Pumpkin help please

[nickdrakeslovechild]

Hi, I am growing pumpkins for the first time ready for Halloween. I purchased suttons hundredweight ones and have ended up with 6 plants in huge pots. All good so far as they all germinated and really healthy.

I have a lot of issues / queries. How big do the plants grow?, they seem to be growning a foot each night, so far each plant has about 10 flowers starting to emerge. If i want some big ones do I need to take that down to just 4 flowers? If so when do I remove the flowers so I know I have males and females to populate?

If I leave some with more flowers than others will I get a mix of different sizes for carving?
The packet says you can eat the leaves if you cook them like spinach - but they are all spikey at the moment do they cook and tase ok?
Thanks!

I have no experience but can share what I know from currently having one pumpkin plant this season as an experiment! It's in the ground & growing maniacally. Some flowers had developing fruits behind them so I have removed all others & just left four of those. If they don't develop fruit you have to do the pollination. I'm trailing the vine around in a spiral to contain it a little bit. So far the one plant is about four foot across so with six you definitely have a mini pumpkin patch on the go! Will you be planting them out?

I also know that when the fruit is coming along you have to raise it up from on bricks or something similar to prevent it getting soggy from soil contact.

I've cut off some leaves to stop it getting too bushy but didn't know they are edible. Don't really fancy it tbh!

No knowledge on how to grow, but really taken with the idea of grown some myself with our little one.
Did you start the seeds off in the green house or if it practical to start them of in pots with the good weather?

Don't take off flowers - not all will result in successful germination. They tend to produce male flowers first then start producing female flowers - the female flowers are recognisable because they have a small pumpkin at the base of the flower, between the petals and the stalk. If you want to increase chance of pollination, find a male flower on a different plant, pick it off when it's open and with visible pollen, pull the petals back, and insert it into the female flower so that the pollen comes into contact with the stigma in the centre of the female flower. You shouldn't need to do this if the insects are doing their job properly.

I should imagine the leaves will be OK, the spines will soften in cooking. Nettles are fine when cooked, after all.

I don't know about pumpkin flowers, but the really nice bit to eat on a courgette plant (related to pumpkin) is the flower base, sweet with nectar. I pick spare male flowers and shred them into salads. And embryo courgettes with flower still attached are a known delicacy.

Mumstaxi yes start the seeds indoors (greenhouse or windowsill), plant them in pot as soon as they produce proper leaves instead of fleshy "seed leaves". They're too big and vigorous to grow in containers, they'll need to be in the open ground eventually. I do manage courgettes in containers, but that's a tub about 75cm across and 75cm deep.

Grow them upwards otherwise they take over.

ooh thanks for the replies, they seem to have doubled in size the last few days and seem to have about 20 female flowers with blackcurrant size pumpkins at the base.

I think I am going to have to try to put them in the ground as the pots are big but I dont think it will be enought once they get bigger. If I did leave all the female flowers and left them in the tubs, would that impact on the size of the pumpkins?

How do I train them upwards? I have some sticks which I use for my beans and peas but these are so huge and stocky I cant imagine how it would work once the pumpkins get bigger.

Oh and at the moment I am giving them tomato feed when I do the tomatoes.

I pick spare male flowers and shred them into salads.

Great idea, I’m going to try that! Thanks :)

How much room have you got? 6 pumpkin plants will take up a huge amount of space.

oh soulrider I know that now! I had no idea they got so big. They are bloody huge.
Magaged to give away some to someone who doesnt know what they are doing either.

At this rate, I think I will be opening my garden up for my very own pick a pumpkin patch in October.

Hi, just having a wee peep at some pumpkin posts. We have recently bought seeds and I want to hopefully grow at least 1 pumpkin for Halloween this year

How did you pumpkins turn out and do you have any tips. When would be best to start this process in time for Halloween.

I realise this is only April, but the days are long at the moment haha

It's time to sow your seeds.