Pumpkins

[Lurch]

Hi,

I am growing pumpkins for the first time this year. I have some flowers out and flowers with what appears to be the fruit forming behind them. Should i remove the non fruit flowers. Also how many pumkins is best to leave on a single plant. Im not going for thesingle huge pumpkin.
However, i would like to grow a large one for my son to carve this Halloween.
I have 10 plants in all.

Thanks for any advice.

Lurch

[zazen999]

I've moved your thread so that you can get some responses.

However - you just need to leave your pumpkins alone for now. When you have as many as you think you need, cut off the growing tip.

You'll only get a large one if the type that you are growing is a large type.....

[rustylady]

Don't remove any of the flowers. The ones with just stalks are the male flowers and you need these to pollinate the female flowers which are the ones with the tiny fruit behind them.

[Lurch]

thanks for the help

[maypril]

thanks for the help

What variety are you growing?

Generally if you want a large one, you should save a plant for the large one.

To grow a large one, start off by only allowing three fruits to set and pinch off all others, and then once they've started to swell and you're confident they'll do well, pinch off the two smaller ones. You also need to feed every week.

However be careful, if you have chosen a large-fruiting variety you might end up with more than you bargained for. It'll be bigger than anyone other than Geoff Capes could pick up on their own and it'll probably take weeks to carve!

[Lurch]

thanks peeps