Pumpkins, in all their variety, are the harbingers of autumn. Variegated orange and green, bright orange and even ivory, the sight of pumpkins signal cooler weather, harvest time and Halloween. The common field pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) rises well in United States Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 11. Despite their simplicity in growing, pumpkins require some basic services to generate the best harvest. Sometimes pumpkins may stop growing, which may be caused by different problems.
Lack of Water
Because they’re 90 percent water, pumpkins require daily watering. As soon as their source of water is diminished, their growth becomes stunted, resulting in smaller-than-expected pumpkins. To avoid this, ensure that your pumpkin vines get water daily. The ideal way of watering is a drip method or a soaker hose, which will keep the soil moist without demanding the vine’s foliage. Keep on watering until the ground is thoroughly moist, but not muddy. It’s common for pumpkin leaves to wilt in hot afternoon sunlight. If the foliage wilts before 11 a.m., the plant is too dry.
Not Enough Nutrients
Another reason for diminished size in pumpkins is a lack of appropriate nutrients in the ground. If pumpkins are grown in the same place every year, the soil becomes disconnected from the specific nutrients pumpkins need to live. Moreover, if the fertilizer used is not balanced — for instance, if there’s a greater proportion of nitrogen to phosphorous and potassium — the plant’s roots will grow at the cost of the vine, leaves and fruit. If fertilizer you’ve used in your own tonsils is of an unbalanced formula, then change to a fertilizer which has equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.
Disease Pathogens
Pumpkins are subject to diseases such as powdery mildew, a fungus which develops on leaves which are too wet. The fungus will kill the leaves and gradually kill the vine until its fruit can grow properly. Powdery mildew is readily avoided by watering the vines early in the morning, giving any water that might come in contact with the leaves plenty of time to dry before evening. Improve atmosphere circulation by ensuring enough space between plants, typically 5 to 6 feet.
Too Many Pumpkins per Vine
Each pumpkin vine can handle just a lot of fruit. If too many blossoms develop into pumpkins, each one will necessarily be smaller. To ensure larger fruit, pinch off female blossoms on vines that have fruit already.
Pollination Issues
A pumpkin plant’s first blossoms are of the male selection. Female blooms emerge later. For fruit to grow, pollen from the male blossom must come in contact, typically through pollinating insects, together with female blossoms. If female blossoms emerge before male blossoms, the consequent fruit will be underdeveloped, eventually drying. Female blossoms vary from male counterparts they have a swollen area at their foundation; male blossoms do not. To ensure that pumpkins are pollinating properly, examine the blossoms and make sure that there are both male and female blossoms at the same moment. Stressed pumpkin vines produce more male than female flowers. To avoid this, evaluate the growing environment and ensure that the plants have been watered and nourished well.
