2014 The GC Pumpkin growing and carving challenge

Thanks for the offer,ive bought some big max and jack o lantern from wilkos today so shall see if they germinate x

 

I put down my volunteer Jack-o-lantern pumpkin I dug from the worm farm. It grew 12 foot long in amazing quick time, long and pretty nice - loads of male flowers that were very nice looking - but every pumpkin had blossom end rot. Loads of them and they did not respond to CaCO4, MgSO4 topically, or eggshell tea. So gone, and something will take its place. Bit sad, it was so very vigorous. The fruits were oblong and I wonder if it was the wrong half of a hybrid, it just appearing - with masses of others - in my worm farm.

edit - and it climbed a 5 foot fence like a cucumber - I have never grown pumpkins before. I will most likely plant some melon I never heard of there - someone gave me an old pack of seeds that are odd and gourd like and something of last resort.

 

Hey guys
Bit of a update
The leaves look a bit droopy but I have just give a folia feed so they are drooping down

 

Precisely 3 weeks after sowing:

Time for first potting up (and perhaps one more after that as night time temps in my Botanico pop-up auxiliary greenhouse went down to 6.5 deg C last night, and that was in the garden so it would have been lower at the plot even under some cover).

Second true leaves are coming on nicely.

 

A few photo's of where I am upto.

I've strimmed and dug in some of the green manure now, and added some more FY manaure too. I've also chopped down some of my comfrey plants too, added that and dug the lot in along with other organic soil ammendmants. There is still some grenn manure growing between the patches that will be dug in at a later time.



I've erected the hoops today and will be covering with plastic in the next day or so and getting the plants in the ground.



This is the third pumpkin patch, it was prepared late on so has no green manure growing in this one. But it has still had the manure and comfrey treatment like the first two patches.



I'll be putting two plants into each patch, strongest one survives, the weakest goes on the compost heap!

Steve...

 

Really nice looking space Steve. One can look at the pictures and know you will do very well.

And from the other end....That rogue pumpkin I took from my worm farm and planted in the grape raised bed - well it kept laying on fruit, and every one got blossom end rot - well I did cut it free from the soil a week ago to kill it and it still is living. It has climbed the fence and has some flowers - slowed down a lot, but must be well rooted in the red clay it runs across.

I also planted another rogue from the worm bed into an asparagus bed and it has 3 long runners going through some weed areas, about 8 foot long each, lots of male flowers, no fruit. I really think the rotted jack-o-lantern I put into the worm bed was a hybride and these offspring are an unknown entity. Is this likely?

I will take pictures today and someone may comment on them. (pull them out! probably)

 

Here it is, just now:


Even Jack dog does not trust it.

 

well I might just take part in this, this year. LOL. the pumpkins that I threw out last year for the animals to eat, some of the seeds sprouted. So, have put them in a huge pot with some nice soil. As a lark I am watching them. Nice green leaves on them. Several appearing.

 

I wasn't going to join in this year due to re location, but Loli's just given me one so I might

 

My second batch have germinated
Horse poop ordered

 

My first post of this years comp, I've been reading and mulling it over whether to bother this year but 2 weeks ago I sowed a couple of Atlantic Giant seed and they are both now just at second true leaf stage and been potted on from their large cell tray they were in into larger pots, hopefully I'll give them a week or two and then plant them out

Last year I had a cracking pumpkin developing but a sneaky slug got to the underside and it eventually rotted :(, fingers crossed it don't happen again

 

I've potted mine on into bigger pots,they ought to go out now as they're looking a bit stressed but it's too cool and miserable here ,they're sulking almost as much as me

 

Positive thinking Zigs...

Steve...

 

Nice one Steve Been out at night fighting the snails for it

 

Get yourself some of them guard dog Nemo Toads...

Steve...