Pumpkin Progress

[Geoff]

Can't find the thread Lizzie started to report progress with Peter's Pumpkins. My best one is about 7" diameter - am I on track for a decent size or well behind? (now, now OH it was hard to phrase that)
It is P234 but seems a strange colour for a pumpkin.

[sprout]

The skin's still immature IMO - if you keep it shaded, the skin won't ripen too early and split if you get a monster

[John]

Hello Geoff
Looks like your pumpkin is well on its way! If you are trying for a Halloween monster I'd try to move it round into an upright position (be careful not to damage the vine though) to keep it growing into a good round shape. If these very large pumpkins stay on their side they get very distorted and one-sided.
If you just want it for pumpkin pie then it doesn't matter how it grows.

John

[Geoff]

Why is no one reporting how they are getting on with Peter's seeds and where's Peter?

[peterf]

Can't find the thread Lizzie started to report progress with Peter's Pumpkins. My best one is about 7" diameter - am I on track for a decent size or well behind? (now, now OH it was hard to phrase that)
It is P234 but seems a strange colour for a pumpkin.

hi geoff,havnt been on-ine much lately,(pressures of hay making).how far out from the plant root is the fruit, and is it growing on a main vine or a secondary,the previous post was correct about fruit position in relation to the vine.if you can try to position it perpendicular to the vine,do this over the course of say a week,so as not to snap anything.i would also be looking at shading the fruit to protect from all this bright sunlight.4x 4ft lengths of 2x1 timber driven into the ground around the fruit leaving ample room for growth will do fine.i staple old bed sheets to cover the structure and it works fine.you then need to be looking at what are going to place under the fruit as it grows to stop it rotting on wet earth,in the past i used sharp sand to good effect.this year however im going to try childrens play sand,as it seems a lot of usa growers prefer it.if i can get someone to show me how to post pics i will,either that or i can email pics of how mine are growing, and someone might like to post them for me,keep up the good work your fruit looks great

[Geoff]

Peterf
Thanks for replying - if you find the other post you will see I received your first lot of seeds complete with Christmas stamp a few weeks ago so I have plenty for next year.
I've put a sloping piece of Correx under it to keep it dry.
I think posting photos was in the help.
1.Register with www.photobucket.com
2.I use Photoshop to change my pictures to 640 pixels by whatever it chooses and save as a .jpg
3.Upload the photo to photobucket and you will see 3 references to it, the bottom one has at the beginning and end. Highlight this reference and do Ctrl C.
4.Write your post and do Ctrl V and check you have the picture with Preview then Submit.
If you want an avatar reduce photo to 120 pixels by whatever and less than 12K then add to your profile using the top url reference in the same way.

[peterf]

Peterf
Thanks for replying - if you find the other post you will see I received your first lot of seeds complete with Christmas stamp a few weeks ago so I have plenty for next year.
I've put a sloping piece of Correx under it to keep it dry.
I think posting photos was in the help.
1.Register with www.photobucket.com
2.I use Photoshop to change my pictures to 640 pixels by whatever it chooses and save as a .jpg
3.Upload the photo to photobucket and you will see 3 references to it, the bottom one has at the beginning and end. Highlight this reference and do Ctrl C.

thanks for that geoff,good to see the royal mail is bang on time with hindsight i should've taped them onto the back of a tortoise.let me know if you have any probs all the best peter.
4.Write your post and do Ctrl V and check you have the picture with Preview then Submit.
If you want an avatar reduce photo to 120 pixels by whatever and less than 12K then add to your profile using the top url reference in the same way.

[lizzie]

Hi all

I've got loads of flowers on mine but no fruit as yet. All the flowers are in a cluster, about 5 per cluster. Should I check for fruit set and then just keep it to one fruit?

Got a lovely one in the greenhouse. I thought it was a cucumber and planted it in there. Oh well, never mind

[peterf]

Hi all

I've got loads of flowers on mine but no fruit as yet. All the flowers are in a cluster, about 5 per cluster. Should I check for fruit set and then just keep it to one fruit?

Got a lovely one in the greenhouse. I thought it was a cucumber and planted it in there. Oh well, never mind

hi lizzie sounds like youve got plenty of males flowering.be patient the girls will follow.youll notice them with an immature fruit beneath the flower

[lizzie]

Cheers Peter

Haven't had a close look at them. Just noticed loads of flowers. Will have a good look tomorrow

[Chantal]

I've got two which look very similar to that photo.

[peterf]

I've got two which look very similar to that photo.

things are looking good then chantal

[Chantal]

To be honest, I don't want pumpkins the size of a house, just reasonably large, so I've not bothered to feed them and only water them when it's really dry, but the damn things are growing like topsy. If I was making a real effort, why do I suspect nothing would have happened.

[Jude]

Our best 'Peter' pumpkin is now about 15" diameter. I've pinched out 3 more growing ahead on the same vine and have attempted to manoevre the biggun into an upright position, though I swear I heard a groaning noise as I did it and so chickened out of trying to achieve the perfect positon for fear of snapping something crucial!
Am horribly worried now, however, as about to go on holiday for a fortnight and won't be able to keep daily watch on the beast.
PS. Addie and I have been talking to it constantly and it seems to enjoy the occasional stroke.

[lizzie]

Jude wrote "PS. Addie and I have been talking to it constantly and it seems to enjoy the occasional stroke."

A bit like Old Herbaceous then Jude

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