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Sylvania, Ohio

please help
i am trying to grow big pumpkins. The plants have plenty of flowers. The flowers fall off but there are never any pumpkins.
Thanks for any help.
John

8/20/2008 6:23:06 PM

Going Green

Self pollinate them! When you see a flower with a bulb under it and the flower is open...pick five flowers that don't have a bulb under them and peel off the flower! Stick the pistal into the stamen and gently rub them aound!
This is a very poor explaniation on how to pollinate but pollinate the open flowers!

8/20/2008 8:45:12 PM

Waterville, Ohio

Pumpkins generally produce much more male flowers than females. Even though the seasons getting late your plant should still be producing females. This site is one of the best that I've come across and should provide quite a bit of help if searching around. Search your patch and try to self pollinate like what m3f2 stated. By the way its nice to see someone a few miles down the road trying their luck with giant pumpkin growing. Good luck!

8/20/2008 10:22:19 PM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

guppy, when did you start the seed and how old is the plant. The first flowers that come out are all male, so if you started late and this is a young plant, that could be an issue as well.

8/21/2008 12:42:59 AM

Coventry R.I.

have you used mircle-grow on this plant,,, could be to much nitrogen.

8/21/2008 9:25:27 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

All the right questions have been asked...if the plant is of sufficient size...and nitrogen hasn't been added...I would try some " bloom booster" to see if i could get a female on....getting late but still time if the plant is substantial enough. check for a flower with the bulb at the base....if it's already on...don't play around with fertilizer....don't water in the morning...common mistake when new at this...always try to pollinate it yourself but never seal the bloom up...let the bees play with it all day...better to have a pumpkin then a cross...GrowEmBig! Chuck

8/25/2008 7:29:49 PM