I've swapped my pumpkin patch for tomatoes this year but still tried to grow a couple of pumpkin plants from a pot. I watered daily and hand-pollinated, but unfortunately, the pumpkins keep falling off. I managed to get one pumpkin before I cut the vine back and removed the other plant. Panicking because my kids love having a pumpkin patch, I bought some pumpkins from a marketplace without knowing what seeds they are. They've been in the ground for less than a week and have produced a few male flowers, but no vines yet. I'm feeling impatient since my other pumpkins had started growing long vines by now (I started those indoors in March). Is it normal for pumpkin plants not to send out vines yet in June?
3 Answers
It's totally normal if you've only had your new plants in the ground for a week. They need some time to establish their roots! Also, about your original plants, it seems you might have acted too fast by removing them. If you weren't getting fruit, it could be due to not enough watering or not enough pollination. Make sure when you hand-pollinate, you're checking for pollen on the male flowers early in the morning before the bees get to it! Just a heads up, pumpkins usually need about 8 to 10 weeks from pollination to produce ripe fruits, so hang in there!
I'm in the same boat! This is my first year growing pumpkins, so I'm not really sure what's normal either. But I’ve noticed my plants are also slow to grow; they seem to be taking their sweet time! When did you plant your seeds? I think I started mine early, and now I'm confused about the timing. My one pumpkin is starting to ripen, which is a bit surprising!
You might want to give them more time! Honestly, if your new plants are just starting out, it's expected they won't be sending out vines yet. And don't worry too much about the ones you removed; the lack of fruit could have been about pollination issues—so keep an eye on those male flowers! They should start to pick up once they get settled in.
I planted mine in June, so I don't think you're doing anything wrong. Maybe the weather is also affecting how fast everything's growing.