From

Location

Message

Date Posted

British Columbia, Canada

hi all

12/31/2007 12:11:24 AM

Minnesota

The seed will freeze and you won't have a pumpkin, your in canada, 0 degrees, thats what I think.

12/31/2007 12:18:34 AM

Picton,ON (j.vincent@xplornet.ca)

One of the biggest mistakes I think newbee's make is starting too early. April 20-25th is the right time. May 1st is ok too. The plants really only like to be in the pots for about two weeks after that they become root bound quickly and will have a much greater rate of transplant shock!

If you were to start one now, it would never amount to anything.

It is always best to do some test germinations prior to the season. Even some seasoned growers do tests every year, trying to perfect their technique. Then when you are ready to start, you know exactly what to do. I also suggest starting several backups. This way you will have several plants to choose from. You will see that quite often, personal bests are grown from a growers own seed. This is because they will start several of them and choose the best plant. This gives them a definite advantage than if they only have one seed!

12/31/2007 12:28:59 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

You can have fun playing with young plants in the house. They might even flower which is nice on a cold wintry day. Just don't expect a seed started now to be a contender (or even alive) when spring rolls along.

12/31/2007 1:12:38 AM

Somers, CT

I think the answer is that your wife gets very upset when you start spraying compost tea all over the 20 yards of manuer you dumped in the cellar.

12/31/2007 12:26:03 PM

Ontario, Canada.

I always grow plants in the winter and in fact have grown two fruit from clones started in December during the Holidays.

Last year I grew a 745 from a cloned plant which was my best with a cloned plant. In 2004 I had my 555* that raced out to a very fast size but split on me in early August.

You can grow plants succesfully by hopping them from pot to pot in the winter then planting them outside in the spring. I have found they grow faster than a seed started indoor plant.

I have had plants flower indoors too. The main problems are in giving them enough light and ensuring they get enough nutrients. Node lengths are often much shorter than and outdoor plant. This year I have been using Mycorrhisal fungi, water, hydrogen peroxide, humic acid and 20 - 20 - 20. The plants seam far healthier than I ever had.

1/3/2008 8:23:51 AM

British Columbia, Canada

Cool!!!!!!!!!!!

1/3/2008 11:44:11 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

If you do as Russ suggests & jump them pot to pot, try using wall paper liners. They're just like window boxes but cheaper & lighter. It's a fun thing.

1/3/2008 9:14:30 PM

British Columbia, Canada

Have you got a big pumpkin by doing it????

1/3/2008 9:39:42 PM