Growing pumpkins is on my garden bucket list. I grew one without too much effort when my children were small—back when I didn’t really have a clue what I was doing—and somehow managed to produce a decent-sized pumpkin from just one plant. So, on a warm spring day three years ago, I decided to have another go, only to discover it wasn’t nearly as easy as I’d first thought.
My main problem has been timing. Nobody else around me grows their own vegetables, and I haven’t been lucky enough to have both male and female flowers open on the same day for pollination. I had a couple of false starts last year. The tiny pumpkins began to swell, and for a few days, I thought I’d finally done it. Then they turned yellow, gradually paled, and eventually dropped off.
I had three plants the first year I tried again, four plants last year, and this year I’ve doubled down with eight. I’m only after one pumpkin and shall thin the plants out should I get a successful pollination. I know they’re planted much closer together than recommended, but I have such a tiny garden that I don’t have many options for space.
I sowed four seeds indoors in March, hoping to get an early start, but not a single one germinated. I suspect that’s because I don’t really have the space indoors to dedicate to raising seedlings, although I might treat myself to a heated propagator next year.
In April, I sowed another ten seeds in the greenhouse. The first seedlings emerged after a couple of weeks, with the rest appearing gradually over the next month. In the end, nine germinated, although one seedling didn’t survive beyond its first pair of leaves, leaving me with eight healthy plants.
On 12th June, I decided that it was time to plant the pumpkins outside. I only planted out three initially, as I wanted to see how the slug collars would hold up. As annoying (and devastating) as slugs and snails can be, I don’t like to kill them.
The plants didn’t take much damage from the slimy ones, so after a couple more days, I planted out all but two of the pumpkin plants. I also bought this hooped PVC grow tunnel, thinking that I could bury the bottom in the ground, zip it up at night, and it’d be an extra layer of protection from the slugs.
Oh, how I laughed. I’d forgotten how ‘delicate’ these things could be. It was a nice idea, but the plastic was a little tight and ripped ever so slightly on the first zip-up.
The battle wasn’t entirely won.
The pumpkin nearest the front of the bed was quickly discovered and devoured over several days by the local slug and snail population, and despite the collar, it didn’t survive. Thankfully, I’d kept two spare plants growing in the greenhouse, just in case. I replaced the lost plant with two slug collars, one atop the other with soil in between, and so far, it is doing well.
This is how they look today (2nd July).
All the pumpkin plants are now settled in and growing. There are also a couple of courgette plants that were struggling in the greenhouse so I thought I’d try them outside.
The pumpkins are a Giant variety, and are just beginning to form their vines. If you look closely, you can see tiny female flowers tucked beneath the leaves, just waiting to get bigger and open. Then, pumpkin watch will really begin.
Items used in the growing of this plant:
Slug Collars
Tunnel with plastic