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=

"enigma" wrote in message
. ..
"Elaine" wrote in
news
Anyway my brother "the farmer of
the family" said it would never have orange pumpkins, just
green ones. Anybody know if this is true?

is it in full sun? there's no reason it wouldn't have orange
pumpkins if it's parents were orange pumpkins. if they weren't
it might have white, yellow or bluish colored pumpkins. in
other words, a pumpkin will ripen to the color it's genetics
follow. there's no reason this pumpkin vine won't grow & ripen
fruit if it's in sun, has good soil & gets water. all pumpkins
start with green fruit.
why does your brother think it won't ripen?
lee growing 7 verities of pumpkins
--
"Fascism would be better described as corporatism,
since it is marriage between the state and business"
- Benito Mussolini

"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.

Thanks Joe. I'll throw on some 10-10-10 and a bit of cow manure when I do my
gourds today.
I guess I will just have to wait and see what they decide to become. Good
thing I didn't place any
money on this bet huh?

Elaine
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
news
"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.

Either way, the leaves are interesting and the flowers are nice. And, that
bit of manure could be a bucket.

"Elaine" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks Joe. I'll throw on some 10-10-10 and a bit of cow manure when I do
my gourds today.
I guess I will just have to wait and see what they decide to become. Good
thing I didn't place any
money on this bet huh?

Elaine
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
news
"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.

"Elaine" wrote in
:

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?

sounds good to me. my soil is a bit acid too & it doesn't
seem to bother them.

How to fertilize and when? Some fruits have set now. Are
they similar to growing gourds?

almost exactly the same. if you save your gourd seeds for
next year, you might want to make sure your pumpkin is far
away from them. they easily cross pollenate.
i toss llama poop on my pumpkin hills every 2-3 weeks. they
are heavy feeders.

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.

my birdhouse gourd seeds didn't sprout. i need to try another
batch. leftover seeds sometimes don't work...

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

maybe because many "volunteer" pumpkins get a very late start
& so fail to ripen? i have some volunteers in my garden i want
to move to the pumpkin end of the garden. thier parent was a
sugar type... & i'm actually amazed my chickens left any of
the seeds.
one other thing that may help is to pinch out the growing
tips of the vine at the end of July. that gets the plant to
put more energy into ripening the fruit set already, instead
of setting more.
lee
--
"Fascism would be better described as corporatism,
since it is marriage between the state and business"
- Benito Mussolini

I found this interesting link on DNA and Alleles in pumpkins:
www.pumpkinnook.com/howto/genetics.htm
"Alleles are what make us, and pumpkins, all unique. For example, green,
orange, red and yellow are all separate alleles for the "color" gene in
pumpkins.
One final point to keep in mind is that the genetics of the pollen
fertilizing the female flower have no effect on the growing pumpkin. The DNA
contained within the pollen is passed on to the seed of the pumpkin.
Therefore, the traits exhibited by a growing pumpkin are the direct result
of the female's parents. When making a cross, you are actually preparing the
genetics of the next generation of pumpkins!"

Very Interesting....well as the baby grows I will post pictures of the
finished product and let you guys know how it turns out and thank you all.
Elaine



"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=

"enigma" wrote in message
. ..
"Elaine" wrote in
news
Anyway my brother "the farmer of
the family" said it would never have orange pumpkins, just
green ones. Anybody know if this is true?

is it in full sun? there's no reason it wouldn't have orange
pumpkins if it's parents were orange pumpkins. if they weren't
it might have white, yellow or bluish colored pumpkins. in
other words, a pumpkin will ripen to the color it's genetics
follow. there's no reason this pumpkin vine won't grow & ripen
fruit if it's in sun, has good soil & gets water. all pumpkins
start with green fruit.
why does your brother think it won't ripen?
lee growing 7 verities of pumpkins
--
"Fascism would be better described as corporatism,
since it is marriage between the state and business"
- Benito Mussolini