Naked-seeded pumpkin project

[Zeedman]

The vines were growing large under the row cover & no recent SVB sightings, so I pulled back the cover on the 8 Little Greenseed pumpkins today. All plants are healthy, and have begun rooting wherever a node touches the ground. I'll put a few stakes in to prevent the wind from whipping the vines around, until the roots get established. My timing was good, the first female blooms are appearing; so August 1st appears to be a good target date to remove the cover & start pollinations. Didn't bag any blossoms today though (had business elsewhere until dark) so will begin doing the hand pollinations tomorrow.

 

[flowerbug]

the center foreground squash plants are one of the lots of the naked seeds you sent. there's at least one fruit forming in there.

the squash plants off to the right may have some of another lot growing in there but i'm not sure until i see some fruits form. Mom planted those and i hope she got the seeds in the right places, but i don't know for sure. the chipmunks then dug up a lot of seeds and i replanted and they dug them up again (going after crocus bulbs ). i was hoping to have all those crocus bulbs out of there but that didn't happen so... a third batch might be growing out back and again i don't know for sure until i start seeing some fruits. the fourth lot that was planted is likely to be a complete bust. the plants in that garden are all about 1 foot at the longest and not doing much at all.

so if the three give fruits and they have green seeds in them that are viable we'll be 3 for 4 and i still have seeds to replant next year again. i'll put any that didn't make it this year inside the fence to cut down on deer problems (they've eaten the ones in the top picture about a half dozen times but not completely or enough to stop them from flowering or fruiting).

hard to be patient...

there's a good chance that next year i'll plant that entire north garden with squash, onions and garlic. no more beans in there until i can put a fence up or something to keep the deer from ruining my work.

 

[Zeedman]

I'm confronted with the realization that all my observations of plant habit in the rural garden are flawed, due to poor fertility.

Several things I've grown there (including the pumpkins) apparently under-performed, compared to my home gardens. The pumpkins last year - in the rural garden - were short, easily controlled vines (that died under attack by squash bugs). That was the same habit I observed when I first grew them at home about 10 years ago... so I thought that with a little training, I could fit 8 plants (in hills of 2 each) within a 7' X 25' strip in the home garden.

BIG MISTAKE!!! I've enriched the soil in the home gardens considerably since then. The vines now are rampant, rooting along the stems... and even with the late planting, nearly impenetrable. They are already reaching into adjoining rows (where I have to turn them back) and reaching through the fence (where the deer prune them). It is nearly impossible to trace a female flower back to its parent plant, and I've been missing some. And of the hand pollinations I've made, only 2 have thus far taken. The male flowers in these lines don't seem to possess a lot of pollen.

A lot of female flowers are starting to form now, but I may need to remove some leaves to get access to them. With a possibly rainy weekend ahead, some flowers may again be missed. Given how late it is in the season, I can see myself possibly slogging through the mud to take advantage of every remaining opportunity.

 

[flowerbug]

an extra week or two of warm enough weather this fall would be nice, i'm not sure we're going to get it.

 

[BeanWonderin]

I hope I have enough time for my plants to grow mature pumpkins this year. I planted 4 each of 5 lines on July 2. Seven weeks later they are still looking pretty small and just starting to flower. I know I planted late, but it has also been quite dry.

 

[flowerbug]

I hope I have enough time for my plants to grow mature pumpkins this year. I planted 4 each of 5 lines on July 2. Seven weeks later they are still looking pretty small and just starting to flower. I know I planted late, but it has also been quite dry.

View attachment 51472

was that by setting out transplants or direct sown?

i only direct sow here.

 

[Zeedman]

My adult children invited me to accompany them on a Friday & Saturday trip to a picturesque area of Wisconsin. It was fun... but came at a cost. I checked the pumpkin patch, and 5 female flowers opened while I was gone. Unfortunately, since those were presumably open pollinated, all of them had to be removed. I can't seem to catch a break - most female flowers open when I am away, or on rainy days. Two sets are bagged for tomorrow though.

The season is winding down... if any more female flowers escape hand pollination, I'll have to let them grow.

 

[BeanWonderin]

was that by setting out transplants or direct sown?

i only direct sow here.

These were direct sown. Several didn't come up, though (probably because they dried out since I was gone for two weeks) so I filled in with sprouted seed 18 days later. Those came up well but are not even flowering yet.

 

[Zeedman]

The vines have become too large & tangled for me to get in anywhere, so no more hand pollinations. I think about 10 or so of those have set. A LOT of additional open pollinated flowers have set, maybe another 2-3 per vine. If most of those pumpkins ripen & if I can keep deer & rodents off of them, there might be a decent harvest. So far the pumpkins appear to follow the chosen traits. Enough pumpkins have formed outside the fence that I'm considering blocking off the walkway to protect them.

 

[flowerbug]

deer have been eating any newer leaves. i think i have some squash out there for these types but i've been busy in beanlands recently to really be able to tell what's going on exactly.