The Premature End of My Giant Pumpkin Growing Season

I knew my pumpkin had stopped growing. After you have grown them for a few years you notice it straight away.

I went away for a couple of days and when I came back the pumpkin still hadn’t grown and had gone soft. It’s slowly rotting.

I’m not looking forward to the smell when it breaks down even more.

What Went Wrong?

Well, who knows. Take your pick. Lots of suggestions out there.

Blossom end caused it
The brown bits on the end of the blossom end should have been trimmed at pollination and cleaned with peroxide, otherwise they can cause rot in the pumpkin.

This is the advice I was given from an Instagram post. I wasn’t around for pollination, and the blossom end seems solid as right now, even with a soft pumpkin.

Lack of Phosphorus
Lack of this important nutrient early in the growth stage of the pumpkin could be the cause.

This advice comes from a Facebook comment which said every time they had a pumpkin rot it was when they didn’t apply phosphorus.

Something to do with the Concrete
This is what I mentioned in the video I posted.

The majority of the pumpkin plant is actually growing on concrete. Followers of the Tiny Pumpkin Patch will already know this.

The orange pumpkin that rotted a few years ago was growing on the concrete as well.

At the End of the Day…

I don’t really care.

That might sound harsh, but let me explain.

I’m growing in a stupidly small area. With very little actual soil, 20 square feet of soil to be exact. In a surrounded area with sometimes little airflow.

The odds are stacked against me. And that doesn’t bother me.

If I get a pumpkin at the end of the season I am happy. If I don’t, it’s not the end of the world.

This is a growing living thing. It’s a vegetable. A giant vegetable. Sometimes people have bad growing seasons.

What Time is it Better to Lose a Giant Pumpkin?

Is it better to lose a pumpkin 2 months out from a competition? Or 2 days?

I think they are both equal.

That is the reality of this hobby. Once you realise that, it’s not a big deal. There is always next year.

It can make it hard when your making content during the season, but you just have to come up with a slightly different plan.

Just Grow Another Pumpkin

My plant is looking good for the tiny pumpkin patch. But for some reason doesn’t have any extra females on it currently.

I’d pinched off the other ones as I had committed to this one pumpkin.

If they appear I’ll let you know.

So What Caused the Pumpkin to Rot?

Maybe a combination of the reasons mentioned above, maybe something else.

Maybe my neighbor who likes washing his driveway every day didn’t like me out there recording video and making noise and he snuck over in the middle of the night and did something to the pumpkin?

Maybe.

Future Solution

In the future, not growing in the Tiny Pumpkin Patch would probably help my chances a lot.

I’d be able to actually have a whole plant grow on soil. I’d be able to get a soil test, a foliar test and have a proper fertiliser regime.

Until then, welcome to the Tiny Pumpkin Patch. Where pumpkins can sometimes rot.

How’s Your Season Going?

Hows things going for you this season? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Sam

Growing giant pumpkins is a passion that I love sharing. 🎃 If you’ve found my content helpful or entertaining, why not say thanks with a coffee? ☕

It’ll fuel my next giant pumpkin adventure!