|
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
Hi everybody! Here's a question... I've got a "wild" pumpkin vine that was
growing in my foxglove bed. Seems after talking with my neighbor, he had given out pumpkins seeds to the birds and squirrels and one found it's way across the street to my flower bed. (Probably a pesky squirrel. I have had lots of problems with this Spring.) I suppose he got this from the bird seed section of the store but I will ask to make sure. I moved it to a decomposing log pile and leaf area . Anyway my brother "the farmer of the family" said it would never have orange pumpkins, just green ones. Anybody know if this is true? BTY It likes it's new home and is running all over the place. -- Elaine |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
"Elaine" wrote in
: 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 varities of pumpkins -- "Fascism would be better described as corporatism, since it is marriage between the state and business" - Benito Mussolini |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
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 : 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 |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
"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. |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
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 ... "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. |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
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 ... "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. |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
"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 |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
"Elaine" wrote in message
. .. Hi everybody! Here's a question... I've got a "wild" pumpkin vine that was growing in my foxglove bed. I moved it to a decomposing log pile and leaf area . Anyway my brother "the farmer of the family" said it would never have orange pumpkins, just green ones. Anybody know if this is true? BTY It likes it's new home and is running all over the place. I get volunteers like this from time to time, probably from the compost. The seeds are so hard, so they'll stay good but won't germinate until the compost is spread out over the garden. One year it really was a mystery squash. The fruit was relatively large, like a pumpkin, but it had white streaks in it, like a delicata. Since grocery varieties might be hybrids, this could have been one of the ancestors of whatever we bought at the store. It doesn't matter, it tasted just fine. -- Warm Regards, Claire Petersky http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/ See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
Elaine wrote: Hi everybody! Here's a question... I've got a "wild" pumpkin vine that was growing in my foxglove bed. Seems after talking with my neighbor, he had given out pumpkins seeds to the birds and squirrels and one found it's way across the street to my flower bed. I suppose he got this from the bird seed section of the store but I will ask to make sure. I moved it to a decomposing log pile and leaf area . Anyway my brother "the farmer of the family" said it would never have orange pumpkins, just green ones. Anybody know if this is true? BTY It likes it's new home and is running all over the place. As others have said, the pumpkin family are notorious outcrossers. this means that pumkins that are not grown with seed production in mind will likley be pollinated by other pumpkins of a different variety. For the pumpkin to grow true from seed it has to be grown in isolation. This can be accomplished by physical isolation. Seed producers have an established distance their seed crop must be from other varieties. Other methods can also be used such as caging and hand pollinations to produce smaller quanities of seed. What this all means is that your brother is probably right. Your vine will produce something but you don't know what. I will likely be green like your bro said and may not be good for anything other than an autumn display. In any case, you can keep the vine around as an experiment if you are curious. If you want or expect actual pumpkins then you would destroy it. Lawrence |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
"lwhaley" wrote in
oups.com: What this all means is that your brother is probably right. Your vine will produce something but you don't know what. I will likely be green like your bro said and may not be good for anything other than an autumn display. In any case, you can keep the vine around as an experiment if you are curious. If you want or expect actual pumpkins then you would destroy it. ok, WHY would it likely be green? i've grown maybe 30 or 40 volunteer pumpkins in my life and never once have i ended up with green pumpkins. yellow ones, striped ones, lots of orange ones. no green ones except those that didn't ripen. i would *expect* any pumpkin seed that was in a birdseed mix to be from a field type pumpkin anyway, so, edible but very low in sugar, fibrous & watery. it's parents were most likely developed for livestock feed, not human consumption (which doesn't make it inedible, just not as tasty & easy to use as a sugar pumpkin, which is a fairly recent development) lee -- "Fascism would be better described as corporatism, since it is marriage between the state and business" - Benito Mussolini |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
"enigma" wrote in message
. .. "lwhaley" wrote in oups.com: What this all means is that your brother is probably right. Your vine will produce something but you don't know what. I will likely be green like your bro said and may not be good for anything other than an autumn display. In any case, you can keep the vine around as an experiment if you are curious. If you want or expect actual pumpkins then you would destroy it. ok, WHY would it likely be green? Equally good question: Why would it NOT be green? Pumpkins have been successfully cross-pollinated with other types of squash. Obviously, this is less likely to be done by bees than by people experimenting in a closed greenhouse, but you shouldn't suggest that it's impossible. |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
OK lets say this is the only pumpkin or squash around in the area for
pollination purposes and the vine has male and female blooms which the bees pollinate. Wouldn't it go back to whatever it's "parent" was? I know that gourds are like that (other than they are pollinated by moths at night). If you are growing one type of gourd you cannot grow another type within several miles of each other due to cross-pollination and end up with whatever weirdo. Elaine "lwhaley" wrote in message oups.com... Elaine wrote: Hi everybody! Here's a question... I've got a "wild" pumpkin vine that was growing in my foxglove bed. Seems after talking with my neighbor, he had given out pumpkins seeds to the birds and squirrels and one found it's way across the street to my flower bed. I suppose he got this from the bird seed section of the store but I will ask to make sure. I moved it to a decomposing log pile and leaf area . Anyway my brother "the farmer of the family" said it would never have orange pumpkins, just green ones. Anybody know if this is true? BTY It likes it's new home and is running all over the place. As others have said, the pumpkin family are notorious outcrossers. this means that pumkins that are not grown with seed production in mind will likley be pollinated by other pumpkins of a different variety. For the pumpkin to grow true from seed it has to be grown in isolation. This can be accomplished by physical isolation. Seed producers have an established distance their seed crop must be from other varieties. Other methods can also be used such as caging and hand pollinations to produce smaller quanities of seed. What this all means is that your brother is probably right. Your vine will produce something but you don't know what. I will likely be green like your bro said and may not be good for anything other than an autumn display. In any case, you can keep the vine around as an experiment if you are curious. If you want or expect actual pumpkins then you would destroy it. Lawrence |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
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 : 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 |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
Oh my gosh I just realized this experiment may backfire on me. I could get
cross-pollination of birdhouse gourds x pumpkins! Oh well I planted to many gourd seeds anyway (10 plants-each plant should make 20 gourds). The birds probably wont care what their houses look like :) If will be fun to see what happens and I will past it along later if anyone is interested in the results. Elaine "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message ... "enigma" wrote in message . .. "lwhaley" wrote in oups.com: What this all means is that your brother is probably right. Your vine will produce something but you don't know what. I will likely be green like your bro said and may not be good for anything other than an autumn display. In any case, you can keep the vine around as an experiment if you are curious. If you want or expect actual pumpkins then you would destroy it. ok, WHY would it likely be green? Equally good question: Why would it NOT be green? Pumpkins have been successfully cross-pollinated with other types of squash. Obviously, this is less likely to be done by bees than by people experimenting in a closed greenhouse, but you shouldn't suggest that it's impossible. |
"Wild" Pumpkin Vine Question
OK, I don't know whether or not the squash will be green. What I
should have said is we don't know what color it will be. I did say it would likely be green since this was a possibility previously mentioned. Green is a color which is possible. Likely may have been an innacurate adjective. I should have used possibly. To JoeSpareBedroom: Actually I did not suggest successful cross pollinations were impossible. I did not use the word impossible at any point in my post. Quite the opposite in fact. I said that they were notorious outcrossers. The word successful, in my mind, would only refer to the production of viable fruit and seed. While the vine will produce fruit and seed, it will not produce squash that is like the parents unless it were grown either in isolation or by performing hand pollinations. It is still successful from the standpoint of producing fruit and seed. We don't know anything about this seed including whether or not it is even a pumpkin. What we do know is that it will product some kind of fruit and seed, given a chance. What kind of squash it will produce is unknown. Anything is possible. It is also possilbe that it will grow squash that is true to type if the seed was originally grown in isolation. We can never know in this case because the orignial type is unknown. In the case of field pumkins it would be entirely possible to get a pumkin since they are grown in large field and probabley not many other squash nearby. This would qualify as isolation. We cannot know one way or the other since the origin of the seed is entirely unknown. All squash or pumpkins are edible, more or less. Whether or not they will grow true to seed is the point I was making. |
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:07 AM. |
|
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
GardenBanter