[WitchyKitty]

They look awesome, Saki!! I'm excited to watch the progress of everyone's pumpkins and gourds this year! I simply cannot wait to get mine started. It'll probably be about a month before I can plant, yet, since it's still so darn chilly here. The wait is killing me. Right now I'm just trying to appease myself with my Sage and other herb seedlings, lol, but it's not working...I need my pumpkins!! They make me happy!!
I envy those of you who can plant lots of different pumpkins and gourds...I can only do my JBL's again this year. I have the room...but not the sunlight. Way too much shade in my back yard. I was quite proud of my upright mini pumpkin patch last year, though, and so were my neighbors, lol...and I am hoping to be proud of it again this year!
It's amazing how the Pumpkin Patch thread...and also the (Fall) Scents and Fragrances thread...can get me immediately in the mood for Fall!

 

[Spats]

This will be my first year planting pumpkins. I grew them as a kid once, got maybe 5 decent pumpkins. I intend to be a bit more serious this time.

First, I'll be buying seeds from Harris seeds, the main provider for professional pumpkin growers and farmers market providers. The Howden is a dependable breed, but the Cronus, the Magic Lantern and the Gladiator look and sound fantastic - resistant to powdery mildew, dependable round shapes, thick walls, strong stems.

I'll be planting around the middle of June, which should give me pumpkins a couple of weeks before Halloween. (115-120 days mature time). We almost never get a frost in the first half of October. I'll plant in the back yard in small raised mounds with fish emulsion for fertilizer, then just let them go and see how they do.

The one thing I want to do is set the young fruit upright, so they can achieve that round, slightly squat look the best pumpkins have.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

We bought from Territorial Seed, because they had the corn I wanted, and the flowers Talia wanted, so just made it one big order. The flowers have been working wonderfully.

Garden has about a hundred volunteers already, though I'm killing all those, figured it means the ground is warm enough to plant now (normally it's a few more weeks before I start getting volunteers) so, just got done prepping my seeds.

I've found this is the best means of starting pumpkins for me just some damp towels in a ziploc for a few days, once that starts to sprout, I transfer them to the pots.

We've got lots of varieties this year .

Neons are wonderful in that they grow orange from the start, so if I have to pick them a little less than ripe, you really can't tell. They don't get very big, about up to basketball size, and the vines are a little smaller, so I can fit more in my space. Had very good luck with them here.

Sugar, I've found the LITTLE kids love the little pumpkins to carve at the party.

Then my mini varieties. Jack Be Littles are Talia's favorites, the mystery seeds were SUPPOSED to be jack be littles last year, but were green and yellow mottled something or others, so I just saved seeds (not that it guarantees I'll get the same this year thanks to how pumpkins propagate). Lil Pumpkemon are new this year for us, supposed to be orange with white stripes. We'll see.

My Uncle plants Howdens for us as well, so I'll have some larger ones to mix in with the neon.

 

[WitchyKitty]

UnOrthodOx, or anyone who knows, I was wondering, about how big do the Sugar/Pie pumpkin plants/vines get in comparison to larger pumpkin vines and mini (JBL) pumpkin vines? Right now, I have been doing the JBLs simply because I can grow them upwards and take up a small area of space...but I was wondering if the Sugars/Pies would also be possible to plant in a smaller area. I have some sunny area in my back yard...just not enough to plant full size pumpkin vines. I've been looking online to get info about size on the vines for those varieties, but I'd like to hear what you guys have to say from experience with them!

 

[UnOrthodOx]

UnOrthodOx, or anyone who knows, I was wondering, about how big do the Sugar/Pie pumpkin plants/vines get in comparison to larger pumpkin vines and mini (JBL) pumpkin vines? Right now, I have been doing the JBLs simply because I can grow them upwards and take up a small area of space...but I was wondering if the Sugars/Pies would also be possible to plant in a smaller area. I have some sunny area in my back yard...just not enough to plant full size pumpkin vines. I've been looking online to get info about size on the vines for those varieties, but I'd like to hear what you guys have to say from experience with them!

The sugars are about the same size vines as the minis in my experience. You MIGHT even get away with trellising them...I think I just might try that this year.

There's also pumpkin varieties that claim to be bush or semi bush, so they don't spread out. I don't really have any experience with them, however. "Cheyenne Bush" is a particular one that interests me as it looks like good carving size where most are on the small side.

 

[GhostTown]

Howdens are what I planted. I really didn't know what that meant, it's just what was on the shelf in the nursery I bought them from.

 

[WitchyKitty]

The sugars are about the same size vines as the minis in my experience. You MIGHT even get away with trellising them...I think I just might try that this year.

There's also pumpkin varieties that claim to be bush or semi bush, so they don't spread out. I don't really have any experience with them, however. "Cheyenne Bush" is a particular one that interests me as it looks like good carving size where most are on the small side.

Hmmm...I'll have to go wandering in my yard to see if I could come up with a space for some sugars...
A bush type of pumpkin would be IDEAL! I haven't seen anything like that in seeds in my area, though, but maybe I'll have to check online...if you find and decide to grow a bush pumpkin, I hope to see how it goes for you.

 

[WitchyKitty]

Howdens are what I planted. I really didn't know what that meant, it's just what was on the shelf in the nursery I bought them from.

A Howden is a basic, good type for a carving pumpkin. Round or slightly tall oval, orange, thick flesh/skin, sturdy handle and about 15lbs-30lbs. They tend to be a type stores sell around Halloween for carving Jack-o-Lanterns.

 

[WitchyKitty]

Hmmm...I checked online for the Cheyenne Bush Pumpkin seeds...but the few places I found that sold them are currently sold out. I guess I will have to save that thought for next year. I will have to keep an eye out for them. In the meantime, I'll be happy with my JBL's.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

Transferring to pots today.

The mystery pumpkin seeds we saved didn't have a very good germination %. Probably close to a hundred seeds, I only got 6 that showed signs of life.

 

[Defenestrator]

It is great to see this thread get started for 2014....it'll be one of the crutches I lean on to get through another miserable Florida summer as I wait for what approximates fall here.

I'm so glad to see sprouts and tiny plants already.

 

[Col. Fryght]

Transferring to pots today.
The mystery pumpkin seeds we saved didn't have a very good germination %. Probably close to a hundred seeds, I only got 6 that showed signs of life.

Only two days to see little sprouts, that is pretty cool. I will use your idea of damp paper towels as a starter tonight. At first, I didn't quite understand the benefit, but now I do. If you had planted all of those non-germinating seeds in little peat pots you would have wasted a lot effort. Thanks for the great tip.

 

[Saki.Girl]

i am so hoping to get my garden tilled still having some low temps so may have to wait a couple more weeks

 

[WitchyKitty]

Since I can't plant yet, I'm currently taking "orders" from family and friends for my seedlings, lol. I can only use a plant or two in my yard at the moment, which leaves many of my babies without homes. So, I pass out the extra seedlings to people I know who want them. Since last year I had 100% of my JBL seedlings germinate, I had lots to go around. I'm hoping for a similar turnout this year! I did the pre-plant seed soak in baggies (or did I use cups...I simply cannot remember) last year, too, so I'm sure I will be doing that again this year. It's looking like May 24th will be around my planting date, since it seems the weather may finally stay warmer at that point. Right now it gets warm, then cool, then hot, then back to cool...it's crazy!

 

[Papa_K]

View attachment 197629 View attachment 197629

Question - does anyone know why they discontinued the foam blown jack-o-lanterns? I am not real keen on the the plastic ones. Did the foam lit ones let off some sort of toxic gas? I don't have them indoors so I would think that wouldn't be a problem. But if they also created carcinogens or used fossil fuels or the skin of dead babies then I would probably not want to use them however I think they were pretty safe.

I've looked online "google" and the only place I can find any is on e-bay. Now I do shop at Goodwills all around and every place I get a chance to go but these are still few and far between. I've only got about 40 pumpkins but can always use more.

 

[WitchyKitty]

Question - does anyone know why they discontinued the foam blown jack-o-lanterns? I am not real keen on the the plastic ones. Did the foam lit ones let off some sort of toxic gas? I don't have them indoors so I would think that wouldn't be a problem. But if they also created carcinogens or used fossil fuels or the skin of dead babies then I would probably not want to use them however I think they were pretty safe.

I've looked online "google" and the only place I can find any is on e-bay. Now I do shop at Goodwills all around and every place I get a chance to go but these are still few and far between. I've only got about 40 pumpkins but can always use more.

Do you mean carvable foam ones like funkins? Most pumpkins like that aren't available for sale until mid summer, early fall, when the Harvest/Halloween merchandise starts to come out. I don't usually see them for sale year round...unless you randomly find one in places like ebay and such.

 

[Papa_K]

Not so much the carvable ones, I haven't yet tried to tackle that feat of artism at this point. I'm not so much looking to buy any now but I haven't seen the pre-fab'ed carved ones for sale at any stores but Goodwill.

 

[WitchyKitty]

Not so much the carvable ones, I haven't yet tried to tackle that feat of artism at this point. I'm not so much looking to buy any now but I haven't seen the pre-fab'ed carved ones for sale at any stores but Goodwill.

Oh, okay. Hmmm...well, probably the same thing, see if they come back around Fall time with the rest of the Fall/Halloween decor...I can't think off the top of my head if I saw any pre-carved foam ones last season or not...hope you find some!

 

[Col. Fryght]

Well, I have bagged my giant pumpkin seeds with a damp paper towel. Burpee actually gave me 30 instead of 25. My guess is that they must weigh the seeds instead of actually counting them. Of course, that would be an interesting job title as "lead seed counter."

Additionally, I have inquired about having top soil delivered to my home to help build a suitable pumpkin bed. As with most backyards in Georgia, beyond the first inch or two, our dirt is pure clay. A cubic meter of top soil is $28 and is suppose to cover a 100 sq. ft at a depth of three inches. This certainly more soil than I would get in 28 individual bags at the local stores.

I guess I could order enough cubes to build a nice bed. I am certainly into the pumpkin patch project with both feet.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

Just keep the damp towel/bag of seeds someplace nice and warm. I put mine in the grow light compartment I use to grow the seedlings myself. I'm pretty confident it's not the light the seeds respond to but the heat.

Last year, we tried a NUMBER of starting methods suggested about the web. Soaking seeds prior to planting, sanding down the edges, floating seeds to see which will germinate or not, and couple others I can't recall right now. The damp towel/bag was far and away the most successful method of germinating the seeds.

They are just barely starting to push up through the soil in the peat pots tonight, probably have some worth taking pics of tomorrow.