[Failed/Transplant] ??? Pumpkin (Mar 19, 2020)

[ERR0R1755]

I bought the "Mini Mixed Pumpkin" seeds from By The Moon Seed - an independent farmer who I've had nothing but great experiences with. My original order resulted in damaged seeds during shipping, and while the seller was kind enough to ship out replacements, I decided to stick the cracked seeds I had into rockwool and see if I could get any of them to grow. One did!

Here was what it looked like as soon as it cast off the seed's shell:


Once it sprouted, I trimmed the rockwool to size and put it into my Harvest. Here it is two weeks later:


Around the 25 day mark, I decided that it was getting too big for my Harvest and I moved it into a gallon jug, Kratky style. I also moved it away from my Aerogardens and in front of a sunny window...

Today, I woke up to find a (male) flower!


I'll have to pollinate it by hand once it grows a female flower, since it is indoors, but I'm hoping to get 2-3 pumpkins off it.
I'll send more pictures as it grows, and I'm also happy to answer any questions!

[ERR0R1755]

Someone off-site asked me how large the plant is overall... so here's a picture of the entire plant. The bottom/foil-wrapped container is a standard gallon sized jug.



I probably could have gotten away with keeping it in my Harvest, but it would have been a close call.

[ERR0R1755]

A second (male) flower appeared this morning. It looks like the flowers are only open for a day, and then they start to turn into mush.

I've cut off both flowers and I've got the stamens carefully isolated, far away from any place I could accidentally knock them over or where wind might reach them.

Once I see a female flower, I'll put them to good use. Looks like there are more male flowers on the way though.

[ERR0R1755]

Male flowers, male flowers, and more male flowers. I'm not sure how long pollen lasts but I'm probably set for a few years now.

I can see the tiniest sliver of a female flower on the way, judging by the ball-like swelling behind the flower.
If it turns out to be another male flower, I'm going to be sad.
If I don't get a female flower in the next two weeks, I'm going to be very sad.
(and so will be the pumpkin plant, since I'll stick it in a hole somewhere outside and let it try to survive)

[Shawn]

I am sure you know what to look for, but, are you sure they are all male?

[ERR0R1755]

Apr 23, 2020 4:19:01 GMT -5 Shawn said:

I am sure you know what to look for, but, are you sure they are all male?

Yep - none of them have had the immature pumpkins, and all of them had pollen & a stamen.

[ERR0R1755]

It still wasn't doing well, but now the female flower I was hoping for started to die on the edges. I think it's my fault for using RO water and not adding anything except my nutrients (aka no calcium or epsom salt).

Regardless, it was still outgrowing the indoor space I had, so I decided to move it outdoors. Today I took care of the garden (tilling, removing old weed blocker, and burning dead weeds) since it hadn't been used in a few years, and I transplanted it outside since I was already out there.

I don't think it will make it but I'm hoping for the best.

[ERR0R1755]

The pumpkin was doing fine with the transplant... but then we hit a historical low for temperatures in May and it got hailed on as well as covered in frost.

Needless to say, the pumpkin plant did not survive. At least it was out of my control and unexpected, so I don't feel too bad about it. I'll plant some more pumpkins out there, but this one is dead.

I think we are in for a strange, short summer. I don;t know where you are ,Error, but last night we had  record breaking cold here in New England. This is the week when people plant in the ground..now until Memorial Day.. and it was near freezing temps last night. If any of my plants had been put in the ground outside, I would have lost them to frost. Weather announcers told everyone to cover up their plants overnight.  Crazy all around.

[ERR0R1755]

I have a bunch of plants that I started with plans of moving them outdoors last weekend, and they're starting to outgrow their welcome... I'm hoping I'll be able to move them outside this weekend.

[Shawn]

I hope the weather cooperates with you.