Topic: Best sowing time?

[dtw]

When should I be sowing my pumpkin seeds?

I am planning on starting them off indoors or in my greenhouse.

I suppose it will be a while yet.

[betula]

March to April is the best time,still a while to go yet ;D

[caseylee]

 I planted mine about 2 weeks ago and they have just come up, I did the same last year and it grew nicely, they have to stay indoors until all frost is gone.  I killed one of mine last year casue I put it outside to soon, but the other one stayed inside till april time, I just kept repotting it into a bigger pot all the time.  I have been advised not to sow till mid march, but i'v only done it this way cause it was the way that worked for me. 

[saddad]

We will be sowing ours late March/Early April depending on the season...
 :)

[Suzanne]

No greenhouse, only two small cold frames - so mine are sown mid april (approx. 6 weeks before last frost date), and kept indoors as long as possible. If they grow too big they have to share the cold frame with the toms - but they aren't as hardy as the toms which seem to survive a reasonable frost in the frames. if the squash and cukes are in there I have to cover with black plastic and blankets.

[cambourne7]

I have started some of mine 2 weeks ago as these types take a while, one up so far :)

They are in jiffy pots and will go into there own pots in 2 weeks if there ready.

[caseylee]

My pumpkins are doing very well at the moment and ae in my cold greenhouse now, I thought they might die but I have had them out there a few days and they are still growing, mind you my greenhouse doesn't really get that cold even at night

[wiltshire lass]

i havnt planted mine yet.i wasnt going to till the middle of april but after reading these posts i think i better ;D

we did grow a pumpkin last year it got to the size of a basket ball .this year i am going to grow it in very mature horse manure see if that makes a differents

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm not planting squashes yet. First of all I've got the toms to sort.

[Jeannine]

Not yet, it is too soon unless you have the room to keep them insde for some time yet,they need to go out when the weather consistently warm

I often plant early, I have not this year, but I do get them into 3 gallon pots before they go out, as I plant more than 50 varieties they take up a lot of space. But you have to be prepared to keep potting them into bigger and bigger pots otherwise they stop growing and it defeats the point of sowing early .If I plant very early they actually have fruit on them when they go out. But they have to be kept in a heated lit greenhouse for several weeks. It is a gamble , if the weather is still bad when they have to come out of those pots they can be lost as they out grow their big pots, but I take this chance for some varieties.

I would then plant them out in late May or early June.If the weather is on my side I have big healthy plants that take off rapidly.

Sometimes I have to re sow if the weather is aganist me.

If I don't plant super early to get the rare ones to mature, the  normal planting for squash is is 4 inch pots 4 weeks befor this time..late April or early May. In a warm place.

XX Jeannine 

[wiltshire lass]

planted twenty pumkin seeds which is more than anough for me .there hundred wieght varity or something like that .they are ment to be gigantic ;D
there in my green house at the moment but i have now run out of space so i am going to take them over my parents green house.

[pippy]

Thanks Jeannine.  I've only conservatory windowsills and outside lottie so I'm waiting till late April!  Last year I did three Jack O Lanterns and got four good big pumpkins out of them - plenty for us!  Wiltshire - what on earth are you going to do with 20???!!

I'm going to try the seeds from the best of last years.  I self pollinated it as it opened so I'm hoping it will come true to type.  If not it will be interesting to see what I do get!  Do they cross with courgettes or rolet squash?!!!! 

[Jeannine]

Twenty is not so bad LOL .I have a two lottiesmyself one for regular stuff and a full lottie for my squash, I have collected the seeds for decades, currently have about 200 varieties now. I grew 85 different varieties last year but in Hull and the floods killed all our lotties.

They are fascinating,the more research I do the more fascinating they become.

They are used in art, for food, for shelter, for birdhouses, for decoration.

It is  great veggie to study, the history alone is great.

Many people are being attracted to them and it can be quite addictive,as no doubt some one will agree.

Super veggies,

Enjoy yours too,

XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

Sorry your question about crossing, it depends on what family your plants belong to if you can tell me the name I can answer your question, many plants called pumkins in fact are not true pumpkins so they cover more than one family

Jack o Lantern will cross with rolet and with courgettes if it is a Jack o Lantern which is a true pumkin

XX Jeannine

[pippy]

I'll only grow a couple and see what happens!  Other than that I'm doing Uchiki Kuri and Table Ace which I haven't tried before. 

Last year was my first year and given the awful weather I was pleased with the results.  We newbies are easily pleased as anything is an advance on nothing!!  My butternut squashes were a miserable failure last year so I may also try them again.

Thanks again.

[meandmine]

As a newbie, I got a bit carried away and sowed 24 seeds (16 Crown Prince & 8 Lumina) on Monday even though I know it's a bit too early but ever since we got the lotty my son has been really excited about having a pumpkin patch.  Some of them are already sprouting so I don't know what we'll do if they all sprout!  I've suggested to my son that we might have to give some of the plants away but he's not too impressed with that idea  ::)

[Suzanne]

I planted 5 varieties last year - we are still eating winter squash and pumpkin form the 8 plants I put out and grew to full size. The eight plants took about 1/4 of the plot.

[flowergirl]

I saved the seeds from a pumkin I bought at morrisons.  Will these seeds be ok do you  know? Hybrids and all that??? saved about 200 (oopsy) if any one wants to share IM me and I will send you some (if its ok to grow these seeds...is it..surely it is ???

[Jeannine]

This is the exception to the rule..many of the supermarket pumpkin seeds are not hybrids(not the case with squash) at least certainly not in the US and Canada as I lived almost next door to a pumpkin farm who we were friends with,I cannot see why the UK would be different go ahead and plant them. The reason is that the commercial pumpkins grow well anyway without the extra expense of hybrid seed. If you think about it the pumpkin world records are held by OP seeds not hybrids.

XX Jeannine

[flowergirl]

Sorry your question about crossing, it depends on what family your plants belong to if you can tell me the name I can answer your question, many plants called pumkins in fact are not true pumpkins so they cover more than one family

Jack o Lantern will cross with rolet and with courgettes if it is a Jack o Lantern which is a true pumkin

XX Jeannine

Bit confused...will my supermarket pumpkin seed provide me with a pumpkin of which I can harvest the seeds from for next year (if that makes sense)? Or will this seeds become a hybrid if I grow courgettes on my plots at the same time..thanks (ps whats OP) ???

Flowergirl x
(novice extraordinaire)