27 Dec 17 Phil Morton (Australia - temperate climate)
Are pumpkins short-day plants? Mine are spreading all over the yard, but there are still no flowers. I've forced early flowering of other short-day plants by covering them in black plastic every second evening and keeping it on the next morning to create a twelve hour night for them and it's worked well, chokos being a good example, but I can't find anything to suggest pumpkins react the same. If no one has the answer I suppose I'll just get myself some black plastic and try for myself, but with some 40'C days around I'm hesitant.
I think you are on the wrong track with length of daylight hours. I have plants growing now. Just hand pollinated a dozen or so female flowers last week. My vines are 4m+ long. Maybe you have given them too much Nitrogen. 40c would probably cook them under black plastic.
07 Jan 18 Phil Morton (Australia - temperate climate)
Well I don't know if it was just coincidence and time for the pumpkins to start flowering anyway but after five nights of covering most of the pumpkins with just a light weed mat instead of black plastic, those covered now have 2-4 male flowers on each. No sign of female flowers though! The one I did not cover still has no flowers. I put the covers over at around 7.30 pm each evening and pulled them off anywhere from 8 am to 9.00 am the next morning giving them roughly only 11 hours of daylight.
So I stopped a couple of days later with the black shade-cloth cover as described thinking I had triggered flowering, but those male flowers just died off and I did not seen another flower until yesterday, so six weeks later! Next season I'll try covering for at least two weeks if I can get a cool enough period and see what results.
This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department.
The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.