"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question

Hi everybody! Here's a question... I've got a "wild" pumpkin vine that was growing in my foxglove bed. Seems after talking with my neighbor, he had given out pumpkins seeds to the birds and squirrels and one found it's way across the street to my flower bed. (Probably a pesky squirrel. I have had lots of problems with this Spring.) I suppose he got this from the bird seed section of the store but I will ask to make sure. I moved it to a decomposing log pile and leaf area . Anyway my brother "the farmer of the family" said it would never have orange pumpkins, just green ones. Anybody know if this is true? BTY It likes it's new home and is running all over the place.

Reply to
Elaine
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"Elaine" wrote in news:pFBeg.63953$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews3.bellsouth.net:

is it in full sun? there's no reason it wouldn't have orange pumpkins if it's parents were orange pumpkins. if they weren't it might have white, yellow or bluish colored pumpkins. in other words, a pumpkin will ripen to the color it's genetics follow. there's no reason this pumpkin vine won't grow & ripen fruit if it's in sun, has good soil & gets water. all pumpkins start with green fruit. why does your brother think it won't ripen? lee

Reply to
enigma

Thank you for responding. It is in morning afternoon sun, dappled middle of the day and judging by it's growth rate seems to get getting enough light. I water it when I give my real plants a drink. It is in very rich soil but a little on the acid side probably. I know nothing about growing Pumpkins. Can you fill me in on some simple facts other than what I have listed I am doing?. How to fertilize and when? Some fruits have set now. Are they similar to growing gourds? I have some birdhouse gourd vines I am growing now but other than a few tomato plants, I am not much of a veggie gardener.

As for my brother thinking it will stay green...who knows. Probably from something he read at sometime. He is a bit of a trivial nut :)

Reply to
Elaine

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That looks like any other member of the squash family. To a certain extent, your brother's right. Years ago, I read that squash are very easily cross bred. People will sometimes save seeds from squash and next season, end up with a type that causes an upset stomach. Not only can the color vary, but they could revert to a physical shape that looks nothing like the parents. If you absolutely must have a specific variety, the have to buy the seeds for that variety. For many of us, there's not enough space to experiment, since squash take up so much space.

According to the late garden author, James Crockett, there's no such thing as soil that's too rich for pumpkins. Pile on the composted manure, and if you're into using granular fertilizers sometimes, give the plant a handful of 10-10-10 every 2-3 weeks. You should be able to find more via google, by searching for "growing giant pumpkins" or some such phrase.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Thanks Joe. I'll throw on some 10-10-10 and a bit of cow manure when I do my gourds today. I guess I will just have to wait and see what they decide to become. Good thing I didn't place any money on this bet huh?

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Reply to
Elaine

Either way, the leaves are interesting and the flowers are nice. And, that bit of manure could be a bucket.

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Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

"Elaine" wrote in news:mADeg.87920$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews5.bellsouth.net:

sounds good to me. my soil is a bit acid too & it doesn't seem to bother them.

almost exactly the same. if you save your gourd seeds for next year, you might want to make sure your pumpkin is far away from them. they easily cross pollenate. i toss llama poop on my pumpkin hills every 2-3 weeks. they are heavy feeders.

my birdhouse gourd seeds didn't sprout. i need to try another batch. leftover seeds sometimes don't work...

maybe because many "volunteer" pumpkins get a very late start & so fail to ripen? i have some volunteers in my garden i want to move to the pumpkin end of the garden. thier parent was a sugar type... & i'm actually amazed my chickens left any of the seeds. one other thing that may help is to pinch out the growing tips of the vine at the end of July. that gets the plant to put more energy into ripening the fruit set already, instead of setting more. lee

Reply to
enigma

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