Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello,

I am a novice when it comes to growing vegetables and gardening. Trying growing pumpkins, the issue I am facing is flowers turns into baby pumpkins and getting dropped, see the attached photo as reference.



How can I get rid of this issue and grow pumpkins?

Appreciate any help or insight

Regards
Jacob

Welcome to the forum Jacob. It might be just the pic but it looks like something has buried itself into the baby fruit. Or had a small bite & let something else get right in. Have you cut one in half to see what's going on inside?

Where are you to have pumpkins at this time, mine are just emerged seedlings under cover? It might be you are just too early.

Westi wrote:Welcome to the forum Jacob. It might be just the pic but it looks like something has buried itself into the baby fruit. Or had a small bite & let something else get right in. Have you cut one in half to see what's going on inside?

There are plenty of ants around, ant bite or any other worms?
How to prevent ants or other insects or worms?

Thanks

Doubt it was ants that made the bite but they would certainly take advantage if fruit was ripe but nothing to attract them with tiny fruit as not sweet! You've got a fruit so the flower was pollinated so bees around but what else? Any wasps maybe? Not gonna be worms as they are good guys, aerate your soil & only eat dirt. Not fully pollinated maybe due to a weather change? Any hail? Pop a general area on your profile as someone in your area might be able to help more. I'm southern England (Dorset) & weather has been unseasonally pants so I have limited pollinators & nowhere enough warmth to even consider popping mine in. As it stands I think mine will be in pretty huge pots by the time Mother Nature starts playing nice!

Westi wrote:Any wasps maybe?

I have seen wasps flying around, how to get rid of these if that's the case?
Would it be a good idea to wrap baby pumpkins in a plastic cover?

Thanks

Hi Jacob,

I wouldn't worry just yet about the wasps, but if really a bother & you or others are at risk of a sting you can buy a fake wasp nest to put up or make one with a brown paper bag blown up & hung in a tree. They think that area is already taken so move on to find their own.

Now we know where you live, I for one am pretty jealous as your pumpkins, squash & melons will get so much more sun & heat which they love. I will be doubly envious if you can grow one of those long watermelons - not a chance of one of them here in the UK, but in central Australia where I come from we had them growing in the pile of nesting & stuff from the hen house. Never tasted any of the round ones that are anywhere near as sweet & refreshing.

They are greedy feeders so if you didn't get a chance to prep the site with lots of manure you might have to supplement with a liquid feed with each water. I put a cut off plastic bottle in the spot where sown so I can ensure the water & feed gets to the roots as they sprawl all over the place when they take off & hard to find in all the growth. One thing they do naturally is quite often abort some of the first fruit formed until they are large enough themselves to give energy to the fruit to grow as well as them & you will still get big fruit. In fact you may even have to cut some off yourself if you want big specimens as the plant can continue to flower even when you have fair sized pumpkins along the vine.

Keep in touch Jacob & post some pics of your pumpkins developing & share what other 'exotic's' as we see them you are trying. Choko - (Chow Chow or Chayote) also grew well in Oz - nowhere near as nice as pumpkin imo but still loads of asian recipes out there to use them which turn them into a completely different beast.

Thanks Westi for the encouragement. But how do I get my pumpkins and watermelons grow without getting dropped or falling?

Thanks