Growing big pumpkins

[momtimesone]

Hello there I am a third yr grower of Giant pumpkins and was wondering if anyone on Dis grows them? I am nuts about gardening and when not planning for My next trip to Disney world I grow these monsters for competition.
These are the two me and my sister grew this past summer. If anyone would like any info on growing these big monsters then Just ask away.

 

[Leleluvsdis]

I am getting married in June and will be having a garden of my own. I love gardening. I most times can't wait to get home in the evening to go into my garden. What are some tips I need to know to get the most veggies out of my garden. And any tips for flowers are welcome as well.

 

[momtimesone]

The basics are always good water, plenty of sun and getting rid of any weeds. Pumpkins and watermelons can be hand fertilized for more crop productions. Potatoes can be grown right out of a garbage can if your in a tight spot. Flowers and veggies love coffee grounds and best of all you can get them for free by the bag loads from Any starbuck's or most coffee shops will save them for you as longs as you promise to pick them up asap. A tip in the fall its always a good idea to add organic matter to your garden patch. Maple leaves are top notch for the soil they break down fast and make for good worm food. Add the leaves in the fall so they have time to break down over the winter. Hay works good for weed control but sometimes it contains weed seeds which can actually make more weeds.We use black plastic as it warms the soil and controls the weeds so its a double wammy LOL. I have tons of tips in mind, Me and my sister have been growing veggies for 7 yrs now and I'm still learning every day but the veggies I grow are tomatoes,cucumbers,watermelons and Giant pumpkins. I have grown Potatoes,broccolli,iceberg lettuce,carrots,potatoes,strawberries and corn. I have only grown marigolds LOL becuase there a natural way to keep the nasty bugs away from my garden. Gardening is always how you make it it can be hard or easy it all depends on how much of your time you put into it. The more time and care the better the yield at the end of the season.As far as tips do what you think works best for you as each and every person has there own tricks and as always have tons of fun.

 

[htmom]

I have questions. My ds (6) and I have a fairly large garden in the summer(beans, tomatos, potatos, carrots, lettuce,corn) But I have never grown pumpkins! I would love to get started (I have a large piece of ground behind my house that is about half the size of my large garden that I think would be great) The spot is about 22 feet by 15 feet but I could make it larger if need be.
So..
soil conditions?
sun?
how to sow?
what kind of fertlizer?
what kinds of pumpkins for starters?
can you recommend a "jack o lantern" sized pumpkin or baby's as well?

 

[momtimesone]

Sorry it has taken me a bit to respond its been busy and cold here.
soil conditions? Pumpkins grow best in soil with a Ph level between 7-8 they like loose soil with not alot of clay but we live in IL and our soil is full of clay and we still go big.
sun? They need full sun the more the better the vines can get up to 21 feet long or more it really depends on how long you let them run.The general rule is to set ( let a pumpkin get big) a pumpkin at about 10 feet off from where the main vine meets the dirt.We do not let any pumpkin grow before the 10 feet mark as these monsters grow big and can pull there own vines from the ground if not placed far away from there main stump. Note this is only for giant pumpkins reg pumpkins will grow on there own with no work and can be grown on any size vine.
how to sow? They can be put right in the ground but we germinate the seeds in pint sized containers. We place outside when they get there first true leaf which is the first leaf after there baby leaves. Seeds should be planted pointy end down and as soon as that first leaf is visable they should be hardened off and put outside to grow. Here in IL we start them May 1st and put them outside by May 15. They take a full 120 days to go from seed to big pumpkin
what kind of fertlizer? This is the good part they like manure any kind,They love compost. They grow well with just miracle grow. We use miracle grow shake and feed and tons of compost mixed with aged horse manure. Cow manure if you can get it is the best of the best but bagged manure from anywhere will work just as well.
what kinds of pumpkins for starters? You can grow any kind you like pumpkins are probably the easiest fruit to grow as long as you have the room for there vines and keep them well watered the plants will give you tons of pumpkin. In the case of giant pumpkins we only allow one giant pumpkin per plant because it takes alot of energy for that plant to make a pumpkin that big.

can you recommend a "jack o lantern" sized pumpkin or baby's as well?
For Jack o lantern you can not beat the Connecticut Field Pumpkin it's easy to grow and seeds can be found for it just about anywhere and the fruits don't get so big you can not pick them up. With field pumpkins and baby type pumpkins the vines will not get so big as the giant. Field pumpkins can be grown the same way as giants if you want big ones leave one or two on the plant if you want several pumpkins just plant and let grow. The fertz are the same as above and germination can be done the same way but with field pumpkins you probably wont need such big starter containers LOL. For baby type pumpkins Jack be littles are cute and grow really really well. Plus your little one can help you harvest her very own pumpkin patch. If you choose to grow a giant you can PM me and I will gladly send you two some Giant pumpkin seeds for your garden and you can give them a try but beware once you start growing Giants thats all you think about. Have fun with your garden this yr and I hope you grow well.

 

[teacups]

I have a question for you... We found the most fabulous pumpkin at a harvest fest last year. It was about 30" across and about 10" tall and was very flat looking. I thought it was the coolest one I had ever seem, with a hearty fat stem, deep ruts and great color. I snatched it up and guarded it all season long, not letting hubby or the kids anywhere near it with a carving knife! After it adorned my front porch for the season I saved it for the seeds... which means I tossed it out back to fall apart and sprout on its own. This is what I normally do and it has worked, but I hope to get a similar shaped pumpkin. Do you think there is any chance of getting off-spring that look the same?

 

[momtimesone]

If the pumpkin self pollinates meaning bees only pollinate your pumpkin plant females with the same male flowers from that plant there is good chance you will get the color you want with those deep ruts. As for the shape it really depends on how the pumpkin sits. If a pumpkin grows on its side it will have one flat side and the other sides round. If it grows standing up it will be long and tall with all sides round but thats hard to do as you need to keep an eye on it as it grows.A pumpkin can grow in any shape provided you guide it. Look at Disney's mickey head pumpkins. Field pumpkins will grow any where thats why there great but as for shape its all up to nature. Heres hoping you get your perfect pumpkin next fall and for yrs after that.With our giants what we do for fun is when there small we carve our names or little words into them and as they grow big the name or word also grows with the pumpkin so its cool to see your name on a pumpkin when its full grown.

 

[teacups]

Thanks for the info. I tried to find one of the plastic molds to make the Mickey heads but never could find one to buy. Wouldn't that be fun!!

 

[DebºoºS]

Glad to hear of you're growing giant pumpkins. We try every year to grow giant pumpkins and sometimes they get up there in size. Not as big as yours I don't think. It's so much fun watching them grow overnight into giants




Click my '07 Flower & Garden Festival pic
Comments are greatly appreciated

 

[momtimesone]

Another useful tip for everyone reading this . The giant pumpkin seeds sold on the internet and at the home garden centers are not of good quality. To be honest my first yr on seeds bought off the internet my biggest pumpkin was a whopping 56 pds and this was from a giant pumpkin seed packet. I found a website called big pumpkins n the nice people there sent me whole bunch of real giant seeds and there is so much info on that site. Its Like Dis only its just for growing giant pumpkins. If anyone would like honest to goodness real giant seeds you can PM me and I will send you some seeds for your garden. Have fun growing this summer everyone.

 

[DebºoºS]

Another useful tip for everyone reading this . The giant pumpkin seeds sold on the internet and at the home garden centers are not of good quality. To be honest my first yr on seeds bought off the internet my biggest pumpkin was a whopping 56 pds and this was from a giant pumpkin seed packet. I found a website called big pumpkins n the nice people there sent me whole bunch of real giant seeds and there is so much info on that site. Its Like Dis only its just for growing giant pumpkins. If anyone would like honest to goodness real giant seeds you can PM me and I will send you some seeds for your garden. Have fun growing this summer everyone.

Absolutely! Much of the success in the seeds. Bad seeds are so disappointing. You count on them to produce but you really have no idea if they'll turn out until too late in the season to start over. TU for your wonderful offer. PM on the way

 

[teacups]

Another useful tip for everyone reading this . The giant pumpkin seeds sold on the internet and at the home garden centers are not of good quality. To be honest my first yr on seeds bought off the internet my biggest pumpkin was a whopping 56 pds and this was from a giant pumpkin seed packet. I found a website called big pumpkins n the nice people there sent me whole bunch of real giant seeds and there is so much info on that site. Its Like Dis only its just for growing giant pumpkins. If anyone would like honest to goodness real giant seeds you can PM me and I will send you some seeds for your garden. Have fun growing this summer everyone.

How nice. Thanks!

 

[teacups]

If anyone would like honest to goodness real giant seeds you can PM me and I will send you some seeds for your garden. Have fun growing this summer everyone.

THANK YOU!! I got my seeds today and look forward to getting out there and planting them! Better wait for this snow to melt first... That was very, very nice of you. I appreciate it greatly.

THANK YOU!!

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I have a question for you... We found the most fabulous pumpkin at a harvest fest last year. It was about 30" across and about 10" tall and was very flat looking. I thought it was the coolest one I had ever seem, with a hearty fat stem, deep ruts and great color. I snatched it up and guarded it all season long, not letting hubby or the kids anywhere near it with a carving knife! After it adorned my front porch for the season I saved it for the seeds... which means I tossed it out back to fall apart and sprout on its own. This is what I normally do and it has worked, but I hope to get a similar shaped pumpkin. Do you think there is any chance of getting off-spring that look the same?

The variety of pumpkin you want to grow is Rouge Vif d'Estampes. It's a C. maxima type that is deep red-orange, flattened, heavily sutured. It was the prototype for Cinderella's carriage pumpkin and is sometimes sold as "Cinderella" pumpkin.
I don't know if it's a hybrid or not, in which case it probably won't come true from seed, but if you want that particular look in a pumpkin, you would be best off looking for the Cinderella pumpkin in a seed catalogue.

 

[teacups]

The variety of pumpkin you want to grow is Rouge Vif d'Estampes. It's a C. maxima type that is deep red-orange, flattened, heavily sutured. It was the prototype for Cinderella's carriage pumpkin and is sometimes sold as "Cinderella" pumpkin.
I don't know if it's a hybrid or not, in which case it probably won't come true from seed, but if you want that particular look in a pumpkin, you would be best off looking for the Cinderella pumpkin in a seed catalogue.

This one actually wasnt a Cinderella. I think it was just a regular field pumpkin (ata kids pumpkin patch) that went "bad". I thought it was awesome! It wasnt as red or as flat or as rutted as the type you speak of. I'll try to find my pics and get one posted. Maybe part of the allure was that nobody else wanted it...

 

[teacups]

This is is... hard to tell the size from this. It was pretty big (for a pumpkin patch pumpkin). It was over 2 feet across.

 

[teacups]

I did save it for seed!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I've tried to grow the big pumpkins (dill's atlantic giant) from seed the last two years here in Atlanta, and either the seeds never germinated or the plants just didn't produce anything other than a few meager leaves. It's so frustrating because I have a really green thumb for just about anything else. Am I too far south to grow pumpkins???

 

[UrsulasShadow]

This one actually wasnt a Cinderella. I think it was just a regular field pumpkin (ata kids pumpkin patch) that went "bad". I thought it was awesome! It wasnt as red or as flat or as rutted as the type you speak of. I'll try to find my pics and get one posted. Maybe part of the allure was that nobody else wanted it...

Pumpkins and squashes are all very promiscuous and cross readily. You probably got one that hybridized and seeded itself in the field.

The one you posted is a pretty one! Try saving the seed and replanting. If it's hybridized, you probably won't get the same type, but if it's just a mutated Connecticut field pumpkin, then the mutation may breed true, and you can refine your own strain of pumpkin.

 

[DebºoºS]

This is is... hard to tell the size from this. It was pretty big (for a pumpkin patch pumpkin). It was over 2 feet across.

That's a nicely shaped pumpkin