STARTING SEEDS: Start seeds in 4" peat pots in early May. The tendency is to start too early, which generally works against the grower. The plants will need warm soil and settled weather to grow well. To germinate successfully the seeds need warmth, so place the 4" pot in a south facing windowsill or in the kitchen with plenty of light , that is if mother will let you. The green house is fine, but in May the nights can be cold so be careful and watch out for slugs they are enemy number one.

TRANSPLANTING: After 2 - 5 days transplant potted plant to prepared growing beds the young plans grow very quickly.  Remember pumpkin will need plenty of space, and I mean plenty, as they are going to set runners and they could go anywhere.If you are able to obtain some farm yard manure or horse manure dig it in well. Protect young seedlings with properly ventilated cloches or mini-greenhouses ffor a few weeks. Water as necessary to avoid heat stress or wilting.  Wind protection may be needed until plant is well anchored with vines on the ground and  water once per week. Control weeds with mulching, and hand weeding as necessary. Remember, shallow roots may extend 4 ft. or more out from perimeter of the plant so be careful.

FRUIT SET: The plant should blossom and set fruit in July. Male blossoms will appear first. Males are on long stems with a rod like structure inside the flower. which is coated with pollen. The first open male flowers will be towards the centre of the plant. Female flowers are on a short stem, and have a small round yellow pumpkin behind the flower. The first female flower to open will be out from the centre of the plant on one of the vigorously growing vines. In the absence of bee activity or to get an earlier set. the grow -er may hand pollinate a newly opened female blossom with several of the fresh male flowers. Pick several newly opened male flowers and tear away the yellow flower portion, exposing the pollenbearing stamen. Leave part of the stem to use as a handle and gently roll the pollen from the males onto the stigma in the centre of the newly opened female blossom. The plant must be large enough to support a fast growing pumpkin: therefore setting a fruit too early can have a negative result. The plant should have a minimum of 100 leaves before a pumpkin is set.

PRUNING Is for the real enthusiast. To avoid rampant crossing vine growth, it is advisable to trim and prune. Generally 3 - 5 primary vines are allowed to grow out from the centre of the plant in different directions. Side vines will develop on each of the primary vines, alternately at each leaf. The side vines are allowed to grow, but are trained away from one another or pinched back before they cross. These side vines would in turn produce their own set of vines alternating at each leaf. This third set of vines (tertiary vines) is removed from each secondary vine when they are small or in the bud stage. This results in a more open plant with better air circulation. which can help prevent disease problems. A pumpkin can be set on each of these primary vine structures. After 2 - 3 weeks select down to the best 2 pumpkins
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SHADING: When the pumpkin is small, the leaves of the plant will shade it. When the pumpkin grows larger, shade should be provided. Shading reduces the aging stress of direct sunlight on the tender skin of the fruit, and allows the shell to expand and stay flexible longer. Shading also reduces the internal temperature of the pumpkin, reducing the threat of rotting or splitting.

SPLITTING OR CRACKING: Each year many large pumpkins split or crack while growing at a rapid rate. We walk a fine line. The grower wants his pumpkin to grow as fast as possible in order to reach a large size, and as a result may step over the unmarked line (sustainable growth curve). Try to grow your pumpkin at an even moderate pace over the entire season

PESTS AND DISEASE:  The biggest threat to your pumpkin will be Mr Slug. He loves your tender shoots and your plant can be quite vulnerable until it becomes established. Try not to use slug bait. Slugs hate sharp gravel or oystershell that we feed to chicken. A saucer of old beer, the slug climbs in, gets hopelessly drunk and cant climb out! Don't underestimate the slug he is a real pest. At the end of the season mildew may set in. This is a grey powered coloured patch on the leaves. It can be treated with sulphur, but the pumpkin probably won't benefit as it will have done most of its growing.

HARVEST: Towards the end of the season when the leaves are dying back, cut the stalk of the pumpkin and leave a 100mm handle on it, or cut the stalk where it joins the vine. Leave it where it is for the moment and let the skin harden off before you get the crane in to move it. Pumpkin don't like the autumn frost, so if there is a risk of frost before you move the pumpkin , throw an old blanket over it just to keep it warm.

May the best man or woman win.

To e-mail or phone the pumpkin grower type in this address, m.smales@farmline.com then type Lyburn Farm in the subject box to get past our anti spam or m.smales@hotmail.com

or Phone Mike on 01794 390451 or John 01794 390691

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