I planted the seeds in February in small pots of seed compost. When large enough to handle I replanted in larger pots with regular compost and kept in the greenhouse until the last sign of any frost. At this point there were already flowers and signs of tiny pumpkins, but the stems looked a little weak and I was worried they might not survive. I planted in the raised beds in may with lots more compost (previously I added well rotted manure to the soil in the raised bed) and have kind of left them to it. They didn't grow much in the first few weeks, but with the recent warmth and occasional sun they've really taken off. I'm now in need of researching what to do with the monsters that I've created. My instincts tell me to cut them back and remove some of the flowers to allow the plants to focus all of their energy on the existing fruits, but I could be wrong!
Another worry I've had is with my potatoes. The huge amounts of rain and hardly any sun that we had at the beginning of spring/summer meant that the growth above ground was huge and floppy and falling out of the raised bed (sounds a little 'explicit' no?!) I took the choppers to it and cut it all back...thinking that if I get no potatoes for it then so be it, but it was worth a shot. I was impatient this evening and decided to dig a bit and see what was down there. This is what I found!
Some didn't look very good at all, and there were a few small green ones (poisonous...do not eat) but this isn't bad for just one small dig!! I'm going to leave the rest for at least another month, but this is a promising start. Now for a taste test. Fingers crossed!
