Pumpkins Won’t Grow

Question from Mary:

I have attended your seminar in Orange County and have your book. However I don’t see my dilemma addressed.

For the last two years, I have planted pumpkins in containers and the ground. They produce a small bloom with a bulb. I learned how to hand pollinate from your video, but the female blossom will not open. Then it all turns yellow and drops.

I would appreciate any help you can provide.

Thank you for all the help you give us Wanna be green thumbs.

Answer from Pat:

Pumpkins need full sun and a hot summer to do well. They absolutely will not grow in shade. They need full sun which means at least 6 hours of sunshine a day and no shade from a tree or wall or your house.

You will have to wait to get a lot of blossoms. Cold nights can sometimes make blossoms fall off. Also unless you plant a small size appropriate for containers and designed to be grown in containers, they won’t grow, bloom or bear good fruit in containers.

Pumpkins are like winter squash in that they want plenty of warmth to get started and most prefer a long growing season. Pumpkins also want to have their roots out there in the ground with plenty of water and fertilizer. When a plant turns yellow and the flowers drop off it usually means too little water or lack of nitrogen, but occasionally it might be caused by cold nights.

Another tip is not to purchase transplants from the nursery. These are often sick before they leave the nursery. Always start pumpkins from seeds and choose a disease-resistant variety. Dig up and prepare the ground, adding plenty of organic matter, such as aged manure, prior to planting. Also work balanced fertilizer into the ground. Make a watering basin and plant three to five seeds in a mound in the middle. All should sprout. In about a week pull out all the seedlings except the best one. Continue to water deeply. It is more difficult to grow good pumpkins in coastal zones than inland.

Now to help you this time with the plants you have: Go to a good nursery and purchase fish emulsion with added phosphorus and potassium. Mix according to package directions and soak the planting hole with this solution once a week. Make sure that it sinks into the ground and does not run off.

Once you have plenty of blossoms, both males and females, and if no bumble bees appear use the male blossoms (the ones with no ovary on the bottom) to hand pollinate the female blossoms.