Protecting Pumpkins

[Dog House]

Last year I grew pumpkins from seed. I planted sturdy plants into well-manured soil on our allottment and they were eaten (birds, slugs?) faster than anything to date.

Is this a common problem with young pumpkin plants?
Did I plant out too soon?
Should i cover, if yes what do you recommend?

Thoughts appreciated.

Dog House.

[Flummery]

I've had slugs have a real go at them. I don't think birds will be the culprit. You need a barrier around them that slugs will be reluctant to cross. Something gritty usually works, sand or horticultural grit. Some people swear by crushed egg shells. At home I can nip out in the evening with a torch and 'disappear' them but it's harder on an allotment. I saw a bloke on our old allotment site puting a barrier around his using cardboard boxes with the bottom removed. He did grow some smashing pumpkins.

[Raised Beds]

Hi Dog House

Its a common problem with pumpkin and the likes that they get eaten by slugs in the first week. The slugs must smell the new plants a mile off.

Protect them for the first week with pop bottle or maybe the eggshells and after that the slugs will ignore them.

[Dog House]

Thanks for the advice, will up the slug protection.

DH

[dexterdoglancashire]

Also when the fruits start to grow you could always raise them up off the ground on a container of some sort. I got some old blue plastic mushrooms boxes from the local shop and put my squash on those to stop the slugs. Bernie aka Dexterdog

[rustylady]

When did you plant them out? I have problems with cats and birds digging up new transplants, so use some old wire hanging baskets as sort of cloches. These won't stop slugs or snails, though, I use pellets - sorry!

[Flummery]

I bought some stuff today from Wilkinson's called Slug Stoppa. It reckons to be organic and works by drying out their slimy little bums! Perfectly safe for birds, hedgehogs and any other wildlife or pets (unless you have a pet snail!) It doesn't kill them so the birds can still eat them. It just acts as a barrier round the plants which they can't cross. Going to give it a try. I'll let you know as the season progresses if it's any good.

[berksmike]

Think the culprits were either slugs or mice...
Mice had a real go at my pumpkins last year.. Seeds, seedlings and fruit they don't seem to be fussy! The problems of living next to a farm!

Either use prickly branches around your plants or get a hungry cat!!
As for the slugs I think there are dozens of threads on here for getting rid of them

Mike

[TPeers]

Got two cats - useless twits - couldn't catch a mouse if their lives depended on it, jolly good at dragonflys though (hiss spit).

The slugs around here only like very young growth on the squash plants, before all the spines under the leaves and around the stalks develop, presumably they don't like pricked mouths!

Never had a problem with mice re squash, but I've given up on strawberries 'cause I never get any!