Baby Pumpkin Question

[TinyT]

Hello everyone,
I'm having a go at growing baby pumpkin for the first time. I thought I'd try trailing the plant up a pyramid of bamboo sticks and maybe support the weight of the fruits with netting/tights, but I'm starting to have doubts if baby pumpkins really do like to grow upright and may just prefer to just run along the ground...
Has anybody grown baby pumpkin? (Which is your preferred growing method?)

Thanks,

[kernowyon]

i just always let pumpkins go where they want to go. at least this way the leaves stop weeds from growing.

[scarey55]

i just always let pumpkins go where they want to go. at least this way the leaves stop weeds from growing.

Me too, I have never thought of growing them upwards. If space is a problem they can grow underneath many other crops and as Kernowyon has said, they help keep the weeds down.

[TinyT]

Thanks, I think I will let it run along the ground. I guess this way, as well as keeping the weeds down, the leaves will allow the flowers to hide under the them and grow with less rain and wind disturbance. (A couple of the flowers were starting to drop off without fruiting).

[GeorgieP]

I've got pumpkin in the ground and letting it trail. The dying flowers might be male ones - the female ones have little swellings on the bottom of the flower whereas the male ones don't. (None of my female flowers have opened yet). If you don't have many bees around you might have to hand pollinate them (take the male flower and rub into the female flower)...

[lynda66]

(take the male flower and rub into the female flower)...

that's flower porn that is

[GeorgieP]

It is indeed..! I was slightly disturbed watching the hampton court show the other day when some man was doing this to a rose. He took quite an interest in it!

[Flapjack]

Last year we were short on space and grew jack-be little mini-pumpkins. 1 up a baboo tripod and the other up wires on the fence. They looked amazing and were perfectly capable of supporting the pumpkins without any hammocks/netting. I did tie them in at first but once they got going they took over the whole fence! I say go for it!

[Flapjack]

Bed nearest the house had the mini pumkins in it - this is August, we were a bit late getting them in. This is before they went mad!

This is near harvest time. I cut the leaf away to help it ripen up.

[TrulyGreen]

Can any pumkins be grown upright? I have a pumpkin plant that I was given. It is still in a small pot as I don't have the space for it (although third raised bed almost finished). Haven't a clue what type it is but it looks quite healthy and is getting bigger by the minute

[TrulyGreen]

Flapjack your veggies look great