I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant!

Blackrose 5/7/2010, 2:23 pm

I was bringing my sugar pumpkin seedling back inside today after having it outside for a couple of hours to harden it off and I broke the main stalk. Is there any way to save it? Or am I going to have a really late harvest? I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! Icon_cry

Blackrose 5/7/2010, 10:33 pm

In an effort to try and save my poor little sugar pumpkin seedling, this is what I did:

I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! Sfg_0113

Anybody know if this has a chance of saving the plant?

**camprn** 5/7/2010, 10:35 pm

Oh dear, that's so sad it broke in half. Have you no more seeds?

Mirjam 5/8/2010, 5:00 am

I always start my pumpkins and wintersquashes inside because I'm just impatient to GROW stuff, but I found that the plants I planted as seedlings never got far ahead of the plants I planted as seeds. The biggest difference is that when you plant them as plants, they have more chance to survive slugs, as their stems are bigger and they have more leaves. When you put in seeds, a passing slug can eat the whole sprout in two bites. But if you cover 'em with a cloche or something, they'll be fine.

Megan 5/8/2010, 5:44 am

Oh no, Blackrose! So sorry to hear about that. I don't know if that will work or not, but it looks like a good idea, and the plant isn't completely limp. Did you use rooting solution on the broken stem?

Blackrose 5/8/2010, 8:50 am

Thank you all for the replies. I'm a totally novice gardener, so I was not sure what to do.

Camprn and Mirjam: I have more seeds, but I thought it would take too long to start over, that's why I was trying to save my seedling. Would I still have a chance of getting a decent harvest if I plant seeds directly in the SFG now?

Megan: No. I have never even heard of rooting solution. Is it required? Or does it just help?

I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! 109486

Blackrose 5/8/2010, 8:53 am

Forgot to mention Mirjam that I have a tabletop SFG. What are the chances that slugs would climb up the legs to get into my garden? I'm not sure how far they would go to eat my plants. I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! Icon_smile

I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! Sfg_0010

This picture was taken before planting, but I wanted to give you an idea of what my SFG looks like.

Megan 5/8/2010, 8:58 am

Blackrose,

I have never used rooting solution (if that is even the right name for it), I just know it exists. I don't know if it works for vegetables as well as flowers, either... sorry friend!

Mirjam 5/8/2010, 11:29 am

I guess tabletops might reduce te number of slugs and snails by about 95 percent Smile

(some of them are really persistent) In that case, I'd say just sow the seeds and you'll see you won't have a much later harvest than planned.

**camprn** 5/8/2010, 11:45 am

Black, Go ahead and start a few more seeds, you have time. You and I are in the same zone and I plan on direct seeding my pie pumpkins.
If I may offer a suggestion, you may want to reconsider putting that sugar pie pumpkin into the table top garden. It may do better in a bucket with vines trained to your fence, if at all possible. This is what they look like when they are big enough to start putting out fruit. Here is the blog site that the photo came from.
I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! Sugarpumpkins09-18-09

I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! Sugarpumpkins09-18-09

Blackrose 5/8/2010, 1:02 pm

Wow camprn! I had no idea it would get THAT big. I was going to put in the middle back square of my SFG with eggplant on one side and bush beans on the other. It looks like it may overtake those other 2 squares. I have a fence I can plant it up against and a couple of extra urns that I was trying to figure out what to do with. Maybe I'll plant the pumpkin in one of those and put it up against my fence. What kind of a yield would I get out of one plant I wonder?

The next question is, what can I plant in that empty square now?

I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! 601593

**camprn** 5/8/2010, 2:38 pm

hmmm... Basil? Pot Marigold (calendula)?

Megan 5/8/2010, 3:15 pm

Marigolds or radishes?

Blackrose 5/8/2010, 3:32 pm

Thanks for the suggestions! I have a separate herb garden already and I don't like radishes. What do you do with marigolds? Are they there to look pretty, keeps bugs away or both? I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! Icon_smile

I may just go to the garden centre and see if something jumps out at me screaming "take me home"! I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! Icon_lol

Megan 5/8/2010, 3:54 pm

I am ambivalent about radishes (sometimes I eat them, sometimes I don't.... though I am curious whether home-grown might taste better) so I am using them as a companion plant.

Marigolds -- both. I am trying to start some heirloom marigolds from seed but the germination rate is horrible.

Mirjam 5/8/2010, 6:57 pm

home grown radishes are much better than store bouhght ones, more and milder taste.
And marigolds can be eaten too, it seems, although I've never tried them...

Megan 5/8/2010, 7:00 pm

Thanks mirjam... I have never tried marigolds since never had from seed before. Nasturtiums are tasty, though!

Paintedlady 5/8/2010, 10:38 pm

I grew pumpkins for years, both carving and sugar, and always direct sowed them in the ground in late May with no problem. I usually began to harvest pumpkins in mid-August through the middle of October. I think you'll be fine if you have to start over. hth!

Carrie

Blackrose 5/8/2010, 11:22 pm

Thank you so much! As soon as the weather improves later this week (snowing right now, ugh!), I'm going to plant my sugar pumpkin in a container up against a fence. I'm looking forward to making some pumpkin pies! I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! Icon_biggrin

nancy 5/10/2010, 11:19 am

Hey Blackrose - how is the baby broken pumpkin doing?

Blackrose 5/10/2010, 11:31 am

Not too good I'm afraid. I don't see any roots developing from the cutting. It perked up a little, but it's still kind of floppy and sad looking. I think I'm going to just plant a seed and see what happens. I have a couple of places I can put it. Just trying to decide which place to put it in while I wait for our frost warnings to lift. I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! Icon_biggrin

Blackrose 5/12/2010, 10:43 am

Now that I have decided to plant my sugar pumpkin in a container against a fence or trellis, I need to fill that empty square.

Thanks to everyone for all your amazing suggestions, but I have finally decided what I'm going to plant in the empty square that was previously reserved for the pumpkin.

Beets! I was reading up on companion planting and it seems that based on what I have planted around that empty square, beets would be the best thing to plant there. And I love beets! Yum!

I'm going to post a separate post asking for variety and planting tips.

I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! 109486

Chopper 5/12/2010, 3:40 pm

For a pumpkin in a TT SFG maybe instead of a trellis going up, it would be better to have one going down at a bit of an angle - as long as there is room on the ground for the vine to roam. Just a thought.

**camprn** 5/12/2010, 4:26 pm

Blackrose, just to be clear, the pie pumpkins are small but will probably need additional support for the fruit if you do decide to trellis them. Just an FYI.

Blackrose 5/12/2010, 8:41 pm

Thank you chopper and camprn. I plan to plant the sugar pumpkin up against a fence with a trellis attached. I will offer extra support with pantyhose if needed.

I broke my Sugar Pumpkin plant! 109486

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