pumpkins not surviving!!!!!

[ups a daisy]

can anyone please help. my husband has only wanted to grow a pumpkin and i feel really bad because every time one starts to develope it rots at the flower end. i have removed flower as developing thinking this was the problem but not working. have mulched bed and feed plant, watered only at root what else can i do please help,thankyou.

[amandaandherveg]

I think it's the same problem as many of us have had, ie pollination, lots of rubbish weather and male and female flowers not being out at the same time.

[Two_Sheds]

too much water in the early summer, I suspect.

My courgettes went that way, but my pumpkins are all doing really well (they went in slightly later when the weather was better)

[Cutecumber]

Don't remove the flowers unless they have completely withered or you may do more harm than good.

It may be as simple as the male and female flowers not being present at the same time - the female flower with the fruit behind it needs to be pollinated by some pollen from a male flower (which has no fruit behind it, just a stem).

If you see both types open at the same time, carefully cut off the male one and do a bit of hand fertilising. It feels a bit rude, but it's not illegal

Otherwise the plants just haven't found the right conditions - all I can suggest is that you wait patiently and keep your fingers' crossed.

If it's any consolation, one of my squash plants has set one fruit, the other has set none. Sometimes we get bad years. It's quite normal as squash is not a native plant and enjoys longer, warmer seasons.

[ups a daisy]

thankyou all

i will carry on and hope it works as my husband desperately wants to carve a home grown pumpkin for halloween,big kid

[Demeter]

We have been busily hand-pollinating over the last few days.
Anyone have any idea how long it would take to grow / ripen a pumpkin if we do manage to get any to set around now? Any chance of pumpkin by halloween?? We've one huge one which I fear will not last another 2 months and that's the lot!

[MaureenHall]

I've got some "Hundredweight" pumpkins on the lottie and most have golf-ball sized fruits. I've been busy hand pollinating them in the hopes that there'll be at least 3 for Halloween (for each of my children's families). If there's more, I'll be donating them to the local Primary School. If none survive then I think it'll be the usual trip to the supermarket

[miss_corerupted]

just went out to check on my pumbkin and slugs have eaten all my babies overnight. this really brings out a vicious streak in me!! not sure what to thought everything is crawling with slugs, snails and caterpillars this morning!!! I can't use chemicals as i live on an organic farm.

[garygc2008]

My pumkins were doing the same, but i picked a male flower from another plant, and it worked better than from self polination.

[daylily]

We have been busily hand-pollinating over the last few days.
Anyone have any idea how long it would take to grow / ripen a pumpkin if we do manage to get any to set around now? Any chance of pumpkin by halloween?? We've one huge one which I fear will not last another 2 months and that's the lot!

It does not need to be tasty ripe to carve it, Demeter!

[garygc2008]

I've heard pumpkins keep extremely well, so i don't think there should be a problem there Demeter

[Demeter]

All sounds very comforting, thanks all!

[nerobot]

My female flowers seem to go yellow, then brown, then dead, all before they even open up (only about 1cm across). The male flowers seem to be fine though.

Steven