Hose connection to micro irrigation

Pollination Time and Watering the Tiny Pumpkin Patch

It’s that time of the pumpkin growing season when pollination takes place.

It’s an exciting time. Pumpkins starting to grow.

Pollinated giant pumpkin

A lot of first time growers will leave this up to the bees to do for them. This could possibly lead to the pumpkin being crossed with some other member from the pumpkin family.

Meaning you might get a giant crossed with a crown pumpkin or something else. Not ideal.

Vine Growth in the Tiny Pumpkin Patch

My vine has been growing OK in the tiny pumpkin patch. Although I have to admit I’m finding it hard to compare to last year due to the direction it has grown in.

I’ve managed to turn it from the direction it was growing in. The key to that is doing it when it is super warm in the afternoon.

You have less chance of breaking the vine.

But… I thought it would have grown more by now.

Pumpkin Pollinated on Main Vine

The plan is to get the pumpkin pollinated on the main vine.

With a normal pumpkin patch you could grow it on a side vine if things turned to custard.  For me, the best option is to get it on the main vine.

A female flower has already been pollinated by the bees, but is it in the best spot?

I really want a pumpkin further down the vine. The idea being that there will be a lot more leaves and vine behind the pumpkin feeding it.

But as I’m growing in a small space without the ability to bury vines properly.

I wonder just how far out on the main vine I really need to go?

Waiting on Giant Pumpkin Flowers

I’m now just waiting to see what appears on the plant. Which one looks like the best option.

I’ll need to cover or stop the potential flowers from opening. I want to make sure I have all the pollen. And no extra pollen has made it to the female flower.

Pollinating by hand is quite simple.

Removing the petals from the male flower exposing the pollen laden stamen. You then rub that over the female flower.

Doing this early in the morning is best.

I’ll update you on how all of this goes in a future post.

Watering Situation in the Tiny Pumpkin Patch

Water

They need it, and making sure they are watered during the growing season is super important.

I find consistency is key.

Hose connection to micro irrigation

Watering so much that the soil is drenched isn’t good. It can starve the soil of oxygen and cause the plants to suffer due to lack of nutrients.

Growing during the holidays can be hard. I’ve talked about holiday plans with a giant pumpkin before. As mentioned in the latest video I mentioned I had some trouble with my WiFi water timer.

It looks like they are sending me a new control box. Although I’m not sure when that will arrive.

Holman Water Timer

In the middle of the night I woke up and remembered I had another water timer I could use. Today I hooked that up with all the random pieces I have laying around.

Half circle micro irrigation

I wasn’t happy with the mini sprinkler heads I had so I made a trip to Bunnings to get more supplies.

Is My Season Already Over

I got back, all ready to hook up the new drippers on risers I got and when I went out to the tiny pumpkin patch I see the stand I had the drum on had fallen over and had landed onto the main vine.

Damaged giant pumpkin vine

Of course it had.

It’s my own fault. But I seriously thought it was OK where I had it. There were a lot of words coming out of my mouth when I saw this. At this exact moment in time, I was over growing in a stupid small area.

Damaged giant pumpkin vine from crushing

It’s crushed the vine in 2 places, one of which is worse than the other. What will the impact of this be? Time will tell.

Back to the Watering

I hooked up the new dripper things and I like how much water they put out. They should work well, especially for the days I am not here.

Dripper micro irrigation

I’ll keep you updated on how the plant, the watering and pumpkin are doing.

 

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