Your comments and tips

05 Jan 09, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Brett, Are you using bought seeds or saving seeds from pumpkins? If you have bought seeds, it might be worth contacting the supplier and telling them about your problem. Otherwise, if you saved seeds, see the answer to Jean's query.

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05 Jan 09, David (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Ray, your pumpkins are falling off early because they are not fertilised. You may need to go around with a paintbrush and transfer pollen from the male flowers to the female. Check the comment from Jaci to identify which is which.

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05 Jan 09, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Jean, you may be lucky. If you had an organic pumpkin it will probably produce both male and female flowers but if it was a F1 hybrid then its seeds will produce sterile plants. Check the flowers for possible female ones (see comment from Jaci above).

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05 Jan 09, Jean (Australia - temperate climate)

Hi, When preparing a Queensland Blue a couple of months ago, I took a handfull of seeds and put them in a small hole in the garden, well they've come up and I appear to have a flourishing plant, beginning to get flowers on it, Have I got a chance as I just "bunged" them in from my pumpkin, or will it turn out to be "barren", thanks Jean

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05 Jan 09, Sooze (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Gina, We too have been wondering when to harvest a Pumpkin "buttercup" as is looks large, green & with yellow in a couple of places (like its picture). We cut it and then read that the stalk needs to turn brown before harvesting. So we have taken it too early it seems. Haven't cut it open yet to see it its got any yellow flesh. We will now leave the others that are growing till stalk is brown.

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03 Jan 09, Brett (Australia - temperate climate)

We are not getting any female flowers at all on our butternut pumpkin vines. Does anyone have any clues? Last year was the same - not one pumpkin! Others we spoke to in our area had the same problem last year and we put it down to excessive heat, but this year has been much cooler so that debunks that theory.

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02 Jan 09, Ray (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

I am growing Butternut Pumpkins and am finding that a lot of the pumpkins are going soft and falling off when they are just starting to form , now I dont know if I am under or over watering

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30 Mar 15, colin (Australia - temperate climate)

the pumpkin has not been fertilised may be lack of bees so fertilise by stripping the male flower and dabbing it into the female flower and you get very good results with this method

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31 Dec 08, Dave (Spain) (United Kingdom - warm/temperate climate)

Squash/pumpkins are ready usually from november through till feb,depending on when you sowed them.You can freeze cubed,without blanching ...easy!!

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28 Dec 08, Gina Pitronaci (Australia - temperate climate)

How does one know when pumkins are ready for picking? How long will a pumpkin keep, and what is the best way of storing them?

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