NDR: Has anyone grown a pumpkin?

[thewop]

We're having a contest at work to see who can grow the biggest pumpkin. Seriously. Work is providing the plants to get started (I work in the horticulture business). I have no idea how to grow a pumpkin. LOL. Anyone?

[sailorgray]

My parents did, but they just intentionally let an old pumpkin rot in the ground and the next year pumpkins came up.

[lmbml]

Water it a lot, turn the pumpkin so it doesn't get flat/rot, watch for slugs, fertilize it with maybe miracle grow?

[emjacobs]

My pumpkin plants are already huge, I started them about a month ago half are Jack O Laterns the other half are Max pumpkins.

Pumpkins love sun, 6 or more hours is great. Plant them in rich soil (you can get some compost or manure from your local garden shop).

Another tip for giving you an extra umph in the growing department is fish emulsions. You should be able to get this at a garden shop, add about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup to a gallon of water about once every 2 to 3 weeks and it will give the pumpkins a little extra growing power.

[aweilba]

Jun 1, 2012 12:57:08 GMT -5 sailorgray said:

My parents did, but they just intentionally let an old pumpkin rot in the ground and the next year pumpkins came up.

This. I was totally excited about it, though, when they started popping up. Some of them got really big, too, and we just fertilized.

[simpsongal]

Maybe it goes without saying, but grow one pumpkin per plant if you want a really big pumpkin.

I just sewed my pumpkin and gourd seeds last week, I hope they do well!

[mrs.jacinthe]

I used to go to church with a guy who grew pumpkins for contests. I asked him about it once and there are several tricks. The first is to pinch off all but one pumpkin from each plant. That way the plant's entire "oomph" goes into that one pumpkin. He also said you need to cover the pumpkin with a sheet because sunlight hardens the skin and it will crack.

I'm sure google has a million answers, but that's what I know from in-person questioning.

[vccake]

I just plant one or two pumpkins and I cover it with a panty hose (attractive, right?) when it gets bigger.

[adhdfashion]

I don't know how invested you are in winning....but if you want to kick some ass. Go online and buy a couple champion seeds. You know those huge pumpkins at the state fair that make it on the news? Well they sell the seeds from those pumpkins from anywhere from $7 to $15 a seed. Of course you only allow one pumpkin per plant. for a 300 to 400 lb pumpkin your looking at half a tennis course size plant. Grandpa used to pick the vine and feed the pumpkins buckets of milk. Go on youtube you should be able to find a video on how to pick the vine. Kick some ass!