This summer was extremely dry.
It simply did not rain at all in this part of Germany.
The forest looks like toast.
I have never seen this before.
Based on last year's experience, I planted a lot more pumpkins than I normally have. Before, I had only one or two pumpkins on the compost pile and I never had to do anything to them - they would just grow.
It took more work than I expected, because I had to water them a lot.
I have a pretty good harvest though.
Picture taken late April:
Picture taken late August:
What I have learned
Do not water the leaves
While this works ok for some plants, pumpkins (like tomatoes) will inevitably get mold on their leaves and this will ultimately kill the plant.
As you can see above, exactly where I watered generously, the leaves are dying from mold. It did not rain at all - so this is clearly my fault, only.
Move the vines
I started this way too late to showcase it, but if you regularly move them to where you want them to grow, you can deliberately shape the plant.
Bury vines
I never realized, that you can just bury a vine (make a small ditch, drop the vine in, cover) and it will produce roots at the nodes. It was obvious to me that the plant does this sometimes, but enforcing it exactly where you want it, really helps a lot.
You can harvest them at any stage
Only when you want to store it, it pays off to let it ripen until the stem dries out by itself; you can also just use it like zucchini, when it is green.
This was a great experience and I learned a lot.
If the weather conditions worsen, I should look into growing cacti though.
If you got any other simple tips for better harvests, please let me know below.
Is ja nice, Felixxx der Kleinbauer
was, klein ? :P
Großbauer?
You grow pumpkins you are my friend :D
Wow amazing! Thanks for those tips. Only once I had pumpkin harvest, maybe I should use other methods to grow your plant again.
Oye la verdad es un espectáculo ver como la naturaleza es tan bondadosa. Me agrado mucho este post, gracias por compartirlo, @felixxx.
No better information than what you get by own experience, excellent work, I'm saving this post for future use. We have a number of Levant plates with pumpkins and it's highly nurturing and soft on the stomach. You can use all its parts including the seeds, we dry them then fry them with little salt.
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I will make a post, how I prepare them right where I harvest them.
Awesome :D
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Danke für deine Infos. Was machst du denn jetzt bloß mit der ganzen Ernte? Ich habe nie viel Ideen mit Kürbissen... Lieben Gruß Kadna
Das meiste wird gewürfelt und in Beuteln eingefroren - für Suppen.
Das macht Sinn. Ich erinnere noch, dass es bei meiner Oma süß-sauer eingelegte Kürbisse gab (im Glas). Verwertest du denn auch die Kerne? Das müsste ja ein ziemlich großer Haufen sein ;-)
Chutneys und so gingen auch, aber das kostet mir alles zuviel Zeit.
Dann doch lieber die Würfel als Curry süß sauer auf Reis frisch machen.
Die Kerne ohne Ofen zu trocknen, habe ich noch nie hingekriegt - die verschimmeln mir immer.
Theorethisch kann man sie auf einem Tisch auslegen und trocknen lassen.
Für Saatgut gehen sie jedenfalls nicht, da ich viele verschiedene Sorten hier hatte.
They look like some great pumpkins!
I've had great success growing pumpkins in the past, they do require an enormous amount of water, and as you say, not on the leaves.
I just put down a barrow load of manure per pumpkin (for the large ones) - they seemed to like this, and it's all good matter for the soil for the next thing in line. And basic tomato feed once the fruit had set.
The heaviest weighed in at around 30 Kilos, but I couldn't really use it so I just gave it away so someone else's kids could have fun with it at Halloween.
I note you're propping them on slabs, that's good advice too.
Desertification does seem to be happening on the continent, cacti might not be a silly suggestion for the future!
Did they carve a house ? How many children does it take to carve a 30 kg pumpkin ?
I will dice them and freeze 1kg bags for soups.
I didn't even see the end product tbh - it was a mammoth variety I just grew for comedy value - never intended to eat it - butternut squash is what I always grew for eating.
Good idea with the freezer.
I'm tempted to get another allotment - I just have to convince myself I'm settling in this area for at least a few years first!
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Some very useful tips there.
So far I have just thrown them in the ground and hoped for the best!
Impresionante su cosecha @felixxx a pesar de no haber llovido
Thise are some really interesting things about pumpkins. I had no idea about burying vines or moldy leaves. Good job taking care all summer. Hope you get rain soon.