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Canada

Bascially what i'm trying to figure out is.

1. Under the right growing conditions can a pumpkin plant
be grown to early in the year with an early finish?

or does it even matter when planted and finished?

approx for easy figures how long from start to finish for a
large pumpking under great growing conditions?

My Main reason is i'm wondering if i should start mine in doors now then plant them outside in 2 weeks time or just wait till last week in May ( like normal) start them in doors 2 weeks in advance and have them outdoors last week of may.

The growing season around here normally doesnt start till 2nd week in June and ends around Sept which gives me roughly 4.5 months of good growing conditions.

in this time frame is there enough time to grow a large one
or should i start now like am planning?

thanks

Dave

4/11/2004 10:28:42 PM

New Brunswick

Hi....Our growing season here in N.B. sounds much like yours. I started mine inside on the first of May last year. When the plants were three weeks old, I set them in the ground inside their individual greenhouses. Our last frost date is the full moon in June. So before that they need cold frames or greenhouses. They set their fruit early in July...just when they were supposed to. I found if I started the seeds any earlier, (did that the year before) it was just too soon for our later growing season and keeping them in containers for longer than 3 weeks actually set them back. Unless you have heated hothouses it would not be advisable to set your plants out in April....unless of course you have unusually warm weather. Here, we still have some snow and I am sure there is still frost in the ground. We had frost in September and so mine pretty much quit growing then. They still managed to weigh over 400 pounds.

4/11/2004 10:44:05 PM

Canada

Yup heck id be happy with a 100 pounder my first year LOL
or better that is :-)

Thanks for the information, Here in KIT Ontario its been
on and off weather one day its +20outside with a night low of + 8 outside at night then again like tonight it was
+ 10 all day long nice and warm then now its -2 and dropping to -4over night

Ive got a greenhouse built over my patch right now and its
really toasty dureing the day but after sitting overnigth and early the next mourning after a cold night it still feels cool inside not cold but not warm enough i think i might just hold off till May and see what comes then

thanks

Dave

4/11/2004 11:35:59 PM

Montoursville, PA

Good discussion for your localized needs. Only thing that puzzles me a tad is why so long inside or in the pot?

Edge sanded and two hour soaked seed germinate and emerge in an 80 degree temperature within three to four days. The first true leaf shows about four or five days latter. At that point you can go to patch under frost protection. Waiting just another day or two leads to pot bound root systems that are real stress to the plant.

I speak from a vantage point of using half gallon ice cream container pots.

I have one right here...right now for exhibition A at a meeting tonight that is two weeks in a clear Gallon Size Pot. It is very noticable that the roots have hit the sides and the bottom...and turned back into the container. This is my lesson for my local guys and girls at tonights meeting. Avoid this turning back into the pot at all expense. Once the ends are turned back into the pot it is like running through a maze to accidently come back out of that ball of self created entanglement. All of K-Marts plants look this way when you buy them. They do a good job of mass merchander messing up, of good plants. You need not do as they do. :)

4/12/2004 9:35:44 AM

Western Pa.

Another point to remember that many of the plants sold at Wal and K mart were shipped in from down south and may not be intended for your growing climate, and may never do well in your zone, or just die. Do your homework before you buy!

4/12/2004 10:09:47 AM

Ontario, Canada.

Dave, In the KW area I believe you are a little warmer than me. I hope to start my plants indoors around the April 26th and outdoors they go in 10 to 14 days after that into hoop houses or cold frames. With your greenhouse you should be ok for these dates as well. If you have concerns during a cold snap simply place some type of heating in the greenhouse. A trouble light or heating pad work fine for this and it is only on nights when you expect frost. Supplement by capturing the daytime heat in water jugs. Use as big a pot as you can. The plants tap root will grow fast so it needs room to grow. I use two gallon pots on most of my seeds. Also pick up some Mykes vegetable and use it in your pots as directed.

4/12/2004 11:20:11 AM

Carrollton, Ga.

what are the coldest temps that an ag can stand in a little green house without any source of heat?

4/12/2004 4:59:23 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

frost makes em flop dead!

4/12/2004 7:25:39 PM

Montoursville, PA

My frames are 4 X 4 X 4. I add shop lights, one in each cold frame, for all nights the plant is under the frame. Nights will average (not exceed 50 degrees here). The ten or so degrees a seventy five watt bulb will add to my little green house will never hurt them over night.

Makes the neighbors wonder what the heck I am up to. :)

4/13/2004 10:42:26 AM

Oz

in a pinch use little hoops and 2inch fiberglass attic blanket.

4/14/2004 11:35:07 AM

Oz

Here they use horse poop and straw and water under soil to start the early plants in sun boxes.

4/14/2004 11:39:53 AM