Your comments and tips

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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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, 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, 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)

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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06 Jan 09, Paul (Australia - temperate climate)

Water pumpkins when they show signs of limp leaves, first thing in the morning. Then have a look after the heat of the day is over and if they are wilting again water them. I pollinate with a small desk duster, the static electricity one that attracts dust, and swish it into the male flowers then into the females everyday till the females show sign of swelling. Be carefull you use one duster for one variety. Dusters are as cheap as chips and last many seasons.

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06 Jan 09, Rosie (Australia - temperate climate)

My pumpkin (organic seed) were growing great - now the middle of the vine - where the seeds were initially planted are starting to die off!!! Any ideas what is needed to remedy this?

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11 Jan 09, kym matulick (Australia - temperate climate)

my mother only buys butternut pumpkin and puts all her vegie scraps in the ground so she has a lot of pumpkins that came up. however she cant understand why they are all the colour of jap pumpkins but the shape of butternuts. she has a huge crop of pumpkins on the vines which is great but what are they????? can anyone help

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14 Jan 09, Radhika (Australia - temperate climate)

I am ecstatic to see that our first attempt at 'golden nugget' pumpkins this year are flourishing, and appear to have ripened. But do I harvest them once the vine has died or do I pick them before then? ( I'm worried they might be more prone to rot etc as they are small)

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17 Jan 09, kez (Australia - temperate climate)

I planted some heirloom pumpkin seeds and the plants were looking great. Female flowers were looking great and opened early in the mornings but the male flowers were too immature to use to hand polinate. They simply had no polen when I opened up the flowers! any suggestions? I'm thinking i need to put some potash in the soil maybe

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