but got stepped on by a large visiting dog. It cracked the vine, but didnt break all the way through. I'm hoping for the best. My white baby boo's have yet to sprout anything and the others are progressing nicely. 

I missed a jack last year as usual for cleanup and now have about 15 vines sprouted in its stead. The problem is they're in the front yard. Anyone have any experience with transplanting? I think I may attempt it. A couple of them look very sturdy.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Yeah, they're calling for frost tonight. Still a couple weeks away from planting.


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## tortured_serenity (Sep 17, 2012)

We just bought some prize winning giant pumpkin seeds to plant this. I figured i'd start them in a pot then take them outside...i need to find a spot in the yard to grow them where our crazy *** puppy wont tear them up or put up a fence.


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## Paul Melniczek (Jun 5, 2009)

I use Miracle Gro potting soil when I plant all my vegetables. Always good to add nutrients if you're just replanting the same ground every year. I'll have to look tomorrow to see if pumpkins have sprouted. We have 2 nights of cold weather, so I had to cover or bring in most of the plants this evening.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

still no signs of life in my patch besides an overabundance of weeds. forgot to get my vinegar today to make up my home made weed killer. its on my to do list.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Planted corn...getting pumpkins. (at least 90% sure these are pumpkins)










I'm of a split mind here. We had tried to dispose of all the seed last year, and my Uncle is planting "normal" pumpkins this year, my patch is for "specialty" ones. I have 100+ seeds of various varieties ready to plant (and hadn't planned to for a couple weeks yet). But, just given the odds, these are most likely just regular pumpkins, not the few luminas or Cinderellas we grew last year. 

At the same time...why look a gift horse in the mouth?


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

OOOH OOH i have signs of life in my mini garden strip. looks like pumpkins, its where i planted the pumpkins and the squash seeds so i dont know wich it will turn out to be. still nothing in my pumpkin patch but its warming up to 90 today and 97 tomorrow so hopefully something sprouts up soon or ill just re-till and start over with some of my giant seeds from wallymart.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Planted the mini pumpkins into the starter thing tonight. The others need to wait a while yet. About to give up on this corn.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

so now i have about 20 things sprouting in my mini strip, all seeds i harvested from a squash and a pumpkin last year.. and absolutely nothing sprouting in my actual designated pumpkin patch. giving it 2 more days and then going to till it again, kill those pesky weeds, make it a smidge bigger and replant everything.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

First signs of corn, finally. 

I've decided to stick to my original plan, and we're going to be killing these volunteers. Gotta break out the hoe this weekend, lots of weeds too. With the corn coming up, it's just about time to plant the beans.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Im guessing another week before I can plant. We just had some 30 degree temps here over a couple nights. We've had some really nice weather so far, early, that's why I'm itching. lol


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

tilled my pumpkin patch up again today. found one sprout that wasnt damaged from the tiller so i reburied it up to the leaves. going to plant the seeds tonight after all the little thieving birdies go to sleep because i think they got most of my seeds last time. so begins the wait again for signs of life besides weeds..


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

what is the absolute bare minimum of amount of sunlight hours allowed for growing pumpkins? all i can find on it is "full sun".... thats not very helpful. my patch is on the east side of the house right next to the tool shed. gets the morning and afternoon sun but is in shade late afternoon to sunset. is that enough sun? i did see on a link somewhere where it said that if there was a hearty patch of weeds in the spot then its probably a good spot for pumpkins.. and there was definitely a hearty patch of weeds there before we tilled... but i would still like an actual number for hours of sunlight needed per day. anyone?


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

Here are mine:
5/7/13









5/16/13









as for the OVERabundance of weeds:








Anyone know what in the world these are? They're not the ones invading from the Elm trees a few houses down (see the "snow" in the middle picture :/ )

This is the first time growing pumpkins for me. Anyone have any "DO NOT DO THIS" tips for me?


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

well, got my rows made, found a few more of my seeds. they werent looking too hot lol. a few of them had sprouts but the sprouts were tiny and yellow and not looking good at all so im pretty happy with my decision to tear it up and start over. planted 6 max seeds (2 per spot), 6 superior seeds (again, 2 per spot) and 12 littles (2 per spot). have some sugar pumpkins on order from ebay and ill plant about 6 of those when they come in, going to till up some more yard monday and plant my decorative and birdhouse gourds. pretty proud of myself right about now! didnt try to over crowd it like i did last time and i have rows dedicated to specific pumpkin breeds, marked with the amount of seeds that i planted. so organized! lol 

anyways, still looking for an answer to my question earlier. how many hours of sunlight does a pumpkin patch need per day besides the "full sun" answer. 

as for your question killerhaunts, i have no idea. cant really see what you're talking about. assuming you're referring to the green and reddish colored things?


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

Yes, the reddish ones.

As for Full Sun. I believe one tag I red said 6-8 hours.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

im pretty sure they get at least 6 hours on a sunny day. sun rises pretty early during the summer and its not in shade till around 4:30 at the moment, probably later as summer progresses. so i should be good. sweet!

reddish things llook like they might be a peony bush or something.... just rip em out. its definitely not a pumpkin lol. but honestly i cant really tell what they are, they're so small in the picture. but anything thats not what i planted in my garden gets ripped out, even if i dont know what it is.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Once they get going, pumpkins are pretty leanient on the amount of light, that big carpet of leaves soaks in everything. I've had some do well in what would be full shade. You might want to try a windowbox starter pack first and transplant. Would keep the birds out.


I can't tell what that is either, killerhaunts. I'm not much a plant expert though.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

my first attempt last year was a seedling in a clear plastic container with a lid. once it sprouted i took the lid off, let it grow for a couple weeks then the stem rotted and it died... i attempted transplanting it to the ground to see if it would recover but that just sped up the process of it dying lol. i havent quite figured out how to transplant seedlings without killing them and since pumpkins are so time sensitive (as in they take forever to mature) i like to get them started asap and not have to worry about them kicking the bucket when i move them to the ground. too scared to try that again lol. 

but im confident that this time around the pumpkins will work. i will soon have a garden full of sexy sexy vines and hopefully not too long after, sexy sexy pumkin babies! so excited! my favorite part of summer is growing my fall fruit lol. and when it ends. stupid summer.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

got a second patch tilled up today for my gourds to go into. ordered some sugar pumpkin seeds the other day, should be here tomorrow. gonna get all of that planted tomorrow afternoon. my little garden strip where i planted all the butternut and pumpkin guts has exploded and gone crazy. got about 100 sprouts in there now (oops, wasnt expecting that many to come up) and they're all starting to get their leaves. gonna just let them take over and choke out the small ones.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

just planted today


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

thats a really cute garden bed with the scarecrow and everything. really has the halloween thing going on! making me anxious for that time of year again already lol. 5 months seems so far away, but it also feels like halloween was only a couple months ago... so it'll be back before we even know it. and in the mean time we can watch our orange babies grow!


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## byondbzr (Sep 9, 2012)

I transplanted my Jack-O-Lanterns outside last week. Glad I did, this week has been so hot they would have died from the shock. So far, they look good! I have 6 of these...


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Oookay. I have to vent a bit here. Without getting into a long story, we have new neighbors and a problem with the kids staying in their own yard. Earlier this morning while sitting here at the computer I glimpsed the 3 year old daughter running between our house and their garage. Which leads into our backyard. Afew minutes later I hear the mom call for her to get out of the yard. After I got back from taking my wife to work something stopped me from going inside and told me to go check the pumpkin patch. Sure enough, the little girl decided to trample the patch. It being freshly added soil the little foot prints were perfectly preserved and all 3 of my mounds were stomped down. As you all can guess I was quit upset. I headed into the garage and fixed the mounds back and reraked the soil around them to smooth ground back out. The Mom saw me doing this and said "I'm sorry, I think my daughter got into your garden". As nicely as I could I told her she really needs to keep her kids out of our yard and luckily I had just planted the seeds yesterday and hopefully they would still sprout. I figure if I don't see anything with the next week to 10 days I'll plant some new ones. 

This Mom is just "out there" and can't seem to grasp the concept of suburban life, property lines, and boundaries.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

oh shadowbat i feel your pain! just came on here to rant about the same thing, except dogs instead of children. every day lately when ive gone out to check my garden bed ive seen fresh black lab foot prints in the mounds. im getting quite fed up with it! not only are they tromping through my gardens, they're pooping in my yard almost daily! seriously people, it is NOT HARD to keep your stupid mongrels confined to your yard! put up a fence, tie em to a tether, get a kennel put up, sit out there with them while they're outside... just anything besides letting them have free reign over the entire town! this town has leash laws but apparently nobody cares. so to remedy at least one problem, im going to put my cemetary fence around the garden beds. should be enough to keep her out and from destroying my pumpkins once they start to sprout. just so aggravated right now! no respect.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Oh, last couple years have been dealing with a neighbors dog, which was a very large doberman, doing his business in the garden. Unfortunately he was put down over the winter, but at least I knew I wouldn't have to deal with that. Now, this. As I've said, there is a lot to this neighbor story that I don't even want to get into, but she seriously needs to get hold of her household or I fear some of the other neighbors may be making phone calls. I live in a rather quite area, so disruptions are not very easily tolerated.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

yea i get that.

we get along well enough with our neighbors. we're friendly, not friends but nice and we do visit on rare occasion. they did let us know that lady (the culprit) is old and has had cancer a couple times and if she gets it one more time shes going to have to be put down, so its only a matter of time. shes a sweet dog but it just irritates me to no end that they let her just run amok in our yard with no thought as to whether we want to be cleaning corn laden dog turds out of our yard and dealing with a destroyed garden bed. its just disrespectful and i would never let my dogs go over into their yard.. i dont even let them cross the fence line at the sidewalk.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

About to give up on this seed starter box. Nothing from the seeds planted in that. So, I did some direct sowing of more mini pumpkin seeds right into the garden. I don't know, none of this is terribly important just yet, but we are swiftly approaching time to start planting the ones that are important. Going to go talk to an expert about that tomorrow. 

Upcoming on the schedule for the weekend is planting batch 2 of corn, planting beans around batch one, and peppers into the salsa garden.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

well all 3 of my max seeds (planted 6 actually, but only counting that as 3 since i planted 2 per hole) have sprouted! one jack be little is poking up and 2 of my superiors have sprouted. i am so flippin excited! hopefully it rains soon so i can get a free watering but our chance dropped from 50 to 30% overnight for today and tonight then 20% tomorrow so i probably wont get lucky. but yay! sprouts!!!!


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## Paul Melniczek (Jun 5, 2009)

All the pumpkins are sprouted. We have a farm and corn fields directly behind us, so some of these other issues aren't there. We do have a rooster walking around the past few days, and I know the neighboring farmer doesn't have any. I've been asking around, but so far no takers.  Been eating some lettuce so far, and other plants look to be doing well. Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and string beans all growing nicely with fruit on many. Pumpkin plants getting a bit bigger each day!


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## matthewthemanparker (Sep 8, 2007)

This is my first year planting and I just planted my seeds today. It's a little later than what I wanted but things have been busy. I bought some seeds and had some saved from last year's carvings. We'll see which, if any, survive. Hopefully pictures of the sprouts will be coming.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Had to cover the patch last night due to frost. Have to do the same for tonight.

I knew I should have waited until after Memorial Day. lol


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## creepyhomemaker (May 10, 2008)

I got some pumpkins growing in the corner of one of my raised beds where I had sat a pumpkin in the winter. I'm gonna let them grow just to see what they'll look like. I also got some "fairytale" pumpkin seeds yesterday and i'm going to plant them this week. There is something so exciting about seeing pumpkins grow. That little swelling on the female that turns into a baby pumpkin. Love it!


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## sikntwizted (Oct 26, 2007)

I planted some last month. Just stuck the seeds in the freshly plowed ground. Planted corn, watermellon, and sunflowers at the same time. First to pop up- pumpkin. Was a little surprised. I'm not really babying them either. Little fertilizer at the beginning, and off they go. Those vines are actually kicking the surrounding weed's butt. Not sure if it's all the rain we've been getting, or the fact that I've had cows in that field for 20+ years, but those vines are going crazy!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

all 6 of my jack be littles have sprouted, 2 out of 3 superiors are poking up and i have one random in between rows that i think is a straggler from the last attempt. still none of my gourds or pie pumpkins poking up but they've only been in ground for less than a week. so excited for the vines to start spreading and going crazy!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

heres some pics for everyones viewing pleasure... lol

superiors:


















max:








(the leaves on these suckers are huge compared to the other varieties)

and my littles:


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

got my sugar pumpkins and some of my mixed gourds sprouting now.


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## cinders (Oct 12, 2003)

I wasn't intentionally going to plant pumpkins this year, but I found four volunteers in a flower garden and four more that I transplanted out of the compost pile. I'll try to leave the flower ones where they are since they may be able to climb up the fencing and not run over the flowers. But if they get out of hand they may have to go. The ones from the compost I transplanted into the vegetable garden, so if they survive they'll have some room to ramble.

I was going to plant some warty gourds but we've had nothing but rain and cool temps for quite a stretch now. Also, with some really cold temps recently, I lost some flowering vines for my trellis and arches. I think I will just replace those with little white pumpkins that I had some seeds for. I guess I'll just start all those things now, under protection, and then hope they transplant well when it stops raining.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Busy weekend. 

Had to repair a bunch of sprinkler line, and do a lot of transplanting in the flower garden. Tilled up the 2/3 of the garden that hadn't been planted again, and got the second batch of corn seed planted. Also planted the beans around the existing corn. 

We broke down and bought some Jack Be little starts and planted them along the fence, hoping to train them to climb it. Tomatoes and peppers also planted. 

Our expert gave us some of his old starter kits with grow lights and everything, figures our window box kit was getting too hot and killing off things before they could sprout. So, we're trying the french pumpkins (Cinderella and Musquee de Provence, or however it's spelled) in there now, but I have enough seeds left to direct sow if needed later. 

Planned sowing of pumpkins was June 1st, so if this seed starter doesn't work, I'll probably go looking for pumpkins in the nurseries around then.

Oh, and there's pumpkins trying to grow in the cracks of the driveway!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

mariposa0283 said:


> heres some pics for everyones viewing pleasure... lol
> 
> superiors:
> 
> ...


Love the purple flip-flops.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

thanks, walmart special lol. really adds something to the photo though doesnt it?


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Just glad I'm not the only one wandering in the garden in flip flops...

when I'm not going barefoot.


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## Eerie Effects (May 16, 2013)

My wife and I missed the spring planting season for our patch, and plan on getting our act together for the late summer/fall planting season. 

Currently we have a small raised garden bed next to our AC that has watermelons, cantaloupe, squash, cucumbers, rasberries, blackberries, cabbage, and spinach. We used a mixture of garden top soil and natural farm top soil from out in the country and everything is growing like weeds. When we plant our pumpkin patch I plan on using the same mixture, just a lot more of it.

I will have to post some pictures when I get a second of what we have now... and the areas we are working on prepping for the fall pumpkin patch.

Love what everyone else has done and its gonna take me a while to read through everything.

This is a great resource!


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## Wifeofrankie (Apr 12, 2012)

I have never tried anything like this before. I hardly know how to pull weeds out of the ground. But I totally want to try planting pumpkins and corn one of these years. Does anyone know if its just too late to start in northern CA? For pumpkins or corn? I really have no idea about this. If nothing else, does anyone know the best place to look for instructions on the subject that help people who have never gardened before?


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## Eerie Effects (May 16, 2013)

mariposa0283 said:


> what is the absolute bare minimum of amount of sunlight hours allowed for growing pumpkins? all i can find on it is "full sun".... thats not very helpful. my patch is on the east side of the house right next to the tool shed. gets the morning and afternoon sun but is in shade late afternoon to sunset. is that enough sun? i did see on a link somewhere where it said that if there was a hearty patch of weeds in the spot then its probably a good spot for pumpkins.. and there was definitely a hearty patch of weeds there before we tilled... but i would still like an actual number for hours of sunlight needed per day. anyone?


I find about 6-7 hours works best in my area, but I'm in Florida so depending upon where you are at might change the amount of sunlight.


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## bl00d (Aug 26, 2010)

I still need to plant but the weather has been pretty cold, tilled up the patch put in new top soil and mixed it w/ steer manure. Going to plant on Monday and put in my irrigation. Got Jack O lantern seeds but need to pick up some Connecticut, and sugar pumpkin seeds.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Just glad I'm not the only one wandering in the garden in flip flops...
> 
> when I'm not going barefoot.


what else are you supposed to wear in a garden besides crocs? lol


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Wifeofrankie said:


> I have never tried anything like this before. I hardly know how to pull weeds out of the ground. But I totally want to try planting pumpkins and corn one of these years. Does anyone know if its just too late to start in northern CA? For pumpkins or corn? I really have no idea about this. If nothing else, does anyone know the best place to look for instructions on the subject that help people who have never gardened before?


Shouldn't be too late yet. Pupmkins, you basically just need 100 frost free days from time of planting. Corn, about 80. I would think No Cal would be prime to still plant and produce. Now, you get a couple weeks into June, and your pumpkins might not be ripe by Halloween. 

For Pumpkins, specifically, this is the best place I've seen:

http://www.allaboutpumpkins.com/


But, I would go talk to a local nursery if you can for general advice for your area. .


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Happy to report 9 sprouts as of yesterday.


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## Wifeofrankie (Apr 12, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Shouldn't be too late yet. Pupmkins, you basically just need 100 frost free days from time of planting. Corn, about 80. I would think No Cal would be prime to still plant and produce. Now, you get a couple weeks into June, and your pumpkins might not be ripe by Halloween.
> 
> For Pumpkins, specifically, this is the best place I've seen:
> 
> ...


Thank you so much Unorthodox. I really think I'm going to try it.


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## OctoberDream (Aug 7, 2011)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Shouldn't be too late yet. Pupmkins, you basically just need 100 frost free days from time of planting. Corn, about 80. I would think No Cal would be prime to still plant and produce. Now, you get a couple weeks into June, and your pumpkins might not be ripe by Halloween.
> 
> For Pumpkins, specifically, this is the best place I've seen:
> 
> ...


Thank you for posting that link. I found it very intresting and informative.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

One sprout of the musquee de provence pumpkins so far.


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## beautifulnightmare (Oct 31, 2010)

I have always wanted to try growing pumpkins so after reading up on that link I decide shoot I will give it a try! I'm not sure if my neighbor will like it. But I'm sure she won't as she don't like anything I do. I got some jackolantern seeds and some big Max growing in starter pots on my kitchen table. We shall see if they grow. Grow pumpkins grow my pretty!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

my sprouts are all getting their first leaves, just in time for the storms to roll in lol.


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## matthewthemanparker (Sep 8, 2007)

I've got sprouts!


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## Druidess (Sep 2, 2010)

The cinderella's have buds forming today!! I'm way too excited.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

couple of my superior vines are looking pretty rough, one of them snapped off completely im guessing from the wind since there were no dog prints near by and the one next to it looks like its got some stem rot going on, but maybe its just loose from the stupid kansas wind. hopefully the wind doesnt destroy all my others before they get the chance to really establish.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

*sigh* 

Ok, I've not been having so great a year. 

I've never had reliable success sowing pumpkin seeds into the ground here. So, I bought the first window box starter kit. 50 seeds, not a single sprout. So, I went and bought a couple of these:

http://www.hydrogalaxy.com/growing-...e-combo-kit/?gclid=CL6as9_PyrcCFa9eQgodhR0ATg

50 seeds later, I had 4 sprouts. Swiftly running out of time and seed, I said the hell with it and looked up various means. Scoring seeds, soaking them before planting, and a damp paper towel in a ziploc bag lead the suggestions, so Saturday I sat down, split the seeds and had a batch trying each method. 

Got home last night and the paper towel/ziploc method had NEAR 100% GERMINATION! Cute little roots poking out the bottom of the seeds. The question being, however, will they survive being transplanted into the little pots so they can now grow? Damn this waiting game...

Meanwhile, I've transplanted the 4 sprouts I did have so far, and still waiting on all the rest.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Well, heres hoping you have luck with the transplanting.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Well, at least the sugar pumpkins are coming up.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Has anyone here ever planted minis like Jack Be Littles or Baby Boos in a smaller area up a trellis before? Most of my yard is in shade with poor soil due to pine trees, but I have a very small area on the other side of the garage that I could place a trellis. It has good soil and tons of sunlight. Any thoughts/tips on the matter would be much appreciated!
...and yeah, I know it's a bit late to start, but temps have been unseasonably cool and wet with a few cold nights still here...not great for tender planting! I suppose, if I can get some to grow, I could use them for Thanksgiving, maybe, if not fully ready by Halloween, lol


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

WitchyKitty said:


> Has anyone here ever planted minis like Jack Be Littles or Baby Boos in a smaller area up a trellis before? Most of my yard is in shade with poor soil due to pine trees, but I have a very small area on the other side of the garage that I could place a trellis. It has good soil and tons of sunlight. Any thoughts/tips on the matter would be much appreciated!
> ...and yeah, I know it's a bit late to start, but temps have been unseasonably cool and wet with a few cold nights still here...not great for tender planting! I suppose, if I can get some to grow, I could use them for Thanksgiving, maybe, if not fully ready by Halloween, lol


It's not too late to start, yet. Especially the mini varieties. Pumpkins need 100-120 days, the smaller tend to be closer to the 100 side. Still have a week or two to plant to get something in time for Halloween. 

I haven't tried the trellis before, but I am this year. I have some Jack Be Littles planted at the base of my chainlink fence.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Thanks! Think I will give it a shot. Wish I had a fence to use to grow them up, but I don't. So I'm going to build a trellis out of some leftover wood I used to make my graveyard fence from last year...I think it will be sturdier than the some store bought ones. I use so many mini pumpkins during the fall season for decor...having a few of my own grown would be fun!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> It's not too late to start, yet. Especially the mini varieties. Pumpkins need 100-120 days, the smaller tend to be closer to the 100 side. Still have a week or two to plant to get something in time for Halloween.


oh i might plant a couple more superior seeds to make up for the plants that died from the stem rot! but i also might not. guess i have a few days to figure out what i want to do either way.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

So, given my almost late start, what do you guys think would be best for planting my Jack Be Littles? Should I try to get the seed roots started indoors first with the whole wet paper towel, plastic baggie and heat method (or some other method you may have)...or just go ahead and plant them outside and pray for the best, lol? I've planted many things over the years, but pumpkins and gourds are new to me. I feel like I should just start them in the ground with really good soil...but thought I'd ask.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

if the temp is nice and warm you should be alright to start them outside. starting this close to the deadline you dont want to risk killing them during transfer.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

That's what I thought, too! Thanks!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I've always planted by seed the first week of June. This was the first year I planted before Memorial Day. You should be fine.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Good to know, thanks! I just made up my little starter patch (if they grow I might make it a bit bigger and nicer next year) and my trellis is built and stained. Letting it dry overnight, then tomorrow I'll be getting it set up and my lil pumpkin seeds in the ground! Hoping all will go well and some will grow!


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

As of today:

























I finally figured out what the infestation of weeds are ........... BIRDSEED!!!! So thanks to whatever neighbor is feeding the birdies, quail and others so they can RESEED their poop in my yard and torment me with these weeds. BTW The pumpkins are not nearly as bad as my corn. I have to weed every day just to keep a small patch around the stalks weed free. THese plants are ravenous!

Oh, my poor corn!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

the casualty count so far is 3 i believe.. but i still have 2 or 3 max plants that are doing great and about 2 superior that arent showing any signs of stem rot. granted things are progressing pretty slowly but as long as i have some babies ready by halloween i'll be happy. all my jacks and sugars and gourds are doing great. havent lost any of them yet. and my mini patch that had the explosion is still exploding.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Planted my Jack Be Littles yesterday morning...impatiently waiting for the time to come to see if anything sprouts. It's going to be a very long 7-14 days! It's a bit ridiculous how excited I am for these little guys to grow, lol. I'll be so heartbroken if they don't...it's my first try, so who knows. At this point I'd be happy for even just one plant! Now I'm on the lookout for a mini scarecrow to put in my mini pumpkin patch...


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## byondbzr (Sep 9, 2012)

Garden update:

Jack-Be-Littles which were direct-sowed about 10 days ago. The raccoons dug up a lot of the seeds, but I have at least SIX...









Jack-O-Lanterns, which I started indoors, then transplanted. I was afraid of wind damage on a few of them from a bad storm that came through days after they went out. BUT, they are all healthy and thriving as of today. I have six, and they all show male flower buds...


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

my gourd patch (mixed and birdhouse)









pumpkin patch (max, superior, sugar and jack be littles)









and the explosion of volunteers. lol


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

This year's garden. First batch of corn.










The furthest along pumpkin (this is a cinderella)










But most the pumpkins are more like this (yes, they are meant to be interspersed with the corn, trying a three sisters setup):









Second batch of corn is just coming up. 










Would have liked them more established prior, but I'm on a business trip this week...here's hoping the boys left in charge do their weeding and watering...

27 pumpkin plants so far, more sprouting in the garage, hope to transplant next weekend when I get home.


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## matthewthemanparker (Sep 8, 2007)

I have a feeling my pumpkins are planted too close together. What should be the minimum distance between plants? I planted them at the end of a raised bed and plan on having them run out of the bed on to the grass. Should I put down some landscape fabric on the grass where they will be growing? This is my first ever garden of any kind.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

last year i just dumped all my seeds in one spot and they all sprouted, granted only 2 vines put any pumpkins on. this year i actually tilled up spots to plant them properly. in my pumpkin patch i have 3 max plants, spaced about 2.5 feet apart then the next row about 15 inches away from the max row had one superior plant (the other died and the 3rd didnt come up) and then some random sprout that i found when i was retilling when the first batch didnt sprout after 2 weeks. about a foot from that row is the sugar pumpkins and theres i think 2 plants in there spaced about 6 feet apart, my jack be little row has 5 plants spaced only a foot or so apart. im sure once they all start vining out its gonna be pretty crowded in there but thats ok, the packets say to space them 8 feet apart.... thats way too much room IMO.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

matthewthemanparker said:


> I have a feeling my pumpkins are planted too close together. What should be the minimum distance between plants? I planted them at the end of a raised bed and plan on having them run out of the bed on to the grass. Should I put down some landscape fabric on the grass where they will be growing? This is my first ever garden of any kind.


Honestly, it depends on variety. What crowding typically does to pumpkins...is make smaller pumpkins. Severe crowding can result in no fruit on some of the vines, or even kill off some. You can get decent jack sizes (like just big enough for those pumpkinmaster's stencils size) with some pretty tight spacing and a good variety. Your pumpkins won't mind the grass at all, but you won't be able to mow it, so personal preference there. Get on a fertilizing program early if you're tight, pumpkins like to eat and drink, so as long as they're fed and watered well enough, you should do fine.


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## ondeko (Oct 14, 2008)

I didn't think I'd have anything to contribute to this thread, but my wife was out by the compost today and said she thinks we have pumpkins coming up. I'll take a look tomorrow and snap pictures of anything that looks right. I'll be glad if they really are pumpkins, but considering all the stuff we toss out there any vines that come up could be gourds, melons, squash, etc. I'll post photos tomorrow.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

ondeko said:


> I didn't think I'd have anything to contribute to this thread, but my wife was out by the compost today and said she thinks we have pumpkins coming up. I'll take a look tomorrow and snap pictures of anything that looks right. I'll be glad if they really are pumpkins, but considering all the stuff we toss out there any vines that come up could be gourds, melons, squash, etc. I'll post photos tomorrow.



That's how we started growing pumpkins. lol About 6 years ago we say some huge leaves starting to grow out of the compost bin. One day I got a call from my wife at work saying she pulled the leaves. Seems as there pumpkins attached to those vines!


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## madmangt (Sep 4, 2009)

matthewthemanparker said:


> I've got sprouts!


Question for you! I have had no luck in Georgia (I'm in Atlanta) growing pumpkins and many have told me it is super difficult! What variety are you growing and what is your secret!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

whoever told you growing pumpkins is super difficult has no idea what they're talking about! if it were hard, i wouldnt be able to do it. lol 

yes some of the seeds dont sprout, and yes some of the seedlings might die, but basically once the plant is established, watch for drooping leaves, if the leaves droop give it a good drink of water, throw some fertilizer on there and watch them grow. even the white powdery mildew stuff on the leaves isnt anything to really worry about except aesthetics. also keep the squash bugs away as a bad infestation will have your garden out of service for a year or so.


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

This picture was taken yesterday before our huge BOOMING crazy thunderstorm:










Now I have 2 more flowers bloomed and I can see lots of buds, too! I hope I get lots of pumpkins. This is my first year growing them myself (usually my parents because they have more room in their yard). How do I keep the seeds for next year? Do I wash them, dry them, leave in the pumpkin and let it rot? Please let me know. You all look like you got it goin' on!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

As of today:


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

It hasn't even been a complete 5 days yet and I already have my very first baby mini pumpkin sprouts coming through!!!!!! I'm soooo excited!  Unfortunately, I was not expecting for so many of my seeds to actually sprout!!! I will have way, way too many, lol. They must really like the spot I picked for them and the dirt and food, too! Not looking forward to weeding out so many cute little babies soon...maybe, just maybe, I could try to extremely carefully pull some of them up with some dirt and put them in pots for some family members to try and plant? I know they are delicate and will prob die during transplanting...but it couldn't hurt to try, huh?


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

let them establish a little bit (get a few leaves) then try and pot them and give them away, or you can let them grow and see what each one puts on. jack be littles probably dont need as much room as a regular pumpkin since they stay pretty small. though i dont know how close together you have them all either.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> let them establish a little bit (get a few leaves) then try and pot them and give them away, or you can let them grow and see what each one puts on. jack be littles probably dont need as much room as a regular pumpkin since they stay pretty small. though i dont know how close together you have them all either.


They are quite close and I only have space for one good plant in that spot (though I think I will see how it goes and try for two.) I really wasn't expecting them to sprout so I planted a lot in one space in hopes of getting one good one in the correct spot for my trellis, lol. Yeah, I'm going to let them get a little bigger before I do any thinning anyway, just to make sure I get really good ones to keep for myself. I figure, if I have to pull most of them out anyway, I might as well at least try and pot them! I was just curious if anyone has ever accomplished this? I will give it a shot in a few days or so and let everyone know how it goes I guess. Seems sad and depressing to nurse these little seeds to life then rip most of them out of the ground, lol.


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## myerman82 (Aug 2, 2011)

I'm not going to attempt to plant pumpkins this year. Two years ago they grew a lot and I did get many orange flowers from them but none actually gave any pumpkins. Last year all I got were some of the big green leaves. I guess a lot has to do with the crazy weather we have been getting here too.


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## bl00d (Aug 26, 2010)

My patch has been attacked!!! They just started sprouting up and one morning I noticed something has ate ALL of the leaves off!! More plants everyday are turning out like this. Is it slugs? Birds? or mice? I don't want to loose my patch!!! I just went out there and put down some slug n go. I have no idea what critter is doing this they eat off all of the leaves and leave nothing but the stem!!! Will my plants grow back or will I have to re-plant? HELP!!!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

First guess would be slugs/snails, but could be locusts (aka grasshoppers). Slugs are good about hiding in the day, and enough locusts to do that would be noticeable. 

Go out REALLY early in the morning with a flashlight and see if you can spy the slugs. 

Kinda depends on how established the plants are whether they will survive or not. 


Might be come type of caterpillar as well, but nothing springs to mind off top of my head. I'll check for your local pests.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Quick search reveals no oddities for Washington, so Grasshoppers and Slugs are the most likely culprits. 

Ideas to help
Slugs:

Diatomaceous Earth
Mulch seaweed around the plants
Water in the morning
Traps (beer in a bowl, for instance)
chemical means (slug bait)

Grasshoppers:

plant repellent companion plants like marigolds
Organic pesticide soap
Neem oil
Chemical means.


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## matthewthemanparker (Sep 8, 2007)

Madmangt, this is my first year attempting growing so I don't have any real secrets to grow in GA, sorry. Some of the seeds I got out of pumpkins bought last year and some came from a packet I got at Lowes that was simply titled "Halloween Mix". My garden is a newly raised bed I built this year. It's got plenty of good compost in it so I think pretty much anything will grow in it right now.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

I posted this morning that my seeds had already come up after less than 5 full days. At that point I had about 10 seedlings. Now, near the end of the day, I have just counted 18!!!! Wow! They are growing fast! Lol...and I only really need, like, two plants! It will be so hard to pick my favorite two little babies out of so many... Lesson learned for next year...but better to be safe with many, than sorry with too few, right?


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

bl00d said:


> My patch has been attacked!!! They just started sprouting up and one morning I noticed something has ate ALL of the leaves off!! More plants everyday are turning out like this. Is it slugs? Birds? or mice? I don't want to loose my patch!!! I just went out there and put down some slug n go. I have no idea what critter is doing this they eat off all of the leaves and leave nothing but the stem!!! Will my plants grow back or will I have to re-plant? HELP!!!



Do you have a picture of the damage?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

WitchyKitty said:


> I posted this morning that my seeds had already come up after less than 5 full days. At that point I had about 10 seedlings. Now, near the end of the day, I have just counted 18!!!! Wow! They are growing fast! Lol...and I only really need, like, two plants! It will be so hard to pick my favorite two little babies out of so many... Lesson learned for next year...but better to be safe with many, than sorry with too few, right?



I always plant more seeds than what I plan on keeping. You never know whats going to come up. Once they establish, you can always thin them out and keep the quantity you want and pick the better plants. 

Never pull them though. If they happen to be intertwined with another plants roots it could shock them and harm the other plant. Always use scissors and trim it down to the ground and cover with soil.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> I always plant more seeds than what I plan on keeping. You never know whats going to come up. Once they establish, you can always thin them out and keep the quantity you want and pick the better plants.
> 
> Never pull them though. If they happen to be intertwined with another plants roots it could shock them and harm the other plant. Always use scissors and trim it down to the ground and cover with soil.


Yep! I plan on being very careful with my removal of the extras!


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## bl00d (Aug 26, 2010)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Quick search reveals no oddities for Washington, so Grasshoppers and Slugs are the most likely culprits.
> 
> Ideas to help
> Slugs:
> ...


Thank you so much!!!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Well, I woke up this morning to find even MORE seedlings had sprouted, lol. I had no choice but to thin them out a bit, even though I wanted to wait until they were a little bigger. I still kept 4 seedlings in one spot that i will thin again to 1 or 2 of the strongest once they establish more. I also have one good one I planted in a large pot as well that, if it survives, I will just let grow out and over the pot and down the plant stand. 
(I was able to fully remove some of the seedlings, with dirt still around the roots, since they were far enough away from the ones I kept to not disrupt their roots. I have potted them in same temperature and type of soil - with the original dirt still around them - and my aunt and mother in law plan to attempt to plant them if they make it. I will have them plant the entire pots worth of soil containing the seedlings in hopes it will protect the roots and give the least possible reason to go into shock. We shall see if my experiment works...I am determined. Lol)
Here is a quick pic of my very first pumpkin seedlings I've grown...nothing big and fancy like y'all have (which I am extremely jealous of, hahaha) but they are cute all the same!


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## ondeko (Oct 14, 2008)

Here's a pic of a couple of my volunteers next to the mummified remains of a 2012 JoL in the compost.


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## Trinity1 (Sep 5, 2009)

I'm so excited!! At the end of the 2012 season I put the pumpkins we had left in our side yard. We usually just let them rot and let the squirrels eat the seeds. Well.....what did my eye spy the other day? 4 pumpkin plants growing where we left them!  I've tried planting seeds two years in a row. Got great vines but no pumpkins and the one pumpkin we did get ended up not being very good for carving. So I'm just leaving these babies alone in the hopes that nature will take it's course and we'll actually get some pumpkins this year!!!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Just checked on my extra seedlings that I removed from the ground and potted yesterday morning...they have gotten bigger overnight! YAY! I'm hoping that's a good sign that I didn't hurt any of them or cause any shock during transplanting. Now we just have to get them to their new homes, carefully in the ground again and see if they live through that second transplant this weekend!


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## matthewthemanparker (Sep 8, 2007)

Has anybody ever tried growing a variety called "Freaky Tom"? I found some seeds for sale on Amazon for them and thought about ordering some for next year. They are supposed to be heavily warted which I think could make for some cool jack o lanterns.

http://www.amazon.com/Freaky-Tom-Pu...TF8&colid=2LGF2J8MH110Z&coliid=I2DSU50O7X601O


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

heres the most recent progress on my pumpkin patch. still no flowers, but soon hopefully. 










and the volunteer explosion, not doing much, not even sure if its growing bigger or not since theres so many of them in there. wont be surprised if i dont get anything out of this group, but the plants are a lot prettier than the peonie bushes 










only time will tell i guess.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Well, the kids kept everything watered...but they also didn't do any of the weeding they were supposed to. 

The Musquee variety is EXPLODING. Very excited that it's doing well in our heat. Cinderellas are struggling again this year where exposed. The corn-shaded ones seem to be doing well. Both the sugars and luminas are going as expected, but are a week+ behind the musquee/cinderellas. 

Try to get some pics tonight.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Okay, so for anyone who has grown the Jack Be Little pumpkins, if I have just one small spot to grow them up a trellis...how many plants should I leave? Should I leave just one or should I leave more? I have 4 seedlings very close together (if you look back a few posts you'll see my pic of them as newborns, lol, they are a little bigger than that now) and I just am not sure how many I'm supposed to keep. Basically, if one plant is going to get fairly bushy and full at the bottom of the vines, I'd think I'd just keep one. It's not quite time yet to thin them, but I wanted to ask this now so I'd have time for someone to, hopefully, have an answer for me before I need to!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

WitchyKitty, this is no way a "professional" answer, but I would keep 2.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> WitchyKitty, this is no way a "professional" answer, but I would keep 2.


Lol, thanks! I've been going back and forth between the one center plant, or the two side ones.


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## bl00d (Aug 26, 2010)

Came back from vacation to find my patch has been almost completely eaten by bugs, I put slug n go down before I left, set the timer to only water at 11am-11:10,but I guess these guys are hardcore


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

6/18/2013


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

So, to recap, as I left it a week and a half ago:










So, here's what I come home to. (started weeding some, as evidenced by all the pulled weeds on the left here)










Musquee variety thriving. 










Cinderella's slacking behind. (again, they did this last year too)










Luminas and Sugar pumpkins in corn batch 2. (can't tell them apart at the moment.) 










A dozen more sprouts awaited me in the starter kit when I returned as well. A couple of the direct sown mini pumpkin jubilee mix finally sprouted as well.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

So I planted my JBLs in full sun, like it said to. They are doing fine growth wise, but the last week here they have not liked the strong midday sun. They are upright and happy in the morning and the evening, but midday when the sun is strongest they are all sad and droopy! I have read that this is "heat stress"...mind you, the soil is excellent, rich and has compost for water retaining and I make sure to keep them moist...never dry or soggy. I make sure to water the roots, not the leaves, and I never water in the midday sun. I've done everything possible I've read or been told to ensure their happiness. Sigh. The only way they are happy is for me to cover them each day during the midday hours. Anyone ever deal with heat stress on their pumpkins and squash? I'd hate for them to not get enough sun and not produce any pumpkins because of it.  As they get bigger, since I plan to trellis, it will be difficult to shade them in the middle of the day. It's only going to get hotter here in the next day or so...


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## ondeko (Oct 14, 2008)

WitchyKitty said:


> So I planted my JBLs in full sun, like it said to. They are doing fine growth wise, but the last week here they have not liked the strong midday sun. They are upright and happy in the morning and the evening, but midday when the sun is strongest they are all sad and droopy! I have read that this is "heat stress"...mind you, the soil is excellent, rich and has compost for water retaining and I make sure to keep them moist...never dry or soggy. I make sure to water the roots, not the leaves, and I never water in the midday sun. I've done everything possible I've read or been told to ensure their happiness. Sigh. The only way they are happy is for me to cover them each day during the midday hours. Anyone ever deal with heat stress on their pumpkins and squash? I'd hate for them to not get enough sun and not produce any pumpkins because of it.  As they get bigger, since I plan to trellis, it will be difficult to shade them in the middle of the day. It's only going to get hotter here in the next day or so...


Growing up in Arizona my grandparents would shade some of the plants with material that didn't block all the sunshine, just some of it. You could try that.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

I will probably have to try that, thanks. It'll just be difficult once they start growing up the trellis. Maybe I'll just give that a try while they are young at least. Being in Illinois, I didn't think I'd have any issues like this until mid July or so, lol.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

ive got my babies in areas that are in full sun, then shade, then sun again.. they still get sad and depressed in the heat. but they always perk back up when it cools off.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

My babies are in full sun all day long. I wish they had a tiny bit of shade during part of the day, as well. They had a late start this year, so they are still fairly small. I'm hoping that once they establish a bit more and have more true pumpkin leaves they will be a bit stronger in the heat. For the next few days or so, I will keep shading them in the hottest hours just to be safe. It's so depressing to see them all droopy and sad each day!


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

I've been enjoying reading everyone's journey on their pumpkin growing projects. I was really hoping to get mine started for the first time this year but, we ended up planting a mini veggie garden instead. I planted some zucchini a few weeks ago and yesterday found them swarming with squash bugs! I read that they're very hard to get rid of and they can hide in the ground, in mulch and where ever else over winter and can end up ruining most of a garden the following years. I went and got an organic insecticidal soap so, we'll see if that helps. I'm hoping I can get rid of these guys before I finally get my pumpkins going next year! Sheesh!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

WitchyKitty said:


> My babies are in full sun all day long. I wish they had a tiny bit of shade during part of the day, as well. They had a late start this year, so they are still fairly small. I'm hoping that once they establish a bit more and have more true pumpkin leaves they will be a bit stronger in the heat. For the next few days or so, I will keep shading them in the hottest hours just to be safe. It's so depressing to see them all droopy and sad each day!


My cinderellas are doing the same, and did the whole wilt/recover routine last year...up until they got shaded by my Lumina pumpkins, then they took off. Don't know how that will work with the trellis. Might try to shade the roots first, maybe even mulch around the base.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> My cinderellas are doing the same, and did the whole wilt/recover routine last year...up until they got shaded by my Lumina pumpkins, then they took off. Don't know how that will work with the trellis. Might try to shade the roots first, maybe even mulch around the base.


Yeah, the whole trellis thing will be the issue. Hard to shade something growing upwards, lol. That's why I'm shading early while they are small and we will see how it goes from there. I just built a tiny little canopy over them that lets light in early in the day and late in the day. Hopefully that'll help for at least a short while!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

got my first flowers today in my volunteer patch. was surprised to even see any in there since i'd been watching them and didnt even notice any flower buds. still none on my other plants, but im hoping soon. want to get these females popping up so they can start growing!


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## thanosstar (Aug 5, 2012)

I dont do a patch but help a local with his. always does a big corn maze as well. i do beleive he has 6 different types of pumpkins this year. cannot wait till fall


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

So far it looks like my little canopy is working to prevent the heat stress. They are getting their second sets of true leaves today!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Sigh...first I deal with heat stress this past week, so I give them a tiny canopy...then I see an insect issue this morning, so I carefully wash and treat the leaves and area with homemade, safe insect repellant, for now, since I won't be going out until tomorrow to buy anything...and then now we just got hit with a crazy "Mother Nature bringing in the First Day of Summer with a bang" wicked storm with heavy rain, wind and such. My poor babies will hardly last another week if all this keeps up at the same time!!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

pumpkin plants are pretty resilient. it gets pretty windy here as im sure it does in your area too since the midwest is nice like that.. we've had so far about 4 days of around 30mph winds this week... and while mine are a tad bit older, they are holding up.. granted the wind is almost ripping some of them out of the ground but i think the roots are deep enough now that they wont, and once the wind lets up (god knows when) im going to go out and pack some more manure around them for support and obviously food for them. but i wouldnt worry too much about your babies, mine were tiny and we had some pretty hellacious storms and they're huge now. vining out now and everything. gives me the happies!


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## Sublime Nightmare (Aug 2, 2009)

Mine have broken ground and doing great! I'm so excited. I planted luminara, sugar pie, a giant variety and some seeds from last year's store bought pumpkins. I planted them with the corn so they are getting a little shade. I can't wait to see how they turn out.


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## bl00d (Aug 26, 2010)

W/ my patch about gone from bugs and whatever I found a new pest last night attacking the corn crops... yup it's the RAT!!! I caught three of them today so far and this was during daylight.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Woke up this morning and something had nibbled one of my JBL plants all to holes, as well. I am sooooo upset. I only have 2 in the ground (one in a container) and don't know how to prevent this since I never see any bugs. It happens over night. Not sure if that one will make it now, and I'm sure if I don't figure out something to do, the other one will get eaten as well. Sigh.
*Edit-just went out after dark. Earwigs. Everywhere. Joy.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

They're really starting to take off now.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Just in 2 days:


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Sugar pumpkins:










Luminas:










Musquee:









Exposed Cinderella:










Cinderella shaded by corn:










Patch overview










Most recent transplants


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

went away for 2 days and one of my max plants turned yellow shriveled and died. still have 2 left, hope neither one of them die off between now and fall.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

so my sad droopy seemingly dead plant is now a zombie. i gave them some water last night and went out there this morning to check on them and it was perked back up, granted some of it is still yellow and droopy but most of it green and alive and happy. guess they were just thirsty.


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## matthewthemanparker (Sep 8, 2007)

I got my first flower today. Something has started eating one of the plant's leaves though. I gave them all a good dusting of insecticide.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

2 of my max plants are dying... wondering if the 3rd is going to survive. dunno wth is going on but its making me sad.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

mariposa0283 said:


> 2 of my max plants are dying... wondering if the 3rd is going to survive. dunno wth is going on but its making me sad.



How often are you watering? and when? Can you post a pic?


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

i wasnt watering very often since we were getting enough rain but when i got home the other day and once the sun moved so the plants were in the shade i watered them and the first one that started dying came back a little but has since pretty much given up, the second one isnt terrible yet but im guessing its probably going to die as well. 

just went out to take photos and pull some weeds and discovered some squash bugs.... im so freaking upset! anyway heres the pictures


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

squash bug confirmation, there are eggs under the leaves on several plants. ugh, what the crap do i do to get rid of these things before the fruit sets and they destroy them? and how do i keep them away? its not a terrible infestation yet but once all the eggs hatch, it will be.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> squash bug confirmation, there are eggs under the leaves on several plants. ugh, what the crap do i do to get rid of these things before the fruit sets and they destroy them? and how do i keep them away? its not a terrible infestation yet but once all the eggs hatch, it will be.


Well, this is my first year growing pumpkins, so I don't know from experience...but from what I've read you have several choices:
*You can put on some gloves and search and remove or kill all adult bugs and scrape off eggs by hand...time consuming, but safe.
*You can set traps such as boards on the ground near the plants at night...then first thing in the morning, lift up the boards and remove/kill and bugs who have hidden under there. (many growers say to knock or place the bugs in a bucket of soapy water.)
*Companion planting...planting flowers and plants around your pumpkins that will naturally repel some of the the squash bugs, such as catnip, tansy, radishes, nasturtiums, marigolds, bee balm and mint.
*Organic bug repellants and killers. There are many kinds, each doing different things. Look up "organic ways to kill squash bugs" online to find all sorts of good info. Some organic things seem to work better on the nymphs though, and not as well on the adults...or so I've read on gardening sites, so pick what you would need for what you have the worst case of.
*If removal that way doesn't work, you may have to resort to insecticides...making sure to cover all areas the bugs and eggs hide, such as under the leaves and in the V's of the plant stems.
**Also, they say once the bugs are removed you can always place row covers over you plants for protection. Making sure to remove all dead plant and debris after the harvest can also help keep the bugs from wintering in your garden and coming back in the spring.
Again, this is just tips I've read from gardening forums and sites online. I myself made a squirt bottle of mild dish soap water and peppermint extract to spray multiple kinds of bugs directly if needed and I gently remove anything that even LOOKS like an egg, lol. I did the board trick once too...caught several bugs that way and removed them. I do have a small can of "Sevin" dust on hand to use as a last resort if I get a crazy infestation...but I hate to use it, though it does work against lots of different bugs. Good luck, I hope you can save your remaining plants!!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

thanks, i was out there earlier ripping the egg parts off, checking under leaves. so far only found 2 egg nests. im drowning them in soapy water right now. will go back out later, pull some more weeds (probably why it all started) and check the plants over some more and try and remove all the eggs then my dad has some sevin that im not really that fussed about using since most of them wont be eaten anyways and i can just pick the stinkbugs off the sugar pumpkins since those ones will be eaten. this is so frustrating though. my patch where i grew last year has no signs of squash bugs. granted a lot of the plants are shriveling up and dying but thats because there were about 100 vines in there so those ones are probably nutrient starved. i checked under leaves and found zero eggs. 

what do squash bugs do to the vines that kills them? its just weird how its happened. they were healthy one day then dead the next.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Yeah, I'm having issues with my Jack Be Littles...lost two of them, only have 2 left. My problems have been extreme weather issues though. So much heavy rain has been drowning and breaking mine...then all the moisture brings out the bugs who eat mine all up! Then I have issues with sun as well...too much sunlight and heat. Ug! I have to keep covering/uncovering them about a million times a day with the constant odd weather we keep having! 
As for squash bugs, I've read the actually suck everything out of the leaves, making it difficult for the rest of the plant to get the nutrients, so they die. 
Yes, as with some other plants, if there are too many in one spot, they can both fight for nutrients with each other and also smother each other blocking airflow. Thinning them out and keeping them weed free is always better for them. The airflow also helps with moisture control...as if moisture is locked in due to no breathing room, they can yellow, cause disease and it can draw more bugs. 
*Oh, and a note on the soapy water...be careful of when you spray the plants and how often...just like watering, spraying the soapy water all over the leaves in the middle of the day with hot sunlight and such can actually hurt your plants, too...especially if they are still young. Spraying bug sprays can as well...anything with liquid that the sun can make burn the plant leaves.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

yea when i water my pumpkins i wait till the sun is moved so they are in the shade. ill have to see if i can find some peppermint extract tomorrow so i can make the dishsoap spray. what ratios do you use for that and obviously watered down right, so im not using a gallon of peppermint extract? and does that work on the adults or just the younglings/eggs? i know you probably already said but i dont feel like re-reading everything again to see if the answer is in there lol. thanks again for the help


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Lol, well, I don't really measure too much on the spray ingredients. If you are making a gallon of water, they say to use about 4-5 Tablespoons of MILD, unconcentrated liquid dish soap. I have found you don't need quite that much soap. A couple squeezes seems to work just fine for a gallon. I usually just make a spray bottle full, so I just do a quick little squeeze of it into the bottom then add water and shake. As for the mint, you don't really need it at all...I only add a drop in because I had some to use up and some bugs don't like the scent of herbs like mint and such. (I don't think it has to be peppermint...I used mint extract because I accidentally bought it when I wanted peppermint...I had no use for the mint, so I needed to find another use for it, lol.) The soap and water would be just fine if that's what you have because that's what actually kills the bugs. The mint only helps repel some. Mint extracts can be expensive, so I don't think I would go out and buy a bottle for just that. If you grow a mint plant near the pumpkins, that would probably be better, lol.
Oh, and you actually have to spray the bugs for the soap/water to work its best...I haven't found it to work quite as well without direct contact. It helps a little, but direct contact is better. Many of the insecticidal soap sprays you can buy say the same thing. I have read about many people who spray their veggies with soap/water sprays often and have no issues...but I try not to drench my plants with it because mine didn't seem to like it too much. I just spray when I see the bugs. I wouldn't do a spray on hot days or every day either. Once a week would be safer. Again, I am no master at this, but if you look it up online you can get many great tips! You can also add a few drops of veggie type oils or neem oil to the soap water mix...that will help keep the soapy water sticking to the plants and continue to help kill them a tiny bit longer.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Mariposa, if you already read my above post a little bit ago, read it again as i have edited it and added some more info that I had forgotten about. 

I just drove past my local Hyvee and saw they were deeply discounting the flowers in the garden center. Just bought 10 little marigold plants for only 81 cents!!! I may plant a couple over by my pumpkins to further help the bugs stay away. I know it is said that marigolds are a repellant...but have any of you here had any luck with them? Does it actually work? I'd hate to plant them and have them actually draw bugs over to my pumpkin plant rather than repel them, lol. I've seen some of the pics in this thread have some marigolds tucked around in the gardens...


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

so i could probably use some of the wild mint growing in my own yard and drop it in there and that should make it minty enough to repel them? because i had a crapload of the stuff growing everywhere.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

I've read mint can help a little with squash bugs, but it works better for ants and such. Remember, mint can be an invasive plant, so be careful how much and where you plant it. Some people plant it in pots near the plants to make sure they can't spread and take over your garden. I've never grown mint, so if I were you I'd look that up first to see how best to do it. There are other plants that may help with Squash bugs, too. Nothing you put down that isn't an insecticide will stop 100% of the problem. Repellants won't repel them all, soaps won't kill them all, organic solutions won't stop them all...they only help. I wish I could be of more help to you, but this pumpkin growing thing is new to me this year, lol.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

yea i wasnt going to plant the mint in there. there is actually some mint growing around it already but i meant crush some leaves up and put it in the water/ soap mixture for the minty aroma to turn them away. 

i grew the pumpkins last year but the only bugs i had a problem with were pill bugs and they didnt hurt the plants or the fruit, they just liked to secrete this weird clear boogery looking stuff at the base of the pumpkin lol. so the squash bug infestation pending is all new to me and ive never gardened before till last year so i have no idea how to handle pests. but you've been super helpful and im definitely going to try some of the suggestions out along with the sevin dust on the plants that arent edible. will just have to keep a super close eye on my sugar pumpkins to make sure the squash bugs dont get them.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Hmmm...it's possible crushing the mint and adding it to the water could work, but I think you'd have to boil them in it first to get all the scent out into the water, then let the steep...kind of like how you would make tea. However, I still don't know how well mint oil would work for your squash bug issue. I had ants, and I used it for them...I sprayed the mint water around the dirt at the base of the plants to repel the ants. The soapy water mix, with a little oil if you'd like, should be just fine to help battle squash bugs. Best of luck, hun! maybe someone on here who has dealt with them will have more ideas for you!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

yea i dont want the ants on them either but at least they wont kill it. but it will give it a pretty smell lol.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

I may be having a rough time keeping my Jack Be Littles alive and growing...but my chipmunk sure is a great veggie gardener!!! He just keeps burying his corn and sunflower seeds in my tiny little single plant patch and they grow like crazy!! The neighbor must be feeding them some real quality seeds! I keep having to dig them up every day trying not to hurt my pumpkin plants roots. I do wish I had somewhere to plant all his little seedlings, though, lol.


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## Rania (Oct 27, 2011)

Here are a couple pics of my garden as of 2 days ago. Long way to go still! I have 6 beds of pumpkins, 1.5 beds of corn. The other 9 beds are regular veggies.
I have a LOT of pumpkin plants. Hopefully nothing comes along and eats them up!


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## Spooktactular (Aug 15, 2011)

The adult squash bug lays the eggs that burrow into the vine. That's why they wilt. They are ugly gross worms. If you look at your stump you can probably find where the worms are inside the vine. Sometimes you can get the worm out and the plant will do some better. There's not much you can do once they are in the vine as far as insecticides. Hope this helps some.


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## RattandRoll (Sep 6, 2007)

WitchyKitty said:


> I may be having a rough time keeping my Jack Be Littles alive and growing...but my chipmunk sure is a great veggie gardener!!! He just keeps burying his corn and sunflower seeds in my tiny little single plant patch and they grow like crazy!! The neighbor must be feeding them some real quality seeds! I keep having to dig them up every day trying not to hurt my pumpkin plants roots. I do wish I had somewhere to plant all his little seedlings, though, lol.


That's one awesome garden you have there


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

lost all of my maxies but the odd thing is, the ones that have the active squash bugs are still doing great. i checked my healthy max plant the other day after i found the squash bugs and found no sign of any of them on either of the 3 plants. im guessing they need a lot more nutrients since they're a lot larger and the smaller plants were hogging all of it and killed them so next year i will plant them solo and do the others in a different patch, maybe do 3 max seeds to one of the tilled spots. so bummed about the maxies but the others still look great and i got some dust (not sevin. 8 something) from my dad that ill sprinkle on there later tonight when it cools off a little. hope for the best this year and start fresh next year with some awesome soil and plenty of compost. now i have that to look forward to at least.


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

Rania said:


> Here are a couple pics of my garden as of 2 days ago. Long way to go still! I have 6 beds of pumpkins, 1.5 beds of corn. The other 9 beds are regular veggies.
> I have a LOT of pumpkin plants. Hopefully nothing comes along and eats them up!


What a fantastic garden! 

That is inspirational to the aspirational...


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

have several female buds opened and fertilized today. mostly sugar pumpkins, maybe a couple gourds. super excited. still picking eggs off the leaves on my superior plants, maxies are still dead but still putting on flowers? figure theres not much i can do for them this year, gonna have to end up buying my pumpkins again probably unless my superior gives me a few worth keeping. either way, YAY PUMPKINS!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

As of this morning:

















My daughter in the back for size comparison. lol











Here are 3 of 6 little pumpkins that have started (at least what I could find):


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

My JBL's are a little behind, since they got a late start, but they seem to be doing alright. Really growing now! Another series of rainy/stormy days are coming tonight through next 3-4 days...so we will see how they look after all that...I lost my other two plants during our first set of bad weather, so I may be standing outside with an umbrella the next 4 days, lol.


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

I'd thought I'd ask you all Jack O'Lantern creators if these are baby pumpkins!!??
I've only grew ones to be the size of a peanut M&M that died quickly!
These are growing out of my compost.They are a light orange/green mix color.I have 6.The biggest one is the size of a quarter.I have
Fairytale Pumpkin,Tiger Pumpkin and regular Jack O'Lantern & Jack Be Little seeds in the compost..
Any help is appreciated!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Halloeve55 said:


> I'd thought I'd ask you all Jack O'Lantern creators if these are baby pumpkins!!??
> I've only grew ones to be the size of a peanut M&M that died quickly!
> These are growing out of my compost.They are a light orange/green mix color.I have 6.The biggest one is the size of a quarter.I have
> Fairytale Pumpkin,Tiger Pumpkin and regular Jack O'Lantern & Jack Be Little seeds in the compost..
> ...


Those...are female flowers. If polinated, they may set and turn into a pumpkin. In my experience, a good 80-90% will be aborted, however. Vines normally only grow one pumpkin at a time, so you'll likely see one start growing and a lot shrivel up. Once the one has some size to it, you might see a second and/or third pumpkin set on each vine. 

If you're real worried, you can head out EARLY in the morning, pluck a male flower (without the baby pumpkin) and polinate the females yourself.


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Those...are female flowers. If polinated, they may set and turn into a pumpkin. In my experience, a good 80-90% will be aborted, however. Vines normally only grow one pumpkin at a time, so you'll likely see one start growing and a lot shrivel up. Once the one has some size to it, you might see a second and/or third pumpkin set on each vine.
> 
> If you're real worried, you can head out EARLY in the morning, pluck a male flower (without the baby pumpkin) and polinate the females yourself.




Thanks for the info!Much appreciated! Yeah,I've walked out one morning to find one shriveled up already..


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Our first set of corn ("King Kool") is silking/tasseling. Measuring just 4-5', I'm not sure it'll make great decor later. 

The second batch of corn ("Ambrosia") has been struggling, keeps getting knocked down by seemingly nightly wind gusts. I have it propped, and it seems to snap out of it every morning, just to get bent each night. 

The third batch ("Goliath") is for decoration, not for eating, and has been fun to watch. Seems to grow an inch a day. 

Most the pumpkins have male flowers (except the last ones planted), should just be a couple weeks before females/pumpkins. The Cinderellas amongst the corn to shade them has solved my problems from last year, and the Musquee are thriving, hopefully that translates to the fruit as well. The Lumina's are threatening to take over the sugar pumpkins, so be interesting to see how that plays out. The Jack be Littles on the fence are having a struggle. This might be a sunlight problem, as I was hoping they'd grow faster, and now my raven grass has sprung up, they are now in nearly full shade. Had they climed the fence earlier it wouldn't be a problem.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Just started to see the beginnings of lots of tiny baby flowers! So far it's looking like they are just the first males, but I'm still excited because it means females could be on their way!! I've had to work extra hard to keep these last two plants alive, since the place I planted them wasn't as good a spot as I thought it would be, so any sign that they are thriving is great for me. They have gotten even bigger since the last pictures I posted just recently. Here's to hoping for females soon!!

*On a side note, I have no idea when I will be able to start to train the one of them upwards to the trellis, as they seem to just be getting "bushier" rather than "vine-like"...guess I will see at a later date!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

My patch is currently getting beat to a pulp and drowned due to these severe storms we're getting today!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> My patch is currently getting beat to a pulp and drowned due to these severe storms we're getting today!


Yep...you are probably getting what we just had these past few days here in Illinois! Had to build covers for my JBL's to help protect them from the downpours and winds! They seem to have made it, now I'm just praying the excess of water that did get in doesn't cause any root rot or such. Hope yours stay safe!


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## Rania (Oct 27, 2011)

I officially have vine borers and just ripped out a dozen mature plants. I want to cry!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Question to those who have grown pumpkins before: One of my largest pumpkin plant leaves stem bent/broke. The rest of the plants stems and main stem are fine, just one big one broke. Will the rest of the plant survive with an open wound where the missing leaf is? I'd think it'd be fine if it were a full vine of leaves already, or a larger type of pumpkin, but mine are JBL's and still smaller. The leaf is still attached and as it only bent, broke a bit but not completely through/off. Is it possible it could heal? Should I completely remove it? I'm worried an open stem will catch disease/bugs easier. I know it seems silly to worry about one leaf/stem, but I only have two plants left after the others died from storms and have been a bit overprotective, lol.


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Guess I have myself some mini white pumpkins! Out of 6,4 have shriveled up


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

WitchyKitty said:


> Question to those who have grown pumpkins before: One of my largest pumpkin plant leaves stem bent/broke. The rest of the plants stems and main stem are fine, just one big one broke. Will the rest of the plant survive with an open wound where the missing leaf is? I'd think it'd be fine if it were a full vine of leaves already, or a larger type of pumpkin, but mine are JBL's and still smaller. The leaf is still attached and as it only bent, broke a bit but not completely through/off. Is it possible it could heal? Should I completely remove it? I'm worried an open stem will catch disease/bugs easier. I know it seems silly to worry about one leaf/stem, but I only have two plants left after the others died from storms and have been a bit overprotective, lol.




Open "wounds" can heal as well as trimmed vines. A trick to this is burying the cut portion under the soil. If you don't have any kind of bug infestations it should okay.






Halloeve55 said:


> Guess I have myself some mini white pumpkins! Out of 6,4 have shriveled up


Are they all on one vine? Could simply be the "survival of the fittest" scenario. Usually a vine will only produce one good pumpkin.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> Open "wounds" can heal as well as trimmed vines. A trick to this is burying the cut portion under the soil. If you don't have any kind of bug infestations it should okay.
> 
> Thanks! My problem is that I can't bury it...I'm attempting to train the plant to grow upwards. Right now, somehow, the leaf is still alive. I have it gently propped against the trellis to kind of hold it up from breaking completely off. I just keep gently adjusting it and propping it at it moves/grows, hoping I can save it for as long as possible! Wish I could just put a band-aid on it!!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Halloeve55 said:


> Guess I have myself some mini white pumpkins! Out of 6,4 have shriveled up


Is this a "Baby Boo" mini pumpkin plant, or just smaller white pumpkins? "Baby Boo's" (I think there may be another name for the mini's as well...but they are like tiny hand held size ones that are technically gourds) are just like my Jack Be Littles...they are supposed grow 6-10 mini pumpkins per vine/plant. When did the others shrivel up? Was it after they started getting bigger, or when they were still just round balls at the bottom of the female flowers? If it was shortly after the flower faded, it may have just been un-pollinated...if the female flower isn't pollinated by the male flower by bees or yourself manually, then the mini pumpkin wont start to mature and will just die. If it's a small regular white pumpkin plant, then Shadowbat could be right and it could be survival of the fittest for nutrients and water and you'd only have about one pumpkin per vine. (If they were on different vines, watch the vine itself and leaves for signs of bugs or disease.)


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Shadowbat said:


> Halloeve55 said:
> 
> 
> > Guess I have myself some mini white pumpkins! Out of 6,4 have shriveled up
> ...


There are about 4 vines.2 have died off


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Witchykitty:they must be the jack be little white ones,I tossed seeds in my compost pile this spring that I thawed out from one last year.they didn't look healthy once thawed so I tossed them..I'm glad to get something! Lol.the ones that shriveled up were both small ones under a plant and bigger baby ones.i also have cucumbers growing with the pumpkins.they are all fighting I'm sure..


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Halloeve55 said:


> Witchykitty:they must be the jack be little white ones,I tossed seeds in my compost pile this spring that I thawed out from one last year.they didn't look healthy once thawed so I tossed them..I'm glad to get something! Lol.the ones that shriveled up were both small ones under a plant and bigger baby ones.i also have cucumbers growing with the pumpkins.they are all fighting I'm sure..


You must have the "Baby Boos" then...those are the mini whites. JBLs are mini oranges...both same size/growing style. Hmmm...well, if it's on different vines than the ones that made it, or if some started to get bigger, then shriveled, it really could be any of the issues: fighting for space/nutrients, disease/bugs, pollination. (If pollination happened, but wasn't a good enough pollination, I've also read that the pumpkins can start to grow but may be weakened and could die.) It's hard to say for sure as this is my first year growing pumpkins...I can only go by the zillion articles and web sites I read through about them online, lol. I'm just jealous you have at least 2 mini white ones!!! I looked all over and couldn't find the Baby Boos in my area for seeds, only the orange JBLs. I may have to buy a white mini pumpkin this year just to get the seeds for next year, lol. Good luck, I hope your two you have make it!!


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Ooh! I thought by your first description that these were 'white' JBL's!lol.im glad I know now I kept calling them white pumpkins to my son.there are plenty of good bugs that visit these..I'm just sick of seeing ants crawling on my vines.i had to pluck off a snail last week.i got the seeds from one I bought at trader joes for a $1!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Halloeve55 said:


> Ooh! I thought by your first description that these were 'white' JBL's!lol.im glad I know now I kept calling them white pumpkins to my son.there are plenty of good bugs that visit these..I'm just sick of seeing ants crawling on my vines.i had to pluck off a snail last week.i got the seeds from one I bought at trader joes for a $1!


Well, you can call them white pumpkins because they are white pumpkins, lol. In scientific technicality, the mini pumpkins are actually gourds, I've read...but most everyone, who is not a botanist, has always considered them a pumpkin, lol. I had ant issues on mine as well. Finally deterred the most of them. It was annoying. Hmmm...a dollar though?! For one mini pumpkin? That's kinda high, lol. These are what Baby Boos look like, tiny lil 3 inch things...was it one of these:


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Well, have a bit of water log due to all the torrential rain we had a couple days back, but I don't think there's any severe damage. 


7/14/2013






















Here are some starters. Hoping the take off.


































These 2 I think will stay.


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Witchykitty:yup,those are it..I actually think it was 89¢and the tiger pumpkin I got with it was a dollar.lol.and that's cheap for some of the prices I've seen for them and JBL's.i hope you have luck with your first year! Shadowbat:your plot looks good as well as the pumpkins!we got hit a lot this past week with rain as well.one of my vines died from being in a low spot


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Looks like they made it though the rain okay! They are looking great, Shadowbat!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Halloeve55 said:


> Witchykitty:yup,those are it..I actually think it was 89¢and the tiger pumpkin I got with it was a dollar.lol.and that's cheap for some of the prices I've seen for them and JBL's.i hope you have luck with your first year! Shadowbat:your plot looks good as well as the pumpkins!we got hit a lot this past week with rain as well.one of my vines died from being in a low spot


Wow! Yeah, we can get mini pumpkins around my area usually 3 for a dollar, sometimes 4 or 5 for a dollar, on rare occasion, if the crops are really good that year. It always amazes me the price differences from state to state. (Although, Illinois, where I'm from, is the leading pumpkin producing state...which I'm quite proud of since I love pumpkins, lol...so I guess maybe we can afford to have out prices be a little lower?)


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Witchykitty:those prices make me drool!my local grocery store had them almost at $2 each!i left them there too!i got a fairylike pumpkin at a farmers market last year for $5 and trader joes has them for $11.99..and there was nothing fairytale about theirs!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Halloeve55 said:


> Witchykitty:those prices make me drool!my local grocery store had them almost at $2 each!i left them there too!i got a fairylike pumpkin at a farmers market last year for $5 and trader joes has them for $11.99..and their was nothing fairytale about theirs!


Lol. Yeah, we have several farms/orchards with large pumpkin patches around my area. We visit them each and see who has the best prices/pumpkins. Farms are always a better place to get the best pumpkins! Prices depend on the crops each year. We will be visiting 4 farm patches on the same day this year we think!! Yay for pumpkins! Hoping I won't have to buy any mini pumpkins this year though...hoping I will have my own for the first time!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

heres some pics of my gourds, i have more and some of the ones in the pictures have doubled in size overnight.. havent been able to locate any pumpkins yet but my patch is overgrown with both pumpkin vines and weeds, still picking off pesky egg bunches and dusting for squash bugs, but im happy with how things are going so far. diligence will pay off and i will win this battle! anyways, here are the pics i took yesterday.





































had two or 3 more (at least) open up and fertilize today, even if i dont get any pumpkins aside from my sugars, ill be alright with the gourds. i can dry them and reuse them next year and the next year and the year after that. 

anyone have any wintertime tips for me to keep the squash bug population under control? i know to destroy the vines once ive harvested all my pumpkins, but what else can i do? i really dont want to take next year off from growing pumpkins. its my favorite thing of summer and i'll be so freaking sad if i cant do it for a year or two.


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

WitchyKitty said:


> Lol. Yeah, we have several farms/orchards with large pumpkin patches around my area. We visit them each and see who has the best prices/pumpkins. Farms are always a better place to get the best pumpkins! Prices depend on the crops each year. We will be visiting 4 farm patches on the same day this year we think!! Yay for pumpkins! Hoping I won't have to buy any mini pumpkins this year though...hoping I will have my own for the first time!


. We have some farms near me.havent been to a real pumpkin patch yet though.hopefully we can find one soon!i hope you get some pumpkins from your garden!


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

I saw some pictures with straw under your pumpkins. Does this make them not get that "dirt side" most pumpkins get?

Here's my corn which will make great stalks for my display, too!


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Killerhaunts: your pumpkin and stalks look good!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

killerhaunts said:


> I saw some pictures with straw under your pumpkins. Does this make them not get that "dirt side" most pumpkins get?



Basically keeps the pumpkin cleaner. I don't get that soggy side. Keeps any little bugs from congregating under it. Ya know. lol


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

thanks! I am just so happy that the pumpkins and corn survived the two bouts of HAIL in one week! Their poor leaves looked like someone took a shotgun to them!


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Lol.i could only imagine! Glad they made it!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Mine are getting bigger. Male flowers will be opening soon. I'm still trying to train mine to grow up the trellis...not as easy of a task as I thought. I have the vines tied lightly with garden cloth onto the trellis and I'm starting to try to help the tendrils grasp onto it. We will see how it goes the next few days. Another smaller stem broke from growing against the bars of the trellis and the wind pushing on it...not sure how to stop this from happening. Next year I may try something different...
The plant in the container is doing very well. It's quite healthy, yet smaller than the one in the ground. It does have many male flowers getting ready to open, as well. Hoping some females will show up soon after those first beginning males on both of them or I may not have any pumpkins for the start of my fall season...if I get any at all.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

In 5 days, my pumpkin vines have doubled in size! They are JBL's and I am training them up a trellis. My problem is that it's so healthy, I have too many vines now to attach them all to the trellis, and several are beginning to grow out and away into the grass. As it so happens, I've been impatiently waiting for some female flowers and they have finally emerged...but, so far, they only happen to be on the vines that are growing out towards the grass. I was planning on nipping off the tips of those vines so they would stay away from the grass, lol, but now with many possible baby pumpkins on them, I obviously don't want to cut them back! Will the vines/pumpkins be alright growing out into the grass, or am I going to have to figure something else out? I've read it's fine to let them spread out into the lawn, but I just thought I'd ask you guys if you've had any personal experience with that and how you dealt with the grass growing under them. Hahaha...ahhh, I wish I had chosen a different place for this pumpkin plant...live and learn...


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

heres some current progress shots. 

no idea what this thing is. its in the gourd patch where i have one sugar pumpkin plant, its not round enough to be a pumpkin but not warty enough to be a gourd so im wondering if some cross pollination happened and ive since named it a gumpkin lol.









and im pretty sure this is a sugar pumpkin since its in the gourd patch and thats the only sort of pumpkin i have planted in there. that one snuck up on me. didnt even notice it till the other day when i was moving vines off the lawn so we could mow without running over my babies.









so that and my 2 gumpkins (there was a second smaller one i couldnt get to because it was too far in) are so far the only pumpkins i have growing. my one patch with the jbls and the superiors have yet to put on anything that ive been able to locate. but our yard is pretty overgrown at the moment so there could be something in there and im just missing it since i cant get super close. 

still picking off squash bug eggs but i havent seen an explosion of the adults yet so im hopefully getting it under control enough that as long as i stick with what ive been doing, i can eradicate the problem after harvest time.


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## witchy poo (Jul 24, 2012)

Anyone on this thread grow acres of pumpkins? The land we are looking at in Indiana is 17 acres and I would love to do at least 5 in pumpkins. I have only grown a couple vines years ago and have no idea how to plant a large patch like I have in mind. Any advise and guidance would be greatly appreciated


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

witchy poo said:


> Anyone on this thread grow acres of pumpkins? The land we are looking at in Indiana is 17 acres and I would love to do at least 5 in pumpkins. I have only grown a couple vines years ago and have no idea how to plant a large patch like I have in mind. Any advise and guidance would be greatly appreciated


Years ago, about a 5 acre farm. 

The question you need to ask is are you looking for size (more effort) or quantity (pretty much plant and forget). I'm going to assume you're wanting to sell, so you need to plant to pick late September/first of October. We always planted starts here, but we have a shorter growing season, so kinda depends where you live whether you can direct sow or not. 

Basically, you just furrow and plant your rows. If you're looking for size, you need to attend the plants, chop off additional runners, etc. Water deep. The great thing about pumpkins is once they get some foliage, they act as their own mulch and keep weeds down and moisture in. 

Keep an eye on bees. You REALLY want some squash bees for a field of this sort. Might need to hire a honeybee keeper if you don't get many bees. 

Good seed is, of course, mandatory. If you plant one type, you can save your own seeds for planting the following year. Connecticut field pumpkins (pretty uniform basketball or bigger) or Howden (various size/shape) would be good general jack pumpkins, but I have a special place in my heart for old zebs. They are a touch smaller, but get that perfect pumpkin shape and good stems. Specialty pumpkins, I would recommend Sugar pumpkins and luminas for best bang for the buck. 

Squash bugs are a real potential problem...decide if you're going organic or not early, and have a plan. If you got bugs OR mildew (I'm tempted to say WHEN, not if) you DO NOT WANT TO DISC IN YOUR VINES. That just carries the problem to the next year. 

You're also going to need a cover crop or good fertilizing schedule. Rotate which 5 acres get the pumpkins. We did beans>corn>pumpkins/squash>tomatoes/peppers, with each section of field getting the crops in that order.


Caveat...that was 20+ years ago, there might be updates in methodology by now.


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## witchy poo (Jul 24, 2012)

Thank you UnOrthodOx for all the information. Wow I guess there is a lot to think about. It is going to be a couple years before I would be ready but I am already dreaming about it. I may pick your brain more in the future. Thanks again


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## The_Cailleach_Bheur (Jul 20, 2013)

I decided to plant a few pumpkin seeds this year. We live close to various shopping areas and restaurants (and all that), so we don't usually grow things in gardens in our backyard. My last garden was when I was still very small and in elementary school. But I'm 20 now and I find that I'm pretty hardcore obsessed with Halloween, so pumpkins are one of my favorite things. I read somewhere online that this year, pumpkin prices would be unreasonably inflated, so I decided to plant a few little pumpkin seeds that I bought for fifty cents at Walmart in the back behind our house, hoping that I would have only paid fifty cents for maybe ten or fifteen pumpkins rather than paying ten bucks for just one. Unfortunately, two of them are suffering stunted growth, one is doing great, and the other is doing pretty good, but may die if my stubborn dad won't move his kayak out of the way... I don't know who all here might be into fishing or kayak fishing, but if you are, you might know my dad, since he's won a lot of big awards and tells everyone his nickname is "fishman"... But anyway, I hope he moves that kayak out of the way soon, because here in a few days, it might stunt my other plant's growth...


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

The_Cailleach_Bheur said:


> I decided to plant a few pumpkin seeds this year. We live close to various shopping areas and restaurants (and all that), so we don't usually grow things in gardens in our backyard. My last garden was when I was still very small and in elementary school. But I'm 20 now and I find that I'm pretty hardcore obsessed with Halloween, so pumpkins are one of my favorite things. I read somewhere online that this year, pumpkin prices would be unreasonably inflated, so I decided to plant a few little pumpkin seeds that I bought for fifty cents at Walmart in the back behind our house, hoping that I would have only paid fifty cents for maybe ten or fifteen pumpkins rather than paying ten bucks for just one. Unfortunately, two of them are suffering stunted growth, one is doing great, and the other is doing pretty good, but may die if my stubborn dad won't move his kayak out of the way... I don't know who all here might be into fishing or kayak fishing, but if you are, you might know my dad, since he's won a lot of big awards and tells everyone his nickname is "fishman"... But anyway, I hope he moves that kayak out of the way soon, because here in a few days, it might stunt my other plant's growth...


I hope pumpkin prices aren't crazy high this year!! I only planted Jack Be Little minis and, even if they grow, I will still need to buy all my big carving pumpkins. Good thing we are planning on hitting several farms this year for the best pricing/selection...hopefully at least one of them will have some decent prices if the costs do, in fact, go up this year. As for your stunted growth plants...did they get too much water at some point or poor drainage? I had two of my four plants just flat out stop growing when they were young...after a while, I gave up on them, pulled them up and saw they had root rot from excess water from some heavy rains we had for days.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Got myself a new (used, but my old one was totally busted) point and shoot. Had a macro function so had to play with that. 

Squash bee in one of my blossoms.










First pumpkin to set. I had this plant pegged as a musquee pumpkin, but that looks a lot like a cinderella. They're planted together, and I have no idea what a young musquee should look like, so I gots no clue. 










That was a few days ago, we've had 3-4 more set since then. 

the garden, corn in the foreground is 6' tall, should be ripe in about a week:


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Had to harvest this guy early..his vine was just about dead.leaves haven't popped back up after few days of rain.my other vines and babies are slowly kicking it too.well,it was fun while it lasted.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

aw what a cute pumpkin!

my sugar pumpkin is already getting a little bit of orange popping up under the green. finally got a jack be little started in my main patch and a few gourds and other sugar pumpkins in my gourd patch. these things need to hurry up or halloween is going to come and go before they're ready again.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Halloeve55 said:


> Had to harvest this guy early..his vine was just about dead.leaves haven't popped back up after few days of rain.my other vines and babies are slowly kicking it too.well,it was fun while it lasted.


Sad that your vines are fading already.  However, that lil guy is totally perfect looking! Maybe if you keep it in a cool, dry place, he may last until Halloween season???


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Here are some lovely pumpkin flower pics, pics of visiting bees (yay for bees!!) and the plants so far...the plant in the ground is now taller than me, and on its way up to my garage roof, lol. Soon, soon my females will bloom and these bees can get to work! (lol, sorry there's so many flower pics...but they are just so beautiful, and I love photographing flowers!)




























































(One of my tiny possible baby pumpkins! It's so cute! Can't wait for her to bloom.)


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Squash bugs detected.  

Crushed a few hundred eggs, sprayed neem oil, hoping to catch it before it's a problem.

Can see about half a dozen pumpkins that have set now, but I'm giving up on trying to tell what is what, the vines are overlapping too much, and I can't see a lot of the vines as they wind into the corn, so there's probably even more. 

Couple of jack be littles females are about to bloom as well. One of the vines is climbing the fence well, the other keeps heading to ground.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

oh no. ive been battling my squash bugs for the last month. still finding eggs and i either scrape them off or just rip that part of the leaf off and drown it in soapy water (wich doubles as a gnat collector my counter, win!) my vines are still doing good enough though, plenty of fruit still setting. hate those darn bugs though! wish nature would have never created something so evil.


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## Spooktactular (Aug 15, 2011)

I have high hopes every year only to have them squashed by the squash bug and vine borers. The rainy seasin hasnt helped much either. Oh well maybe next year lol.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

just went out and picked off probably 100-200 eggs. found 3 adults, 2 of them were stuck together by the butt and i managed to squish 2 of the 3 i found. one got away. i have some neem oil im planning on ordering since i would much rather use than than sevin dust on the edibles. will have that on hand and ready for next years planting


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> just went out and picked off probably 100-200 eggs. found 3 adults, 2 of them were stuck together by the butt and i managed to squish 2 of the 3 i found. one got away. i have some neem oil im planning on ordering since i would much rather use than than sevin dust on the edibles. will have that on hand and ready for next years planting


If you live near a Menards, they carry Neem Oil...in case you didn't want to have to order it


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

WitchyKitty said:


> Sad that your vines are fading already.  However, that lil guy is totally perfect looking! Maybe if you keep it in a cool, dry place, he may last until Halloween season???


i'm hoping he can last! i'm just glad my son had the chance to pick one..even if it's half gown..lol


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

WitchyKitty said:


> If you live near a Menards, they carry Neem Oil...in case you didn't want to have to order it


menards is about 70 miles away, but ill be near one next week for my nephews birthday assuming he doesnt keep getting into trouble and we cancel it lol


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> menards is about 70 miles away, but ill be near one next week for my nephews birthday assuming he doesnt keep getting into trouble and we cancel it lol


Lol! Well then...Home Depot? Walmart? Most places with a garden center should carry it...


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

home depot is like 2.5 hours away, walmart is 40 minutes. i live in the boonies. nothing is close by lol


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> home depot is like 2.5 hours away, walmart is 40 minutes. i live in the boonies. nothing is close by lol


Lol...well, that won't work then. Well, I hope you find it when you visit for the b-day party!


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## Rania (Oct 27, 2011)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Squash bugs detected.
> 
> Crushed a few hundred eggs, sprayed neem oil, hoping to catch it before it's a problem.
> 
> ...


ME too dude. I spend hours every morning killing eggs of squash bugs, squishing the nymphs and any adults I can find. I think I have contained the Vine Borer issue but i still find one from time to time. It is a battle I deal with on a daily basis and it is only getting harder as the plants grow out of control. It is driving me insane.


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## Rania (Oct 27, 2011)

I don't know if anyone gives their plants food, but fish emulsion is great! Stinky, but great! The pumpkins love the nutrients.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

WitchyKitty said:


> Lol...well, that won't work then. Well, I hope you find it when you visit for the b-day party!


bday has been post poned since his parents wont be here till early august now (jeeeeeeeeeezus, they were SUPPOSED to be here like 2 weeks ago lol) so ill have to order it i think.. unless we decide to go to salina anyways to buy him a tent and sleeping bags for a backyard campout.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Rania said:


> I don't know if anyone gives their plants food, but fish emulsion is great! Stinky, but great! The pumpkins love the nutrients.


Oh yeah, fish emulsion all the way. (doesn't smell too bad, IMO)


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

As of today. 7/25/2013


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)




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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Shadowbat:your pumpkins look great!!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Halloeve55 said:


> Shadowbat:your pumpkins look great!!


Thanks. This is the best year I've had in the 5 years that I've been growing. Just hoping I can make it through August. From there on I should be okay.


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Shadowbat said:


> Thanks. This is the best year I've had in the 5 years that I've been growing. Just hoping I can make it through August. From there on I should be okay.


Hope you do! They look way healthy!


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## Spooktactular (Aug 15, 2011)

Shadowbat, what kind of pumpkins did u plant?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Spooktactular said:


> Shadowbat, what kind of pumpkins did u plant?




I just bought a pack of Organic pumpkin seeds. There were no specifications of which types they were.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

If I had to guess I'd say Howden. They are popular heirloom (and thus organic) seeds, and get that variety of shape and size. 


Picked the first of the corn tonight. Shocked my son eating an ear raw right there in the garden. (had to make sure they were ripe, yes?) While going through that took a better stock of the pumpkins in the corn. We probably have a dozen set so far. I'm giving up on deciding what the french pumpkins are at this point. The volunteers appear to be howden, and until they get some size, it's hard to tell them from my sugar pumpkins. 

The Jack be littles...one vine has 3 pumpkins set, and half a dozen more females already! If the other 2 vines ever start producing, I might have a ton of these. More than the 'oh I'll plant a couple for my daughter', anyway.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Okay, guys, looking for opinions. My JBL has just reached the underside of the roof of the garage! It has no where else upwards to go. Should I nip off the tip to stop its upwards growth on those vines so it doesn't snap itself? There are female flowers up there and I don't want them to be lost to the vine snapping! (I still have a few vines growing outward on the ground as well that I can continue to let go as they please for length.) I suppose I could try to run ropes sideways and tie them to something (what, I dont know) and have them start to go sideways up there...but it'd be a sharp bend to do that.


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Mariposa.i have the same thing!i didn't know what it was.mine is same shape and color.its also soft velvety feeling.i have cucumbers next to my pumpkins and bees go back and forth between them? Hmm.ill take a picture later.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

Halloeve55 said:


> Mariposa.i have the same thing!i didn't know what it was.mine is same shape and color.its also soft velvety feeling.i have cucumbers next to my pumpkins and bees go back and forth between them? Hmm.ill take a picture later.


my gumpkins? i dont have any cucumbers so it has to be a gourd/pumpkin cross pollination. or just a smooth skinned gourd.


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Yes your gumpkins.lol.i discovered it two days ago.my son asked what I was and I couldn't even tell him.i told him we'll find out as it grows.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

pretty much. kind of anxious to see what it turns into.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

ugh, went out to check on my patches and the one where i grew last year had a freaking explosion of adolescent squash bugs. i busted out my sevin dust and drowned them in it. fingers crossed they all die slow painful deaths, but not slow enough that it gives them a chance to mate and lay more eggs. so i went ravenous on my bigger patches (the 2 that are actually growing and giving me pumpkins) and found a few clutches of eggs but not many, and one adult squash bug wich i also drowned in sevin dust. half tempted to just rip up the vines that arent putting anything on but then all the sqaushies will move to the better patches... so, maybe ill leave them where they are for now.


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Here's my unknown garden thing mariposa.lol
Couldn't get a good picture..I had a giant horsefly trying to attack me.lol


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Halloeve55 said:


> Mariposa.i have the same thing!i didn't know what it was.mine is same shape and color.its also soft velvety feeling.i have cucumbers next to my pumpkins and bees go back and forth between them? Hmm.ill take a picture later.


Cucurbits don't crossbreed that way. The effects of the cross won't be seen unless you save the seed and then plant to get a mutant next year. Possible happened in the seed you bought, but not as a result of the bees this year. It's highly unlikely to be a cucumber/squash hybrid as well, they usually have to be the same family. 



> Okay, guys, looking for opinions. My JBL has just reached the underside of the roof of the garage! It has no where else upwards to go. Should I nip off the tip to stop its upwards growth on those vines so it doesn't snap itself? There are female flowers up there and I don't want them to be lost to the vine snapping! (I still have a few vines growing outward on the ground as well that I can continue to let go as they please for length.) I suppose I could try to run ropes sideways and tie them to something (what, I dont know) and have them start to go sideways up there...but it'd be a sharp bend to do that.



I started running mine sideways across the top of the fence, but you could run them back DOWN too.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Halloeve55 said:


> Here's my unknown garden thing mariposa.lol
> Couldn't get a good picture..I had a giant horsefly trying to attack me.lol


Looks melonish...


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Cucurbits don't crossbreed that way. The effects of the cross won't be seen unless you save the seed and then plant to get a mutant next year. Possible happened in the seed you bought, but not as a result of the bees this year. It's highly unlikely to be a cucumber/squash hybrid as well, they usually have to be the same family.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thats good to know..thanks.im new at everything gardening.



UnOrthodOx said:


> Looks melonish...


thats what i told my son..looks like a watermelon to mebut i have all kinds of seeds in that compost pile..


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Looks melonish...


That's what I was thinking...like a small melon...


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> I started running mine sideways across the top of the fence, but you could run them back DOWN too.


Yeah, I was thinking of running yet another rope from the top and either across the window of the garage (which would mean sticking another hook into the side of the garage, which I hate to do...plus It'd be an awful lot of weight from that top hook in the roof holding them up currently to attach another rope to it, lol ) or back down to a post in the ground at a diagonal (which would still be more weight to that poor hook). Not sure how I could get it to grow back downwards, though...Next year...next year they will be no where near my garage, lol. Wish I had a fence, it'd be sooo much easier. This trellis thing is not very fun!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Scored a couple pumpkins with my kid's names, as I do each year. These turn into scars as the thing grows. 










The Jack Be Littles climbing the fence. One's hidden by the pipe there, but there's 4 and counting. 









One of the french pumpkins, I THINK this is a Musquee...









Which would make this the best cinderella we've ever grown. But, honestly, I'm just guessing on the french ones.


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

Lucky you! Pumpkins all look good!!


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## milosalem00 (Feb 4, 2012)

No pumpkins for me yet this year. I have vines and they are on the way but yeah this is killing me


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

been extremely rainy here the last few days, we need it so im not complaining. but its washed all my sevin dust away. laaaaame. have a few more pumpkins popping open and hopefully getting fertilized by something that likes pollen since ive seen almost no bees in this rain. my maturest pumpkin is almost ready for picking, YAY! have a few others growing and several gourds. gonna have a pretty decent, not great, but decent harvest this year.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Still waiting and waiting for my females to begin to open. It's torturous waiting for them to open to get a chance to be pollinated and see them finally begin to grow into my baby pumpkins! The male flowers have finally begun to attract some bees...but I will still probably be hand pollinating some females to make sure I get some pumpkins! We are supposed to be getting a rainy spell here, so I'm hoping it will be clear enough when my females do open for me, or the bees, to pollinate. It's crazy how tall these vines have grown upwards! I literally have to climb a step ladder to be able to reach the tops to keep helping them cling to my supports and ropes. It figures that many of my females happen to be near the tops of those vines...will be interesting keeping them safe way up there along my garage roof! I'm nervous that the vines and pumpkins will get too heavy for the hooks that hold up the ropes...


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

My very first open female pumpkin flower! See the bumble bee in it?! I watched it go to two male flowers before flying all the way up to find this flower. Double the pollen! Yay! I gave it a little more pollen after he left...just to be sure I get a pumpkin, lol. Good to know the few bees I have are helping a bit! Now I wait a few days to see if it starts to grow...the suspense!! (I know you guys are used to seeing this stuff...but it's my first year trying to grow them, so I'm excited about every little change and growth!)


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Man, the rain just doesn't let up. We got some more this morning. Every day it seems more and more leaves are yellowing and the vines as well. Im getting worried now.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> Man, the rain just doesn't let up. We got some more this morning. Every day it seems more and more leaves are yellowing and the vines as well. Im getting worried now.


I hope your pumpkins will be okay! We are going to get a lots of rain here starting tonight through the next couple days. Had a full day of constant rain Tuesday, as well. We shall see how mine hold up. I'm concerned about pollination in the wet weather...since my females JUST started to open...


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Was finally able to get out into the patch today and do some real investigating. My patch was so thick I couldn't get into the middle of it without risk of stepping on vines. Now, with the problems, the center has thinned out. 

It's squash bugs. }:-(


I went out armed with some gloves, bucket of water, and a spray bottle with some soap in it. I'm going back out here in a bit to see if I can find more. 

With all the rain we've been getting I was assuming that the initial yellowing was due to over saturation. After coming home yesterday and seeing how quickly everything was turning I knew something else was up.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

Seems everyone is having problems with those cursed bugs this year. Ugh!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Just sickening. This hit quick and hard.


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## IowaGuy (Jul 30, 2012)

Newb question, how much space is required for a real small pumpkin patch? Always wanted to grow a few and by a few I mean maybe 15 tops.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

IowaGuy said:


> Newb question, how much space is required for a real small pumpkin patch? Always wanted to grow a few and by a few I mean maybe 15 tops.



My area is about 8' X 8'. I planted 9 this year.


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## IowaGuy (Jul 30, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> IowaGuy said:
> 
> 
> > Newb question, how much space is required for a real small pumpkin patch? Always wanted to grow a few and by a few I mean maybe 15 tops.
> ...


Oh! I was under the impression pumpkin plants required a ton of room, obviously its way to late for this year but now I wanna give it a go for 2014. 95% of my backyard is shaded, that an issue?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

IowaGuy said:


> Oh! I was under the impression pumpkin plants required a ton of room, obviously its way to late for this year but now I wanna give it a go for 2014. 95% of my backyard is shaded, that an issue?



They do need direct sunlight. I was always told 6 hours of direct light was a minimum. I don't really know on that though.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

pick the sunniest spot in your back yard to plant your patch. i have a lot of shadey areas in my yard as well but i have a few that get enough sun in the morning and afternoon, so i planted there. one chunk is in sun, then shade, then sun again, then shade again till sunrise the next morning. its doing ok... not super great.. but im getting a few things out of it.


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

Shadowbat said:


> Just sickening. This hit quick and hard.


VERY sorry to see that, Shadowbat....any chance of arresting the damage before it/they progress?


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Defenestrator said:


> VERY sorry to see that, Shadowbat....any chance of arresting the damage before it/they progress?



I was out yesterday doing battle. lol I've been out 3 times today and I can't see any bugs. I'm hoping I got them all, however I don't know if the damage is already done. 

Good news is I have 11 pumpkins already growing. If the vines fail, they will survive, but they won't get any bigger. 2 of the 11 are carving size now.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Wow, that's pretty devastating. Break out the sprays if you're not planning to eat those pumpkins. 

Haven't posted many pics of the "secondary" patch. Just a couple plants I didn't have room for, over in the far corner of the much more established bed I use for my salsa garden. It's yielded freakishly big pumpkin plants. These leaves are over 3' off the ground. 










The main garden is brand new last year, and I'm still working on soil quality...you can really see how far we were able to mulch in all the pumpkins from last year. Neither corn nor pumpkins are growing well in the area that needs soil work. (to the left)


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Awww. Shadowbat...that's awful!! I hope you can save the pumpkins you have, glad to hear you already have several of them before the damage hit. Mine were beautiful and perfect until I found my first squash bug eggs yesterday, AND powdery mildew yesterday from the weather we've been having! I have been fighting the past two days to scrape eggs and spray/remove mildewed leaves. Sigh. They are okay so far, but it's going to be a long august trying to keep them that way! It won't help that we have 3 days of rain starting today to try and get through...won't help my mildew problem! Hoping the mini pumpkins I already have will be okay...I have about a dozen pollinated and starting to grow, and many more that will be opening to be pollinated each day.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Mostly just playing with the new point and shoot. It's now pre-dawn when I leave for work, so trying it out in the twilight with no flash. 

The previous scoring has turned into nice scars. 










Squash bee working this early as well. (they will actually sleep in the flowers and come out in the wee hours of the morning, before the honeybees wake)










One of the two known luminas. There's likely more I can't see. 










Yes, we have squash bugs, and I've been fighting them, and most the plants are doing OK...the cinderellas, however, are not. I struggled keeping the cinderellas alive last year, and we are again this year, the shock of bugs on top of the heat is just proving to be too much for them. In a last ditch effort, we chopped the corn they were planted in/around to allow me to get a more thurough spraying of the patch. This increases the heat problem for them, but hopefully will let me take out the bugs. This was 2 days after I sprayed, first day after a thurough watering, and they are actually looking a little better. I'm not going to say out of the woods or anything, but better, some of the leaves getting a bit of green back in them.


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## Paul Melniczek (Jun 5, 2009)

No Pumpkins. Congrats to everyone else who did. Tons of tomatoes, some peppers, corn, onions, zucchini, and cucumbers, but no pumpkins. My garden became too overgrown, I think.


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

Well, Our TWO pumpkins are turning orange so I guess they are not going to get an bigger, right? I have never grown pumpkins before. Out of my 3 plants I think all 3 were a different variety. One plant is like a creeping death. I swear it grows about 6 inches a day! The other has been barraged by the squash bugs almost since planting. the third has had almost no problems with the squash bugs and has been the only one with growing pumpkins on it. I just have no idea!

BTW anyone with tons of pumpkins ever give them out for Halloween? Just curious.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

It just keeps raining on and off each day...my poor pumpkin plants will be drowned if the rain doesn't chill out! I have to keep running outside each time it rains to tie up and protect my freshly pollinated flowers, too, lol. 
I have JBL's that will be starting to mature soon...and tons that will be longer to mature. I hope the ones that are going to mature early will make it until the fall/halloween season when I decorate! I've never harvested pumpkins before, either, so I am hoping I don't harvest them too early or too late and hurt them...not 100% sure how to know when is the best time to remove them from the vine...Do I harvest them as they are ready and mature one at a time, or do I leave them all on the vine and harvest them all at the same time later down the road???


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

killerhaunts said:


> Well, Our TWO pumpkins are turning orange so I guess they are not going to get an bigger, right? I have never grown pumpkins before. Out of my 3 plants I think all 3 were a different variety. One plant is like a creeping death. I swear it grows about 6 inches a day! The other has been barraged by the squash bugs almost since planting. the third has had almost no problems with the squash bugs and has been the only one with growing pumpkins on it. I just have no idea!
> 
> BTW anyone with tons of pumpkins ever give them out for Halloween? Just curious.


Usually when they start turning, they dont get bigger, but you still might get some more off that vine if you're still flowering. 

I have some that are just growing and not flowering much this year as well. Don't know what's up.


I wouldn't think handing out pumpkins would go over well...


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

killerhaunts said:


> BTW anyone with tons of pumpkins ever give them out for Halloween? Just curious.



Actually, our original intents was that if we ever had a large enough crop we would put some out front in a wheel barrel with a sign that said "Free Pumpkin. Happy Halloween"

Unfortunately we've never had any where near enough to do that. lol


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

looks like i already have a sugar pumpkin ready for picking. not entirely sure what to do with it. do i pick it and store it and hope that it doesnt rot before i can make it into pies or do i leave it on the vine and let it sweeten up a bit more before picking?


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## killerhaunts (Jan 6, 2010)

Here's some pics:

This is the "big" one:









this is the "small: one:









shows you how small it is:









improving on my patch:









then they had to pick them!:
















The ones still growing:


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

went out and got some new pics today of my current progress. my patch that had the squash bug explosion last week is now finally putting stuff on. we've been getting a fair bit of rain the last week or 2 so its freaking exploded again. gonna have to retrain the vines so they dont get run over with the lawn mower. anyways. here are the pics... and there will be a lot so be prepared.

some random gourd or squash. 









a new fresh baby that just opened up today, will probably die, but might not. 









a gourd









another gourd, this one was the size of the smaller one just a few short days ago.









a warty gourd (have quite a few of these but the mosquitos were too thick for me to want to stay out there long enough to shift leaves and snap photos)









the last photo of our pie pumpkin still on the vine









and the pumpkin freshly cut off the vine









our second pie pumpkin, didnt get very big, about 2/3 the size of the other one.... but its already going orange and small fruit is still good so im ok with that.









the jack be littles (there are more, but mosquitos)


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

couldnt fit them all in one post so here are the last 2

and this one is probably one of my favorites. i love the color and deep ridges on it! think its a volunteer from a pinkish hued one i bought last year that i saved some of the seeds out of.









and this is a superior i think. the stem on it is HUGE! cant wait to see how big this one gets.


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## matthewthemanparker (Sep 8, 2007)

I have yellow spots on my leaves and literally overnight the only 2 pumpkins I had turned to mush.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

I cant even post pictures of my patch anymore.  I cant believe how these bugs destroyed everything, and so fast too. I bought some stuff and combated them and haven't seen any since, but I guess the damage was already done. My largest pumpkins though have already started turning orange, one almost completely. At least I will have a crop.


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## Spooktactular (Aug 15, 2011)




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## Spooktactular (Aug 15, 2011)




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## Spooktactular (Aug 15, 2011)

sorry some of the pictures are on there twice.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

omg how big is that last pumpkin you posted? looks ginormous!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

i had a terrible dream last night. dreamt that my big pumpkin (well, small right now but the stem on it is huge so i imagine its going to get rather large) exploded in size so rapidly that it ripped it apart. kind of like how when tomatoes get too large they get all the cracks in them and around the stems.... only this was ripped to crap and the guts were going moldy. tres sad! 

thankfully it was only a dream and im sure my pumpkin is doing just fine and dandy.


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> i had a terrible dream last night. dreamt that my big pumpkin (well, small right now but the stem on it is huge so i imagine its going to get rather large) exploded in size so rapidly that it ripped it apart. kind of like how when tomatoes get too large they get all the cracks in them and around the stems.... only this was ripped to crap and the guts were going moldy. tres sad!
> 
> thankfully it was only a dream and im sure my pumpkin is doing just fine and dandy.


Oh Geez! Don't put anymore thought into that dream  Your pumpkin patch looks great... and this is your first time? Sadly, I didn't get mine started. We have such a little area... I was lucky to get zuccini, cucumber and eggplant in it. Zuccini is taking over though...he's insane! I hope next year I'll get a chance to start my first pumpkin patch. For now... I'll just enjoy everyone's pics


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

i grew last year but got a very late start. only ended up with 2 pumpkins, both of wich were pretty small and neither was ready by halloween.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

I have about 2 dozen mini JBL pumpkins growing, and many more baby buds that could become pumpkins later after they are bloomed and pollinated. (about 20 on the big on ground plant, and 4 on the smaller potted plant) Trying to combat powdery mildew, on the larger plant, from the odd, cool, damp weather we've had lately so they have time to finish growing and ripen. I lost a young one already, and am losing some of the baby buds, as well, before they even get to bloom. If I lose some, but still get most of these to ripen, it'll still be a good harvest, I'd say. Plant is still doing okay so far, but it's a daily process of treating the leaves each morning. Ug. I'm loving this early fall like weather...but it doesn't seem to be good for pumpkins, lol. The bigger plant is now growing along the top of the garage roof quite long, and also along the bottom below it, lol. This plant is getting much longer and bigger than the package said it would...


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

man i love the look of the growing jack be littles. they are just so dang cute! 

ive got quite a few scattered through out my patch. i cant wait to harvest them. definitely cheaper to grow them than to pay 6 dollars for a bag with maybe 5 of them in it lol.

cant believe its getting so close to harvest time for all our pumpkins!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Well, even though the squash bugs killed my patch, all but one of my pumpkins had already started turning orange. Here's what I have as of today.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

and here's the baby. lol


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Very glad you got some nice pumpkins before the vines went in your patch, Shadowbat!


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

WitchyKitty said:


> Very glad you got some nice pumpkins before the vines went in your patch, Shadowbat!



Thanks, Witchy. Every year is a learning year and this has been my largest crop in the 5 years I've been growing.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> Well, even though the squash bugs killed my patch, all but one of my pumpkins had already started turning orange. Here's what I have as of today.


Are you sure it's squash bugs that killed your plant...or is it powdery mildew? I see what looks like the white blotches and spots of it on your leaves. That's what I'm dealing with. A good spray of water with a little baking soda and a little milk mixed in a sprayer keeps it at bay nicely. It's hard to tell from the pics, but I thought I'd ask...maybe it could help you??


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Oh, yeah, the mildew hit after the squash bugs. The mildew developed about 5 days ago. At that point, it was all too late anyway.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> Oh, yeah, the mildew hit after the squash bugs. The mildew developed about 5 days ago. At that point, it was all too late anyway.


Ahhh, I see. I had one set of squash bug eggs on the same morning the mildew started...odd timing...been holding everything off ever since. Every morning I wake up expecting the worst, lol. I'm just waiting to see if that happens to me...


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## BarryJ (Oct 17, 2009)

I'm using neem oil to battle powdery mildew. Is water and baking soda better?


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

BarryJ said:


> I'm using neem oil to battle powdery mildew. Is water and baking soda better?


I don't know. This is my first year with pumpkins, so I haven't tried the Neem Oil yet. I needed something fast and safe, so I looked it up online and many people said a sprayer of water with a bit of baking soda and milk mixed in works. All the sites had diff amounts, or just milk or baking soda, not both. So I just winged it and used a spray bottle of water with about a teaspoon of b. soda and maybe a teaspoon or two of milk. I spray early morning, each day, just around sunrise and it seems to be working for me so far. I don't have a bad outbreak of it yet, though, so I don't know how well it'd work on major amounts of mildew. Hoping I won't have to find that out, lol! Today, I didn't add the milk, just the water and b. soda...still seemed to work, but I will add milk,too, from now on just to be safe.
*If you just search "Organic Powdery Mildew Treatment for Pumpkins" you can read some of the sites I read about it to see what you think.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

It's really strange to look up and see tiny pumpkins hanging from my garage roof!


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## Halloeve55 (Sep 25, 2008)

everyone: your pumpkins are looking great!!! and witchykitty:jealous of your JBL's tower!!


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

WitchyKitty said:


> It's really strange to look up and see tiny pumpkins hanging from my garage roof!


I think that cascade of gourd vine coming down the house is one of my favorite images of the year so far....in fact, several of my favorites are in this single thread. I get a total kick out of watching everyone's pumpkins grow every year. 

It's one of the true harbingers of the impending season, and I appreciate everyone sharing.....


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Thanks guys!! It's takes time training all those vines to go up...but it really is enjoyable to look at, and the pumpkins that are hanging look healthier since they are up off of the grass and dirt. I'm up each morning helping tendrils to wrap around things, tying up heavier vines with soft shreds of garden fabric, adding more ropes and supports...the trellis I made for it was only about 5 feet high...the vines are more like 12 feet or more and still growing, lol, so adding ropes tied to the roof was my only other option to keep them going up! Next year if I decide to go up again instead of on the ground, I'll use small wire fencing or grids so they can pull themselves up easier without my help. If I only had an actual fence to grow them on...lol.


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## LittleBlueBMW (Oct 9, 2010)

So I am at a loss for trying to figure out what went wrong. I have two second floor patios that seemed like a great space for pumpkin growing. I planted into new earth boxes. They grew like mad, across the patio and down the side of the house. I planted late April and a second round mid-may. Plenty of male flowers, never a female flower to be seen. Even saw bees. The vines are probably up to 10 feet or more in length, it is impressive. At this point I am keeping them alive since they look pretty and the greenery is nice. Now to figure out what went wrong. I planted Wolf pumpkins, which I had bought as fruit last year and carved. The patio faces the sun but I have a sun umbrella to keep them from burning. The deck is wood if that matters, maybe they did not feel like they were in a good place. Could it be possible that these are all male seeds? This I doubt but you never know. 

Thoughts?

Two weeks ago:


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

LittleBlueBMW said:


> So I am at a loss for trying to figure out what went wrong. I have two second floor patios that seemed like a great space for pumpkin growing. I planted into new earth boxes. They grew like mad, across the patio and down the side of the house. I planted late April and a second round mid-may. Plenty of male flowers, never a female flower to be seen. Even saw bees. The vines are probably up to 10 feet or more in length, it is impressive. At this point I am keeping them alive since they look pretty and the greenery is nice. Now to figure out what went wrong. I planted Wolf pumpkins, which I had bought as fruit last year and carved. The patio faces the sun but I have a sun umbrella to keep them from burning. The deck is wood if that matters, maybe they did not feel like they were in a good place. Could it be possible that these are all male seeds? This I doubt but you never know.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Two weeks ago:


Well, the females and males show up on the same vines...so I doubt you have found all male seeds. The males show up first to attract bees, then 1-2 weeks later the females start to pop up. (the females are on short stems and have a tiny pumpkin ball right below the flower bud.) If its been week or 2 and you haven't had any females show up, you may have a nutrient imbalance. I cant remember which, but one nutrient helps flower growth and such. Check into that. I cant remember if its phosphorus or nitrogen...or something else, ill have to check. If you do have females, but no pumpkins, they may not be getting pollinated from bees...in which case you'd have to hand pollinate. I'd need more info to be able to help more...


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## LittleBlueBMW (Oct 9, 2010)

Good to know. Probably too late to correct the need but I will try. I gave them a general fertilizer but maybe it is not enough. The earth boxes get a mound of it down the centerline.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

LittleBlueBMW said:


> Good to know. Probably too late to correct the need but I will try. I gave them a general fertilizer but maybe it is not enough. The earth boxes get a mound of it down the centerline.


Both too much of certain nutrients, or too little of others, can affect you bloom output. Also, I've read weather temps and the size of pot you have them planted in (if not in ground) can affect the plants growth. I can attest to that since i have 2 plants...one in a pot, one in the ground. the one in the pot is significantly slower at popping out female flowers. Look up fertilizing pumpkins online to see the correct ratios of each type of nutrient you should be using for your specific plants! Mine were started out grown in pre fed fertilized composted dirt. As time goes on, I liquid fertilize weekly in small dilluted amounts. Good Luck!


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## LittleBlueBMW (Oct 9, 2010)

I am starting to wonder if they are not big enough. Perhaps I slowed their growth. Being the first attempt maybe we thought they were growing fast but in reality they were not.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Lost two of my smallest baby pumpkins, not sure if it had something to do with the powdery mildew, or if they were just weak and not pollinated fully. I still have many, many left, but I worry for the rest of them...


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

ive lost a few of my pollinated pumpkins. its just part of the process. i wouldnt worry too much just yet

i had to love on my pumpkin i harvested earlier. its been sitting on the table being all pretty and orange, picked it up to admire it. im so proud of my handy work.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> ive lost a few of my pollinated pumpkins. its just part of the process. i wouldnt worry too much just yet
> 
> i had to love on my pumpkin i harvested earlier. its been sitting on the table being all pretty and orange, picked it up to admire it. im so proud of my handy work.


I am a bit worried, now. Every pumpkin I have pollinated in the past several days or so just hasn't taken. Even the babies that haven't bloomed yet die before they get the chance! Mind you, you've all seen that 100% of my previously pollinated pumpkins have taken and are almost near harvest time. They are all still perfectly fine (so far). What could be wrong that the new ones are all of the sudden just not making it? I know I have the powdery mildew issue, but it's tremendously mild right now so could that really be killing off all new pumpkins and female flowers? The plant is still healthy and green. Or...could it be that I have enough pumpkins already on the vines and the rest are just not needed so the plant aborts them all to give the established ones the nutrients? Is that a possibility? Can weather be a cause of this? Ug. I wish I knew what the cause was...of it's it's just normal at this stage. Sigh. I hope my big ones stay alive now...
As for you loving your pumpkin, I am like that too, lol. Once my baby pumpkins are harvested, I will probably do the same!


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

So, the Florida folks are a tad bit behind the rest of the pumpkin growing crowd, but we are almost to the point that we look like we have a junior pumpkin patch too!

At this point, we're basically waiting for some female flowers to show up, and are keeping a vigilant eye out for any evidence of squash bugs, and mildew. Of course, the biggest threat so far has been the omnipresent oppressive heat!

Here is a brief retrospective of the evolution of our humble patch....it may even be 'sincere':


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Defenestrator said:


> So, the Florida folks are a tad bit behind the rest of the pumpkin growing crowd, but we are almost to the point that we look like we have a junior pumpkin patch too!
> 
> At this point, we're basically waiting for some female flowers to show up, and are keeping a vigilant eye out for any evidence of squash bugs, and mildew. Of course, the biggest threat so far has been the omnipresent oppressive heat!
> 
> Here is a brief retrospective of the evolution of our humble patch....it may even be 'sincere':


Here's to hoping your patch is "most sincere" and gets a visit from the Great Pumpkin!!  I know I'm shooting for that! Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see...


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

They are almost ready...which is good because I'm not sure how much longer my vines and leaves will last!! I hope these little guys will last until at least Halloween, if not thanksgiving!! It's only mid-August...anyone have any suggestions as to where to put these until I need them for decorating??


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

My vines had pretty much died so I went ahead and harvested. Not too bad. 12 total. (ones hidden behind another)


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## Spooktactular (Aug 15, 2011)

Nice! I'm gonna try to keep mine on the vine til sept. My vines are looking rough too. I can't wait to line mine up and see what I got.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> My vines had pretty much died so I went ahead and harvested. Not too bad. 12 total. (ones hidden behind another)


They look great! I want that tall, skinny one in front, lol.


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

WitchyKitty said:


> They look great! I want that tall, skinny one in front, lol.


His short, round buddy to the left is pretty great too...what a great shape! They are like Laurel and Hardy.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Ha, you guys are funny. lol 

I did get a pretty nice selection of shapes this year.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Defenestrator said:


> His short, round buddy to the left is pretty great too...what a great shape! They are like Laurel and Hardy.


Lol! I like that round one, too! I think those are my two faves...at least from what I can see from the pic.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

I have one more JBL pumpkin making a valiant effort to grow. YAYS! I thought my plant was pretty much done making pumpkins, since none of my latest babies lived, but all of the sudden one has survived and is getting bigger! My other JBL's on the plant are pretty much ready to harvest, though I plan on leaving them on a little longer if possible, but now I hope this last little one will grow fast enough to ripen before my vine bites the dust, lol. Grow, little baby pumpkin, grow!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

harvested one of my pumpkins last night, found a 3rd sugar pumpkin almost ready and discovered my "gumpkins" are just egg gourds... never even heard of those. my big pumpkin is probably now upwards of 15 pounds. so flipping excited to see how much bigger it will get.


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## Sublime Nightmare (Aug 2, 2009)

We're getting too much rain, too! About half of my vines are yellowing and dying off. If the vines die, will the pumpkins die too? It's been a long time since I grew pumpkins. I've grown yellow squash every year and it does fabulously. There's also some plants with powdery mildew. I do have a couple of lumina pumpkins and tons of blooms on all my other vines. It's very weedy though. It's just been too dang wet to get out there and do anything.


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## Dr. Phibes (Nov 10, 2010)

Sublime Nightmare said:


> We're getting too much rain, too! About half of my vines are yellowing and dying off. If the vines die, will the pumpkins die too? It's been a long time since I grew pumpkins. I've grown yellow squash every year and it does fabulously. There's also some plants with powdery mildew. I do have a couple of lumina pumpkins and tons of blooms on all my other vines. It's very weedy though. It's just been too dang wet to get out there and do anything.


Envision the vines like veins, carrying essential water and nutrients to the pumpkins. If the vines are truly dead, the pumpkins are done growing and ready to be harvested.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Dr. Phibes said:


> Envision the vines like veins, carrying essential water and nutrients to the pumpkins. If the vines are truly dead, the pumpkins are done growing and ready to be harvested.


If the vines die before the pumpkins are firm and orange won't they just rot if harvested?


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Depends on a lot of variables. I've had some ripen up after just fine. 

Our patch.



















Sample of our sugar pumpkins next to my size 11.










The prize cinderella. 










The prize Musquee.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Depends on a lot of variables. I've had some ripen up after just fine.


Good to know! Thanks! Your pumpkins look great!!


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## Sublime Nightmare (Aug 2, 2009)

Well, some vines aren't _completely_ dead and most are still green with lots of blooms. Here's a picture. Just ignore the weeds! lol


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Sublime Nightmare said:


> Well, some vines aren't _completely_ dead and most are still green with lots of blooms. Here's a picture. Just ignore the weeds! lol
> 
> View attachment 165567
> 
> ...


Yeah, some of my vines are doing the same thing. Trying to nurse them on through till at least mid September. I've never had my pumpkins start to orange up this early before, and vines acting like it's september already. As always, I just assume mother nature knows what it's doing. 

Which white ones did you plant? The sure look perdy. My luminas aren't doing much this year, after being the best producers last year.


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## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

Might as well get in on this thread. I put a couple of pumpkins in our side garden last fall and basically let them rot there. The seeds must have taken. This little bugger has been growing for some time now and just yesterday got the bloom on it. The vine looks healthy and is about 4 feet long. We have done nothing to it, except an occasional watering as it's been pretty dry here.



















Guess we'll see what happens.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Well, before I said I was kinda bummed because my vines suddenly stopped allowing babies to grow/bloom...now suddenly they are growing away again and I have new baby pumpkins and lots of new thriving females, lol. So I guess I am getting a second batch of mini's this year! Unfortunately, I thought my season was pretty much done and that the pumpkins I have grown already would be all I got (which was still quite a lot of them, so I was okay with not getting more), so I just stopped fighting the powdery mildew...EEK! Time to start fighting it again I suppose to let these new babies have a chance!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

harvested a couple pumpkins yesterday and one last week. 










obviously jack be little, a sugar and some pinkish variety i bought at dillons last year that we saved some seeds out of.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

I love that pink one. Want to make a mold of it...


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

yea its probably one of my favorites. it didnt get near big enough though. i think i might have one more of that type growing in there as well, but not 100% sure yet. i love the deep ridges on it.


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> harvested a couple pumpkins yesterday and one last week.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very nice pumpkins, Mariposa!  I think the pink one might be a Cinderella. A few years back I was able to find a pumpkin patch that had many different varieties and she called your pink one a Cinderella. I had such a blast picking out so many different varieties. I guess it was just a one shot thing though because since then, she hasn't been growing/selling anymore.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> harvested a couple pumpkins yesterday and one last week.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


They look terrific!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

nah not a cinderella. they had the variety on the box they were displayed in but i cant remember what it was. wasnt cinderella though.


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## QueenBee (Jun 27, 2013)

I'm enjoying seeing all of your hard work turn into beautiful pumpkins! I will post pics of mine soon. I was wondering (as this is my first year planting anything), how do you know when it's time to harvest? Obviously they need to change color, but how long after they do should you harvest them?


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

QueenBee said:


> I'm enjoying seeing all of your hard work turn into beautiful pumpkins! I will post pics of mine soon. I was wondering (as this is my first year planting anything), how do you know when it's time to harvest? Obviously they need to change color, but how long after they do should you harvest them?


Yes, I would like to know this, as well! My fist year with pumpkins, JBLs to be exact, and I think some may be ready now for harvest, but I want to be absolutely sure they are ready to they don't go bad on me if I pick them too soon!! They are deep, bright orange, firm and the stems are just starting to turn yellowish-brown and harden. I've read those are the clues...but how dry should the stem be to be safe? Mine are drying near the pumpkin, but still green near the vine.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Again, I'll link over to all about pumpkins .


http://www.allaboutpumpkins.com/growing.html



> There are many indications that your pumpkin is ready to harvest. A Jack-O-Lantern variety should be predominately orange in color. If the vine has started to "go away" (meaning dying off and declining) this is another signal. Sometimes the stem is already starting to twist and dry. The most important indication to look for, is that the shell has started to harden. If you can easily indent the pumpkin skin using your fingernail, the fruit is still too immature to harvest. If you harvest it at this stage, your pumpkins will likely shrivel and spoil within days. When the shell has hardened, your pumpkin is ready to cut from the vine.
> 
> 
> 
> Use shears to cut the stem. Leave the stem as long as you possibly can. A six inch or longer stem is a very fine thing indeed. Never pick up a pumpkin by its stem. The stem can break, and if broken at its base it will rot quickly.


PERSONALLY, I leave them on the vine until the vine starts dying or it's time to carve. Once the vines are dying, it doesn't really benefit you any by leaving it in the field.


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> nah not a cinderella. they had the variety on the box they were displayed in but i cant remember what it was. wasnt cinderella though.


If you remember.. please let me know. I really hope I can get a pumpkin patch going next year since this year was a bust.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Again, I'll link over to all about pumpkins .
> 
> 
> http://www.allaboutpumpkins.com/growing.html
> ...


Thank you. I have read things like this already, as this is what most sites say about harvesting. I was just hoping for a bit more specific detail about what the stem should look like when it's ready to harvest...JBL's in particular. I'll just leave them on I suppose, for awhile, like you said. I'll harvest closer to the time I need them, I guess, which is closer to the end of Sept. I just worry if they will be okay on the vine all that time if they are already, indeed, ready to harvest now.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Well, I go out every day to check the color progress of my pumpkins. I was liking where they were going but decided to keep them out one more day before transporting them into the basement until we decided to display them. I shouldn't have done that. LOL I came home today, went in the back to check on them, and 2 of them were made into meals by some critter! LOL Oh well, I still have 10, but they are now resting safely in the basement.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Shadowbat said:


> Well, I go out every day to check the color progress of my pumpkins. I was liking where they were going but decided to keep them out one more day before transporting them into the basement until we decided to display them. I shouldn't have done that. LOL I came home today, went in the back to check on them, and 2 of them were made into meals by some critter! LOL Oh well, I still have 10, but they are now resting safely in the basement.


(My "like" is for your happy, pretty pumpkins...not that two were eaten, lol!) I check on my pumpkins like, 10 times a day, lol. I am so nervous that now that they are ripe or near ripe, they will get eaten, stolen or catch some kind of disease and rot! I'm leaving them on the vine for a bit longer, but stressing that they will be okay, lol.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

WitchyKitty said:


> Thank you. I have read things like this already, as this is what most sites say about harvesting. I was just hoping for a bit more specific detail about what the stem should look like when it's ready to harvest...JBL's in particular. I'll just leave them on I suppose, for awhile, like you said. I'll harvest closer to the time I need them, I guess, which is closer to the end of Sept. I just worry if they will be okay on the vine all that time if they are already, indeed, ready to harvest now.


Well, JBL's are a special case all together. They don't really rot the way most other pumpkins do, and can be harvested at a lot of different points. It will be just as good, if not better, on the vine as it would be in your house, especially where you have it up on a trellis, provided you don't have squash bugs (which haven't been bothering my JBLs anyway). If the plant starts dying or you get critters, I'd harvest them. All my JBLs, by all appearances, are ready for harvest, but I'm leaving them out. 

We had one that started to shrivel right after it started growing, little tiny thing, so I plucked it and gave it to my daughter, it lasted nearly a month. 

Now, we've had rain the last couple days, and the rest of my patch is getting the mildew, so I might be harvesting earlier than planned this year anyway...


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Well, JBL's are a special case all together. They don't really rot the way most other pumpkins do, and can be harvested at a lot of different points. It will be just as good, if not better, on the vine as it would be in your house, especially where you have it up on a trellis, provided you don't have squash bugs (which haven't been bothering my JBLs anyway). If the plant starts dying or you get critters, I'd harvest them. All my JBLs, by all appearances, are ready for harvest, but I'm leaving them out.
> 
> We had one that started to shrivel right after it started growing, little tiny thing, so I plucked it and gave it to my daughter, it lasted nearly a month.
> 
> Now, we've had rain the last couple days, and the rest of my patch is getting the mildew, so I might be harvesting earlier than planned this year anyway...


Thanks for the info!! Yeah, my patch has caught the mildew. I've been fighting it, and was doing well, but it's now catching up to me. I'm trying to squeeze every last JBL out of this vine before it kicks the bucket, lol. Will probably start having to harvest very soon here. Lol, I think I'm alright though, because I have two plants and my bigger plant has produced 18 healthy JBLs with more still trying to finish up and more yet just starting out! Not to mention the ones on my smaller, potted plant! I think I did fairly well for my first year with pumpkins of any sort...especially since my seed packet said 6-8 pumpkins per plant!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

ALKONOST said:


> If you remember.. please let me know. I really hope I can get a pumpkin patch going next year since this year was a bust.


Almost looks like the porcelain doll variety.


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## QueenBee (Jun 27, 2013)

Thank you so much!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Almost looks like the porcelain doll variety.


googled them to see, that looks about right.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

I think the mildew is winning...


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

ok after some more googling. it is a porcelain doll pumpkin. they were labeled as a breast cancer awareness promotion and thats usually what these are sold retail as.... so there ya go alkonost. porcelain doll. now to buy some seeds for next years patch so i can get more than one and normal sized at that.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Yeah, I saw that promotion, but already had some seeds for the year. Might plant some of those next year myself.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Just had to harvest my first JBL's off of my smaller, potted vine. The plant was starting to die back, and got weak, making the vines the pumpkins were on start to break off. I harvested them to be safe, washed 'em off a bit and placed them out in the sun to dry and cure a bit. I have 4 off that plant. Can't wait to harvest all of them off of the big plant!!! Trying to wait a bit still, though, on those.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Talked to my uncle, the Howden field is doing extremely well this year, and another round of pumpkins is starting to set. Doubtful those will ripen in time, but nifty just the same. 

Looks like we might have pumpkins coming out our ears again.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

Went out a bit ago and braved the vines and mosquitoes and actually got in there amongst all the pumpkins. Found quite a few that I had no idea even existed before today and one is in a ridiculously obvious spot so I'm surprised I missed it till now. I got a whopping 2 pictures. Apparently I have another porcelain and probably another surprise one somewhere else in the mess.


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

Thanks for looking up that pumpkin for me  That gourd is way awesome too! OH the painted birdhouse I could make out of it! What size is your pumpkin patch? I think you told me it was fairly small but, you're sure getting alot out of it. The garden area I have is pretty dinky... but, maybe if yours is the size I'm thinking it is... maybe I'll get enough out of it to make me happy next year. We're growing two zuccinis, two eggplants, a cucumber and some herbs right now. I'm so sick of zuccini I could scream though. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There... I feel better


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

Lol that's pretty much why I don't grow edibles that are time sensitive. I get sick of things way too fast. My patch is about a 10x15 and it's overcrowded. But the only ones I lost are my max plants. I just can't climb around in there anymore like I like to.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

got a fresh lot of pictures and even harvested a few pumpkins tonight. found another decent sized porcelain in there and man am i excited about that one! shes so pretty!

anyways heres the pics.

some of the harvested (the porcelain is the same one from last weeks picture)









sugar pumpkin









my big one, probably 18-20 inch diameter, done growing now since its going orange. cant wait till shes ready!









another porcelain









and the good porcelain. about 12 inch diameter and 5 inches tall. SO PRETTY!










so excited about this years harvest. wish it would cool off already so i could get out there and harvest the rest.


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## Ragged Grin (Nov 5, 2012)

Wow! Awesome!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

You're selling me on the porcelain dolls, I must say.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

im selling myself on them too! im so happy with that bigger one its unreal. lol 

might have to buy another one from dillons to harvest the seeds out of this year. yup.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

well, seeds you harvest out of a pumpkin MAY be crossbred, keep in mind. You don't know until it comes up the next year. 


Stopped by my Uncle's. I don't know that we have AS MANY pumpkins as we've had in the past, but my word are they LARGE this year!!!

Going to harvest in 3 weeks or so.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Well, thought I'd post a couple pics of my first batch of JBL's. 







(Don't mind the cat food boxes, lol, it was the only thick cardboard I had lying around at that moment and I needed something to set them all on.)

This is how big some of them grew!! Almost as big as my hand...they are supposed to be minis! Lol! Maybe I fed them too much?? 








I have five more on the vine that are just about ready to be harvested, and about a dozen and a half, if not more, that are still growing! It's like mini pumpkin mania on this one single plant! If the vine lives long enough to get the rest of these pumpkins full sized, I'll post another pic of them all.


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

WitchyKitty said:


> Well, thought I'd post a couple pics of my first batch of JBL's.
> View attachment 168394
> 
> (Don't mind the cat food boxes, lol, it was the only think cardboard I had lying around at that moment and I needed something to set them all on.)
> ...


Those are gorgeous little pumpkins! Looks like whatever you did was the right way. I'm impressed!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

not bad for a first try! definitely did better than i did on my first year. i only got 2 very small jacks last year and neither one was ripe by halloween. 

ive so far harvested 4 sugar pumpkins and several jbl's. all the gourds and still about 100 more jbl's are on the vines. the squash bugs have exploded since i cant get in there and check for eggs anymore without being afraid of stepping on something and killing it.... so now i just wait for the vines to die so i can see where im going and cut things out.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> not bad for a first try! definitely did better than i did on my first year. i only got 2 very small jacks last year and neither one was ripe by halloween.
> 
> ive so far harvested 4 sugar pumpkins and several jbl's. all the gourds and still about 100 more jbl's are on the vines. the squash bugs have exploded since i cant get in there and check for eggs anymore without being afraid of stepping on something and killing it.... so now i just wait for the vines to die so i can see where im going and cut things out.


How many JBL plants do you have, out of curiosity? All 100 of those aren't from one plant, right, lol?? I only had the two plants, and nearly all of the pumpkins are from one of them. It's crazy how many JBL's this one plant of mine is yielding! There are sooo many more still growing on it!
Yeah, I haven't had too many issues with bugs, but I've dealt with the mold problems. I was fighting it for awhile, then gave up. I figured the pumpkins I had harvested were more than enough for me...but then my plant just decided it wanted to have many more pumpkins, mold or not, so I'm just letting it do it's thing now and see how many more I get before the vine dies off. It's really putting up a good fight, lol!


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## ALKONOST (Aug 27, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> not bad for a first try! definitely did better than i did on my first year. i only got 2 very small jacks last year and neither one was ripe by halloween.
> 
> ive so far harvested 4 sugar pumpkins and several jbl's. all the gourds and still about 100 more jbl's are on the vines. the squash bugs have exploded since i cant get in there and check for eggs anymore without being afraid of stepping on something and killing it.... so now i just wait for the vines to die so i can see where im going and cut things out.


My zuccini finally gave in to the squash bugs a few days ago. I was always fighting them.. I couldn't believe how bad they got. After a while I didn't see anymore adults so I figured I had won. Then I went out the other day and saw them drooping. I knew it wasn't from lack of water. I went to go pick some zuccini and saw hundreds of the young squash bugs!! I could'nt believe my eyes! If this had happened a month or so ago I would've been heartbroke but, now I'm like "meh" whatever... lol. I've had enough of zuccini and so has my family and neighbors. When we get the garden ready for winter, we'll be pulling and throwing out all plant debris instead of tilling it in as usual. That should help keep the numbers down next year. Like I've mentioned before in this thread, I'd really love to start a pumpkin patch but, those bugs were just out of hand and I dunno if I want to deal with them again. We'll see how I feel about it next season.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

I can't take it anymore!!! Picked our minis today. 











So, we planted 3 jack be little pumpkins...ONE of the plants was obviously...something else. Green/yellow bicolor oddities.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> I can't take it anymore!!! Picked our minis today.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Those green and yellow ones still look cool, though...whatever hybrid they are, lol!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

WitchyKitty said:


> How many JBL plants do you have, out of curiosity? All 100 of those aren't from one plant, right, lol?? I only had the two plants, and nearly all of the pumpkins are from one of them. It's crazy how many JBL's this one plant of mine is yielding! There are sooo many more still growing on it!
> Yeah, I haven't had too many issues with bugs, but I've dealt with the mold problems. I was fighting it for awhile, then gave up. I figured the pumpkins I had harvested were more than enough for me...but then my plant just decided it wanted to have many more pumpkins, mold or not, so I'm just letting it do it's thing now and see how many more I get before the vine dies off. It's really putting up a good fight, lol!


its not really 100 pumpkins.. but it is a lot. i planted i think 6 seeds (2 per spot, extra in case one didnt germinate then i never pulled the extras out in case i was pulling the stronger vine). its definitely given me quite a few jbl's to look at. i want to go out and harvest the ones i can find but i have no where to put them and the pumpkins i harvested about 2 weeks ago got soft sitting in the sun.... so ill just leave them be for now.


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

UnOrthodOx said:


> So, we planted 3 jack be little pumpkins...ONE of the plants was obviously...something else. Green/yellow bicolor oddities.


**Said in best Homer Simpson voice**

Mmmmm, green/yellow bi-color oddities.......


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## Combatdre (Aug 10, 2013)

New to the forum and I am excited to find a thread about my favorite vegetable to grow. The past years and this year I have had zero success on growing jack o lantern pumpkins. However, all other types seem to do fine. Here's a few pictures of this years small patch I have and the early harvest I have. These are musquee de Provence pumpkins, Long Island cheese, and other squash. I still have about 14 of them on the vine and they are about 15 to 20 pounds each. They are flat but large enough to carve. They are also great for cooking. I couldn't help myself but to purée one and make a pumpkin spice muffin with a cream cheeses pumpkin frosting


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Combatdre said:


> New to the forum and I am excited to find a thread about my favorite vegetable to grow. The past years and this year I have had zero success on growing jack o lantern pumpkins. However, all other types seem to do fine. Here's a few pictures of this years small patch I have and the early harvest I have. These are musquee de Provence pumpkins, Long Island cheese, and other squash. I still have about 14 of them on the vine and they are about 15 to 20 pounds each. They are flat but large enough to carve. They are also great for cooking. I couldn't help myself but to purée one and make a pumpkin spice muffin with a cream cheeses pumpkin frosting
> 
> View attachment 169353
> 
> View attachment 169355


They look great...and so does that muffin!!!


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Harvested 4 more JBL's yesterday, bringing me to 22 so far. There are more that should be ready in a few days or so. Now, when I look out my garage window, all I see are tiny pumpkins hanging in front of it, lol.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

looked at my patch today before heading out and i think most of my jbl's are ready to harvest. not sure if i want to cut them now or wait a couple more weeks. my big pumpkin is getting oranger and oranger by the day. all of my vines are dying, either from the heat or the squash bugs, or just because its time for them to die.. i dont know. but things are still maturing so im ok with it. not looking forward to cleaning up the mess after i harvest everything though.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Yeah, we're in the ballpark for them to be dying. I've stopped watering mine. Stressing the plants will help ripen any you got on the vines.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

I have a dozen more JBL's almost ready to add to my growing total of them. I plan on leaving these on the vine as long as I can, since my vine still is quite green! Hoping to get one more batch ofter those, as well, if possible, since there are more babies started. No idea what I'm going to do with all these tiny pumpkins, lol.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Sigh...it got tremendously, unseasonably hot in our area this past week, so I had no choice but to try and find a cool place for my harvested JBL pumpkins. The only place I could find was the basement. I guess that wasn't a good spot, because I went to bring them up today and I lost 7 of my biggest, best ones!!! I could just cry! It ruined my day. Live and learn, I suppose. Even though we have a dehumidifier down there, it must've still been too humid or warm...I don't know for sure. All I know is they sunk in on themselves. 
Hoping the rest will be okay, I moved them to the garage since the weather has cooled drastically. I still have many more on the vine, so I shouldn't be so upset...but the ones I lost were so perfect! Heartbroken...


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## Defenestrator (Jul 27, 2009)

WitchyKitty said:


> I still have many more on the vine, so I shouldn't be so upset...but the ones I lost were so perfect! Heartbroken...


That is terrible news...on the bright side, as you point out, there are others still on the vine. Hopefully, they will hang in there!

Crossing my fingers for you...


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

WitchyKitty said:


> Sigh...it got tremendously, unseasonably hot in our area this past week, so I had no choice but to try and find a cool place for my harvested JBL pumpkins. The only place I could find was the basement. I guess that wasn't a good spot, because I went to bring them up today and I lost 7 of my biggest, best ones!!! I could just cry! It ruined my day. Live and learn, I suppose. Even though we have a dehumidifier down there, it must've still been too humid or warm...I don't know for sure. All I know is they sunk in on themselves.
> Hoping the rest will be okay, I moved them to the garage since the weather has cooled drastically. I still have many more on the vine, so I shouldn't be so upset...but the ones I lost were so perfect! Heartbroken...


all of the ones ive harvested are doing the same thing. even one of my sugar pumpkins was getting squishy but its gone back to firm. thats also the reason i dont want to harvest anymore until its cooled off a little more.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> all of the ones ive harvested are doing the same thing. even one of my sugar pumpkins was getting squishy but its gone back to firm. thats also the reason i dont want to harvest anymore until its cooled off a little more.


Yep. Mine that are still on the vine are staying put, lol.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Well...


We went out to harvest tonight. 






































Our sole white pumpkin that is bluish???










Bicolor?


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

All told, kind of disappointing this year. 



















Our Musquee de Provence.










Slugs had destroyed 2 more of the Musquee pumpkins, another cinderella, and a couple others.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

I think they look lovely, UnOrthodOx. They look like they'd make a really nice fall display!!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Unloading the truck. 










The stand has about 20 fewer than last year, but we had enough to sell off some surplus again.


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## tortured_serenity (Sep 17, 2012)

I keep getting baby pumpkins on my vine but they keep falling off...or maybe it's the mole hole under my vine...
WOW you guys are harvesting and i can't keep a pumpkin on my vine bigger than a quarter...i've only ever grown pumpkins once before so really, i have no clue what i'm doing and it's obvious lol.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

tortured_serenity said:


> I keep getting baby pumpkins on my vine but they keep falling off...or maybe it's the mole hole under my vine...
> WOW you guys are harvesting and i can't keep a pumpkin on my vine bigger than a quarter...i've only ever grown pumpkins once before so really, i have no clue what i'm doing and it's obvious lol.


If they aren't getting bigger than a quarter, they most likely aren't getting pollinated. The female pumpkin flower has the little ball under it, or baby pumpkin. That flower has to be pollinated early the morning it opens (they only open for that morning) or a few days later it will abort. If it is pollinated, either by bee or you manually, the pumpkin will begin to grow. Have you noticed if you have bees or not? Do you have both male and female flowers? You need both males and female flowers to get pumpkins...the pollen from the males needs to be given to the females. If you don't have bees, or enough bees, hand pollination will be your other option. Take a male flower (long straight stem) and remove it from the vine. Pull back the petals and use the center to "paint" the center of the female flower, making sure to get each little part. I even pick off the center of the male after I paint and leave it inside the center of the female to be sure! Now if you have done this, or have lots of bees doing their jobs, but still aren't getting pumpkins, it could be a nutrient issue or such.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Well, it's the first day of Fall and some of the nights are starting to get quite cold...so I decided today would be a good day to harvest the rest of my JBLs. Vine is starting to die back anyway. Today's harvest was a dozen of them. So with this 12, and the first 15 I already harvested, I now am up to 27 (not including the 7 in the first batch that I lost during the extreme heat...with those, I would've been up to 34 right now!!). I was going to cut back the vine but found I still have 3 more that need a bit more time on the vine. I trimmed the vine up a bit and will leave it for those remaining babies to finish up. With those, my total will be a nice 30. I have even more females, but I doubt they will have time to pollinate and grow this late in the game...we will see. Not too shabby a crop from one single plant, I think! (Still wish I hadn't lost those 7, lol.)


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## Julianne (Jun 16, 2009)

Here are two of our atlantic giants we harvested this past weekend. The one on the right went heavier than we expected. Hopefully it will make it to Halloween but it developed a stem split e few months back which unfortunately went into the cavity. Hubby brought out the Great Stuff foam in a can to seal it, so far it is holding up. Keeping my fingers crossed it makes it to Halloween! Hope my pic comes through, I don't posts pics that often so here goes:


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Julianne said:


> Here are two of our atlantic giants we harvested this past weekend. The one on the right went heavier than we expected. Hopefully it will make it to Halloween but it developed a stem split e few months back which unfortunately went into the cavity. Hubby brought out the Great Stuff foam in a can to seal it, so far it is holding up. Keeping my fingers crossed it makes it to Halloween! Hope my pic comes through, I don't posts pics that often so here goes:
> View attachment 173055


Awesome!!!!!


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## tortured_serenity (Sep 17, 2012)

Awesome Julienne!!! I wish the guy in Nicholsville still grew and sold giant pumpkins. I tried to grow my own this year but don't think the got pollinated


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## Julianne (Jun 16, 2009)

Thank you!!  We do alot of hand pollinating with our giants, that way I know I have a true cross between two different plants. Sometimes I think it's best though to just let nature take it's course and let the bees do it!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

Julianne said:


> Here are two of our atlantic giants we harvested this past weekend. The one on the right went heavier than we expected. Hopefully it will make it to Halloween but it developed a stem split e few months back which unfortunately went into the cavity. Hubby brought out the Great Stuff foam in a can to seal it, so far it is holding up. Keeping my fingers crossed it makes it to Halloween! Hope my pic comes through, I don't posts pics that often so here goes:
> View attachment 173055


wow i am so freaking jealous! all my max plants died so i didnt get anything even remotely close to yours, my biggest (and only) jack pumpkin is about 20 pounds, the rest are gourds, porcelain, sugar, and jbl's.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Just set out most of my JBL's on my front steps and around my front yard potted mums. Put some on my back patio and a couple at the side garden, too. They are just everywhere, lol. Hoping no one swipes them before we can get the graveyard fences up in the front to help protect them! I'm sure they will be fine, but I'm a worrier. I worked so hard to grow them, it'd be a bummer to have a punk kid steal them or smash them! Now I wish I had grown some bigger ones, lol. I'll have to go buy some I suppose.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

been harvesting all afternoon










still have a few gourds left to pull out but they're still green so im going to leave them alone for now.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

mariposa0283 said:


> been harvesting all afternoon
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ooo! A whole table full of goodies! Yay!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

yea, and theres more on the dryer in my laundry room that i'd harvested over the last few weeks. hopefully the ones with the vines still attached can get what they need from the vine i left on to ripen instead of falling off and dying. will count them when i set them out for my fall display.


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## Julianne (Jun 16, 2009)

Your pumpkins look very nice Mariposa! We also grow jack o' lanterns as well, would love to do a few other different varieties but we just don't have the space. We keep our pumpkins hidden until closer to Halloween, back in 2005 we came home after a day or two away to find our big pumpkins had been stolen. They were right up next to my porch. Ever since then I've taken no chances especially after all the work that goes into growing them.


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

oh that stinks! i had a fall display out in front of my windmill all last fall up to and past halloween and none of them got stolen, they rotted, but none ever went missing.


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## matthewthemanparker (Sep 8, 2007)

I have a question. All of my pumpkins rotted off the vine about the size of baseballs and all the leaves turned yellow and i thought died. I have not paid any attention to them since then. I went out yesterday and noticed one of the vines is alive and producing flowers again. Is it too late for them to produce pumpkins? I don't care at this point if they are ready by Halloween but don't want to pull them up if they have a chance of producing. Our temps right now are low mid 60's and highs mid 80's.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

matthewthemanparker said:


> I have a question. All of my pumpkins rotted off the vine about the size of baseballs and all the leaves turned yellow and i thought died. I have not paid any attention to them since then. I went out yesterday and noticed one of the vines is alive and producing flowers again. Is it too late for them to produce pumpkins? I don't care at this point if they are ready by Halloween but don't want to pull them up if they have a chance of producing. Our temps right now are low mid 60's and highs mid 80's.


Most of mine has died back for the season, but I still have two vines on my plant that are producing. I'm just letting them go to see if they make it in time before the first heavy frost. My temps are a little bit lower than yours. Yours should be fine, I think, unless you get a heavy frost...though this is my first year growing, so I can't say from experience. I'd say it couldn't hurt to let them grow and see what happens. I've heard of people having their pumpkins still growing by Halloween.


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

matthewthemanparker said:


> I have a question. All of my pumpkins rotted off the vine about the size of baseballs and all the leaves turned yellow and i thought died. I have not paid any attention to them since then. I went out yesterday and noticed one of the vines is alive and producing flowers again. Is it too late for them to produce pumpkins? I don't care at this point if they are ready by Halloween but don't want to pull them up if they have a chance of producing. Our temps right now are low mid 60's and highs mid 80's.


It's not inconceivable for them to produce fruit, still, provided the vine doesn't die off, but you'll be looking at Thanksgiving, not Halloween to harvest. Ours are all dead, dead, dead as the first frost come through last week. 


Too early to start the 2014 thread?  

Found this thing at the local grocer. I KNOW that pumpkins don't show crossbreeding till you save the seeds and see what comes up NEXT year, so it's slim chances I'll actually GET this freak, but I bought it specifically to save the seeds and TRY. At the very least it's a crossbreed with the freak stems. 

That STEM is thicker than a baseball bat! They had several of similar thickness in the bunch as well, and the 'smaller' ones were larger than normal as well. No idea what kind this is (would guess at "wolf" as they advertise a sturdy stem, but it's just a guess).


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> It's not inconceivable for them to produce fruit, still, provided the vine doesn't die off, but you'll be looking at Thanksgiving, not Halloween to harvest. Ours are all dead, dead, dead as the first frost come through last week.
> 
> 
> Too early to start the 2014 thread?
> ...


That is an awesome stem!!! Wow! Couldn't hurt to try and grow them next year to see if you get more of them!


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## mariposa0283 (Aug 15, 2012)

Wow and I thought the stem on my big one was huge! 

I did finally get around to counting my harvest. In total I had about 160 pumpkins and gourds. Mostly gourds.

Found some blue green hued pumpkins at walmart today. Didn't end up buying one and now I'm regretting that decision.


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

Well, I finally dug up the last of my JBL pumpkin vines. All cleaned up and ready for next year. My final count for pumpkins was 33...not including the 7 that I lost from heat after harvesting...that would've made an even 40. I am happy with my count for my very first year of growing, as all but 4 pumpkins were from one single plant. (The other 4 were from my trial potted plant, which grew nicely but produced very few pumpkins.) Now I just have to decide if I want to grow from a packet of seeds next year, or try my hand at saving some seeds from this years harvest...


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