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

"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 varities of pumpkins
--
"Fascism would be better described as corporatism,
since it is marriage between the state and business"
- Benito Mussolini

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

"Elaine" wrote in message
news
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

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

"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

"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.

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

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

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.

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.