Your comments and tips

08 Sep 13, Don (Australia - temperate climate)

I see we should avoid growing pumpkins and potatoes together. I have 2 vegie gardens, they are about 8 meters apart. I grew potatoes(sebago?), tomatoes (gross Lizze), and for the first time capsicum and lettuce in the big one, and jap pumkins in the smaller one last year. Lettuce were great until a hail storm hit, tomatoes, potatoes and capsicum all went well. But the pumkin in a virgin patch went ok, although some fruit did not develop. I had about 8 vines, and at one point there were 25 fruit starting to grow. Some of the flowers did not even open. Others got bulb end rot. I got about 10 good pumkins off the patch, which I think is ok considering it is smaller than recommended at 2 by 3.8 meters, and it was the first time anything had been grown in the soil. Did I have a lesser success with my pumkins because the potatoes were close by? I did have to hand pollinate a bit. What are the main reasons for not growing spuds and pumkins together?

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15 Aug 13, Shaun (Australia - temperate climate)

hi David I've had success with butternut from seed for the past two years. I start the seeds off in spring, after I'm sure that the temperature overnight won't drop too low. I start the seeds off in small covered trays, usually on a window ledge to catch the morning sun. I plant out the seedlings around the end of September.

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15 Aug 13, David newdick (Australia - temperate climate)

Thanks for your comment. Weather wise our nearest would be either Ringwood 3134, or Scoresby 3179. Thank you.

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14 Aug 13, David (Australia - temperate climate)

We live in Croydon Vic. Would like info re Butternut pumpkin from seed. Thank you.

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20 Nov 13, phil (Australia - temperate climate)

Hi DAVID I live in Wantirna. Last year i had a very sucessful crop of butternuts grown from seed. I did find that i needed to hand pollinate though to get the good results. Seed generally take 7 days to germinate. Dont overwater early Hope this helps Phil

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25 Jul 13, barry (Australia - temperate climate)

hi all I just wanted to know if pumpkin is compatible with tomato

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25 Jun 13, Peter (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

I have a vine full of pumpkins at present (late June) in Toowoomba. The frosts are killing the vine, what should I do about the pumpkins as they are not fully ripe yet?

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12 Jun 13, Sylvia Allan (Australia - arid climate)

Hi Daniel, Importing & exporting, carries high risks of the spread of germs diseases, complicated paper work stringent rules & regulations, expensive import & export license & also the cost to import or export & really scary penalties, like Jail & thousands of dollars in fines, for violation of any rules that are not carried out, nobody wants to go there. So I guess you have to research your own country to see what is available, I know many US nurseries do grow Australian Pumpkins. Good luck with your quest. Sylvia

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12 Jun 13, Narayan (Australia - temperate climate)

hi all, i have pumpkins growing in my front yard in sydney. Vandals have destroyed my apical shoots so my plants can t keep extending. On the other hand the leaves at the base of the stem are slowly dying off. Do you know if they will start sending out axillary shoots like other plants do?

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12 Jun 13, Sylvia Allan (Australia - arid climate)

Hi David Before all the rain I had harvested about 60 varieties of pumpkin, all the types that get pumpkins on them about12 weeks I lost all the types that16-20 weeks. 2ndly. When you want to grow pumpkins true to variety, You have to hand pollinate You have to keep a well developed Female & also a male flower of the same variety closed by clip or a twisty tie, and get up early after sunrise & if the male flower pollen is soft And fluffy it is time, you Pic the male flower strip the petals away, open the female flower up & brush the pollen over the Females ovary, then close the female flower up again & tag it like Trombone X trombone 1-1-13. for other people reading this message The Female always has a baby pumpkin underneath the flower. And you close the male as well because bees & insects can contaminate the pollen with other varieties. Hope this answers your question. Sylvia.

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