Jo wrote in message ...
Just had to share my joy on discovering that one of the four banana
'seeds'
I planted a couple of months ago has finally germinated (although it did
say
to expect anywhere from 1-6 months on the packet!). OK, it's only an inch
tall at the moment, but I'm delighted - I'm totally (this season) new to
gardening, and every new germination is like a revelation to me. My
question
is - should I repot it into a huge pot now, or just into a small one, with
a
view to repotting again as it gets bigger? I read something about smaller
pots giving better root structure, but I can't remember where, now. Advice
appreciated! (It's indoors, on a windowsill at the moment).

Don't overpot, just move it up to a slightly bigger pot as it grows so there
is no wasted space with compost it isn't using.


On another note, I planted a few (very old!) pumpkin seeds (labelled 'pie
pumpkin' - someone sent me self-harvested seeds from the US) two weeks
ago -
more with a view to proving to myself that they were out of date and
wouldn't do anything so I could chuck the rest out with a clear conscience
than with any hope of growing a pumpkin - and I now have three small
pumpkin
seedlings. How big will these plants get? What size pot would they need to
grow successfully? (Everything I grow is currently in pots, because the
garden is still being built). Is it likely that they'll produce fruit in
time for Hallowe'en? I have pots from 3" to 3' at the moment!

They get to be big plants with the runners spreading out for quite some
distance, probably be able to keep each to a 2m or 6ft circle if you train
it as it grows. Like plenty of compost and loads of water, especially when
they get big.
With luck you should get some pumpkins for Halloween although you are about
2 months late planting them.
Much better planted in the ground though so their runners can root at the
nodes and provide more nutrients to the growing fruit.

--
Bob

www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in
Runnymede fighting for it's existence.