Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Katt on April 04, 2006, 09:25
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Heeey guys i was just wondering...can you plant pumpkin seeds straight outside?..or do you have to pot them first?...if i can plant them outside straight away...how should i go about tending them?...Thank you soo much everyone your advice is soo greatly appreciated!! x x x
Katt x x x :D
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Hiya Katt :)
You could sow directly - perhaps under a jar / cloche but I've always started them in pots. Pumpkins are greedy plants and will benefit from being planted in rich soil or even dig out a cube and fill with compost.
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:D thank you soo much john!!! x x x Should i use manure?
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Hi Katt - if you have some rotted manure, pop that in a hole under the plant.
Avoid fresh manure - it can burn the roots. Alternative is a few good handfuls (Yes the standard metric measurement of allotment fertilisers are the handful and the good handful which is 1.2657 times a handful or 500 times a smidgin) of blood fish and bone mixed with the soil under the plant.
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They shouldn't be direct sown until May, or at least I thought that's what I've read. They really can't have any cold at all. I've not even sown my pumpkin seeds in pots yet indoors.
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Thanks Heather - I should have remembered to mention they don't go in till late.
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My youngest daughter has picked a packet of giant pumpkin seeds, we have sown them in pots by the windowsill but does anyone have any tips for growning really huge pumpkins. My daughter has her heart set on growing one the same size as the one on the front of the packet and I am sure we need to do more than plant it in the ground and water it to get these sorts of result. Any help?
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i just planted mine in pots but i wasnt brave enough to go for the giant variety good luck!!!!! :D
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For big pumpkins you need a big pile of well rotted muck, lots of watering, food, and tlc.
I don't grow the giants, but I do grow big tasty ones and we eat lots and lots - are still eating roasted pumpkin now in all sorts of recipes.
Good luck - but remember very well rotted. I use year old pig muck
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I grew a couple of big pumpkins for my herd of nieces and nephews last year to carve up for halloween.
The good news is that when kids got on the site they couldn't steal them because they were too big! Bad news is they got my squash and marrows :evil:
Nearly broke my back getting them into the car!
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I grew a couple of big pumpkins for my herd of nieces and nephews last year to carve up for halloween.
The good news is that when kids got on the site they couldn't steal them because they were too big! Bad news is they got my squash and marrows :evil:
Nearly broke my back getting them into the car!
john i totally sympathise with you...theres alot of theft and vandalism on our plots! :x
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I wish there was some easy way to stop it. I heard a story that a chap stopped three lads from throwing stones through greenhouse windows and managed to get their names from them shouting to each other.
He caught hold of one who wriggled free.
So he informed the police expecting they would have a word with them and the police duly did via their school.
Well the upshot was that the police kindly agreed not to prosecute the chap for grabbing hold of one of the kids. Yes - that's right!
When I chased some kids off our plot (they were wrecking plots) I pretended to be really mad as I chased them. Kids today need more exercise as I had to slow down because I was catching them up. I mean, I'm 50 and an unfit smoker. They were round 12 and should have run rings around me.
I know kids, like a pack of dogs, can get well out of hand and you'll never stop it completely but some support from the parents / authorities would help.
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They had the trouble on our old site, a week before halloween all the pumpkins, marrows where stolen, i decided to give them something to think about and put up a sign on my patch which read...
Smile your on camera !! one of my marrows and pumpkins has had poisin injected into it so book your plot now :evil:
Funny not one of mine was taken that year :D
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mmm.. thats an idea - maybe
WARNING
TESTING NEW PESTICIDE
DO NOT TOUCH
SEVERE BIOHAZARD
(http://www.allotment-garden.org/assets/biohazard.jpg)
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That is brilliant !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope you dont mind if i save that for this year :lol:
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You're very welcome ... maybe a little choice
(http://www.allotment-garden.org/assets/skull.gif)
OR
(http://www.allotment-garden.org/assets/radiation.gif)