pumpkins

[huxley]

My nieghbour is growing some pumpkins with his daughter. He has planted up 3 seedlings in a plastic trough. They were doing ok until about a week ago. They are about 3-4 inches tall & the leaves have started to brown. Can anyone give some clues as to what might be wrong with them, as i would have thought they would be alot bigger & stronger by now.

[Lesley Jay]

It could be magnesium deficiency. The leaves go pale between the veins and eventually turn brown and die. Epsom Salts mixed 2oz per gallon of water sprayed at fortnightly intervals will help. There are other diseases that it could also be so what were the leaves like before they turned brown? Were they yellow or did they have brown spots on them or something else?

[nick the grief]

Pumpkin are quite vigourous plants so I think they would be better off in the ground rather than in a trough as they need a bit of room to spread themselves out as well.

[gcroft]

food

sounds like a major lack of nutrients pumpkins have to be the homer simpson of all plants they need alot of food. I normally plant direct (after germinating in prop) over a tipped compost bin and even then i use chicken pellets and liquid feeds. They are foracious plants last year whilst i was away the plant had grown 5metres accross my garden in two weeks! So basically tell your neighbour to keep throwing food at it ( a good balanced feed ) i start with a high nitrogen feed and ween it down to a tomato liquid feed once it starts to flower and in between keep chucking chicken pellets around it once a week i have always had good yields and this years are doing great.

[huxley]

Thanks for all your advice. Unfortunately as he hasn't got a garden, they will have to stay in a pot, but maybe a big bucket would be better! Fingers crossed he can rescue them (or he'll be off to the garden centre for plants, bit like replacing the goldfish)

[nick the grief]

In that case tell him to get a big tub from the pound shop & buy a bag or two of composted horse shi ..er manure & then top of with a good JI nO3. Feed at every watering 1/2 strength & pray!!

Next step in to get his name down for a lottie plot!!

[Shortie]

Gosh I must be a real hard task master! I just about fed by tomatoes and runner beans last year

Altohugh my Squash did have the run of the garden (and my Mum and Dads as one forced it's way through the slats in the fence and grew round one of their pots.... ) I never fed them.

I really do expect a lot for a little from my crops. Oops

Mind you, did say to OH yesterday that I was going to spread rotten manure on the garden this winter. His answer to that was - 'on your own'