Good‘s new gardening expert Zoe Carafice is ready and waiting to solve your dilemmas! Each question published on Zoe’s blog or in Good receives a fab prize from Tui Garden. This week: what’s going wrong with slow-growing pumpkins.
Email your gardening questions to [email protected] and every question answered in Good or on Zoe’s blog will receive a fab prize from Tui Garden Products!
Q: How do I grow pumpkins successfully? Do you have any tips on growing pumpkins to maturity? Mine seem to be still growing when winter is about to start. –Jenny
A: Pumpkins have a very long growing season so try planting your pumpkins earlier to ensure they have a good four months of warm weather in order to produce their crops. Seeds can be direct-sown in your garden as soon as frosts have stopped.
These plants are hungry; they need plenty of sun and rich soil. Try digging a large hole for each plant and filling with compost and sheep pellets. Keep up consistent watering during the summer and if possible water in the morning. Try not to wet the leaves; this helps to reduce the risk of powdery mildew.
Space is my issue when it comes to growing pumpkins; they always seem to surprise me with the extent of their sprawl. You might need to think outside the square – you can plant pumpkins along a driveway or even turn your front lawn into a corn, sunflower and pumpkin patch! If space is limited try growing pumpkins as a climber up some sturdy trellis; just make sure it will hold the weight of your super crop in autumn.
–Zoe Carafice
Jenny has won a bottle of Seasol from Tui Garden Products! Seasol is a seaweed-based plant tonic that has been used by Australian and New Zealand commercial growers and home gardeners for over 30 years.
The naturally occurring growth stimulants in Seasol promote strong root growth, reduce transplant shock, improve germination rates and increase flowering and fruiting capacity.
Meet Good’s new gardening expert
Zoe Carafice is a landscape designer and photographer. She won gold at the Ellerslie Flower Show in 2007 and has a keen interest in sustainable design and organic gardening.
Email your gardening questions to [email protected] and every question answered in Good or on Zoe’s blog will receive a fab prize from Tui Garden Products!
One question will be featured in each magazine and in each Good Fortnightly e-newsletter. Don’t receive our newsletter? Sign up to get it here!