"Elaine" wrote in message
. ..
Thank you for responding. It is in morning afternoon sun, dappled middle
of
the day and judging by it's growth rate seems to get getting enough light.
I
water it when I give my real plants a drink. It is in very rich soil but a
little on the acid side probably. I know nothing about growing Pumpkins.
Can you fill me in on some simple facts other than what I have listed I am
doing?.
How to fertilize and when? Some fruits have set now. Are they similar to
growing gourds?
I have some birdhouse gourd vines I am growing now but other than a few
tomato plants, I am not
much of a veggie gardener.

As for my brother thinking it will stay green...who knows. Probably from
something he read at sometime. He is a bit of a trivial nut

I will ask the neighbor more about what kind of seeds he used and let you
know more on the genes..
Here's what it looks like if that will help ID it.
http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/commun...iew=thumbs&ck=

http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/commun...iew=thumbs&ck=


That looks like any other member of the squash family. To a certain extent,
your brother's right. Years ago, I read that squash are very easily cross
bred. People will sometimes save seeds from squash and next season, end up
with a type that causes an upset stomach. Not only can the color vary, but
they could revert to a physical shape that looks nothing like the parents.
If you absolutely must have a specific variety, the have to buy the seeds
for that variety. For many of us, there's not enough space to experiment,
since squash take up so much space.

According to the late garden author, James Crockett, there's no such thing
as soil that's too rich for pumpkins. Pile on the composted manure, and if
you're into using granular fertilizers sometimes, give the plant a handful
of 10-10-10 every 2-3 weeks. You should be able to find more via google, by
searching for "growing giant pumpkins" or some such phrase.