F and Z what do I need to be doing with my pumpkin?????????????????

[charliecat]

Just read you mentioning fiddling with a paintbrush, i have a LARGE leaved plant, with a few flowers on it, with what i THINK, HOPE, is the start of a pumpkin under the flower????????????? What should I have been doing? Need to do with a paintbrush?

[frascati]

where r u on msn?

[charliecat]

in not, xp is here.

[charliecat]

bump, just saw you posting........

[NorthernMusgrave]

You paint the underside of the leaves red so that rabbits don't eat them.

[charliecat]

ah bugger off.........you do not

[NorthernMusgrave]

No, you're right, you paint them black so at night the slugs don't see the leaves.

[FrannyandZooey]

Oh hello fellow punpkin pimps

the flower with the nobble underneath is a female flower, with the start of a pumpkin

if fertilised it will grow, if not it will wither and fall off

look for male flowers (usually in the morning) - the ones without nobbles - and collect pollen either on a paintbrush, or even, drastically, by removing the entire pollen parts and using them to brush all over the centre of the female flower

Get pollen from as many male flowers as you can at a time to pollinate the female

We have fingers crossed that the ones I did last week will 'take' - didn't have any male flowers when the first few females were out, so they dropped off

I can't wait to see pumpkins growing! Good luck

[charliecat]

Oooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkk, so whats the lump i have then? under an orange flower?

[NorthernMusgrave]

Needs looking at by a doctor that does.

[FrannyandZooey]

It's the start of a pumpkin, like I said, on a female flower. If pollinated, by you or bees, it will grow into pumpkin. If there are no male flowers open at the same time, or if no pollination takes place, then it will shrivel and drop off.

[charliecat]

OH. Just went out and theres a farking great slug in the, what was the start of a pumpkin Have 2 tasty males and no females now i know what im looking for.

[FrannyandZooey]

oooops

more will come along

get your pimp brush ready

[FrannyandZooey]

Charlie charlie

get up

it's time to pimp your pumpkin

I've just done mine

[charliecat]

gonna go loooooooooookkkkkkkkkkk

[charliecat]

only have 2 lovely looking males

[FrannyandZooey]

What happened to the female? Gone already?

[MrsBadger]

psst, Franny, does this apply to squash too? I have lots of bees and lots of flowers-with-lumps - do I need to go hunting lumpless flowers?

[FrannyandZooey]

If you have got lots of bees, and they seem to be doing their business then there shouldn't be a problem

but due to decline in bees many gardeners do it as standard practice I believe

I am no expert though this is our first year growing stuff! Hence wanting to make ruddy sure we get some pumpkins

[MrsBadger]

have just been to check (treated neighbours to generous amt of cleavage whilst bending over, whoops)
the only flowers I have look like this, which Google assures me has been pollinated, so the bees appear to be Doing Their Stuff unassissted - does help that the squash are in full sun next to a whopping lavender and a flowering mint...

[charliecat]

A big fat slug ate it..........

[charliecat]

pic of my men on my profile

[FrannyandZooey]

Well, I think Google is WRONG MrsB

that is a female flower but you can't tell if it has been pollinated until it either drops off, or turns into a pumpkin

however I may be completely wrong (mine that have had no male flowers around have dropped off, though, so I don't think I am)

[FrannyandZooey]

ooh Charlie I like your pumpkins

and your hair

and your splashback tiles

and your mouse things

[charliecat]

cheers Those mousey things are rattys;)

[FrannyandZooey]

well they are quite cute, for vermin