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I have 6 Giant pumpkin plants which have at last put on a growth spurt but they have sprawled everywhere. Some of them have branches 6' away from the parent plant. I read somewhere I am supposed to remove excessive foliage (which I did yesterday) and only allow a max of 2 fruits to mature. So I snipped off about 30% of the foliage and any excess fruits, did I do the correct thing? I have about 12 pumpkins which I have fertilised with the male flower and one which is about the size of a football (the bees have does their work here I think) but a huge amout of male flowers still remain. Should I remove some or any or all of them now? Can anyone recomend a variety of pumpkin which is all female? or one which produces less leaf growth
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Attia of the julii -
they all produce lots of leaf, don't they?
You've done what I do ... wait until you've got one or two goers per plant, then cut off the remaining small fruits (which won't come to anything before the frosts come anyway).
Cut off any leaves that are covering the remaining fruit, to allow sunshine ( !!! ) to ripen the fruit.
Cut the fruit when it sounds hollow, with as long a stalk as possibleAll gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb. -
Does the same advice hold true for squash plants TS? Mine is making a bid for world dominationWPC F Hobbit, Shire police
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I always cut back the squash plants too, once they've set fruit. Or I should say, IF they set fruit - I haven't got any yet
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spotted my first (I think) squash on the plant yesterday. As I am seriously rubbish at labelling and always manage to mix my plants up, it could of course be a courgette, I don't think I planted any round green ones though. Oh well, time will tell
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I've got quite a few squash formed on just one plant, with the foliage practically in the next village, lol!
Incy, Squash look quite different to courgette by the time they set fruit, so if it looks like a squash, I bet it is!!Comment
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Be warned, I trimmed my pumpkin back to the 2 best fruit, and then the biggest one virtually exploded with all this rain! Its split right down so I can see the seeds inside so assuming its ruined, although haven't cut it off yet. I was really disappointed and wish had left a few more on the plant! I was suprised too as was careful not to let the plant dry out as I thought that is what caused fruit to split.Comment
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I think they love all this rain. I'm growing a small one, but the vines have clambered into the peas, the rhubarb patch, and are starting up the plum tree!Growing in the Garden of England
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Mine is supposed to be a smal one as well, yeah right!WPC F Hobbit, Shire policeComment
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Don't think there is such a thing as a small pumpkin plant. The summer squashes seem to be a bit smaller but I don't think they keep as well as the butternuts.
IanComment
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Mine are in the middle of world domination, the sweetcorn amongst them are getting mighty concerned. Tried to battle them the other day but can't work out what plant has or has not got two fruit
Hayley B
John Wayne's daughter, Marisa Wayne, will be competing with my Other Half, in the Macmillan 4x4 Challenge (in its 10th year) in March 2011, all sponsorship money goes to Macmillan Cancer Support, please sponsor them at http://www.justgiving.com/Mac4x4TeamDuke'
An Egg is for breakfast, a chook is for lifeComment
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