Your comments and tips

21 May 10, pete (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

just leave them until the vine dies. as you are in cool/mountain climate probably the first frost will kill them. harvest them leaving the part where they attach to the vine on the pumpkin and store them in an airy dark cool place. when living in canberra i found up in the top air space of my garage the best place. keep an eye on them and dispose of any that start to rot. they should keep for months.

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21 May 10, Jef (Australia - temperate climate)

Generally, pumpkins should be left until the vine dies back, and the stalk turns brownish. Cut with at least 5cm of stalk, and leave the pumpkins in the sun for a couple of weeks to harden off. They then should keep for months.

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13 May 10, lyn (Australia - temperate climate)

what causes fully formed butternut pumpkins to split along the length?

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08 Mar 21, Andrew (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I have 9 Jap pumpkins growing. A lot of the vine has died back but the stems are still green. I noticed a couple of the pumpkins have split. Any ideas why? And are they still edible?

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22 Apr 10, (Australia - tropical climate)

Natasha, have you tried Steve's tip above - maybe clip the shoots so the plant puts more energy into fruiting?

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21 Apr 10, Natasha (Australia - temperate climate)

I had two pumpkin vines grow out of the compost around december in which they are nice and healthy looking vines now and they both started to flower over a month ago. Every morning I check to see if any of the female flowers are opening in which I would then hand pollinate with a few male flowers. Although I have been trying to hand pollinate each female flower, they do not seem to continue to grow. The female fruit just withers and dies off without any progress in size. Can anyone give any advice? Thanks!

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29 Mar 10, Chris (Australia - temperate climate)

Have recently purchased a Kuri pumpkin and ready to plant its seeds I am told it has always been grown in isolation and boasts a pure history. Does this really make a difference if cross pollination occurs or should I maintain a single variety policy

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21 Mar 10, Steve (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Great tip from Yarralumla Nursery: I've had trouble getting my pumpkin fruit to set. I get small fruit up to 10cm that then wither and die. I've corrected acid, I've hand pollinated, I've water regularly and fertilized heavily, all to no avail. Someone at the nursery asked if the plant was large, healthy and still producing shoots - yes it was. They suggested clipping the ends of each tendril/shoot to stop it growing so the plant can concentrate on growing fruit, not leaves. It seemed to work - the next few flowers to polinate have progressed to a mature pumpkin.

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21 Mar 10, Nick (Australia - temperate climate)

I have planted 3 butternut pumpkin plants and they have all grown rambling vines about 3m long. Each has flowered and started to produce fruit but the now the leaves closest to where the plant comes out of the ground have all dried, died and fallen off the vines. This has left me with about 1m of dry woody stem and then 2m of plant with lush green leaves and small healthy looking fruit. This is the first time I've planted pumpkin so I don't know if this is normal behaviour for these plants or whether there is a problem with them. Any advice greatly appreciated.

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19 Mar 10, Ben Linke (Australia - temperate climate)

Hello, in early december 2009 i noticed a few pumpkin plants starting to appear in my chicken cage. i started watering them as soon as i noticed them growing. it took about 1 and a half months to take off and produce flowers. but the flowers kept falling of the stems and still are, what do i do to stop the falling off??. the plants are now covering about 25 to 30 square metres and climbing up the fences and on the roof. i have about 8 pumpkins on the plants, 3 which are quite large. because they grew with out my intensions i am unaware what varietys they are.. i am willing to send pictures to anyone who could please help me identify them!.. im almost certain that 1 of the few plants is a butternut... Help Me Please.... Ben

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