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Antwerp, Belgium

Hi,

Last year I made pumpkin soup from a big(not AG size of course) yellow pumpkin which they call "The Big Yellow from Paris" over here in Europe.

I kept some seeds but wasn't really planning on using them because I wanted the AG on that spot in the garden.

Now, last february our chickens were killed by a fox and the (rather small) chicken coop was empty. In the beginning of may, I found the seeds back on a shelve, so I put all of the +/- 20 seeds randomly in the soil in the chicken coop. I was giving it not many chance at all because a thick layer of chicken manure is far too "sharp" for anything to grow . Not.

Three little plants really struggled into life with especially the snails as enemies. But now this coop is an explosion of pumpkin leafs with already 4 pumpkins the size of a basketball.

If they keep growing like this, chances are they will be heavier than my modest try to grow an AG. I think they will be fully grown too soon and we'll have pumpkin soup in August.... :-)

Now the question : how can you tell the pumpkin is fully grown? Normally you would say when it stops growing, or do they tend to pause growth?

7/11/2014 10:24:13 AM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

The stem is the clue when it is ripe.

7/11/2014 1:45:14 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

If it is a type of c maxima they rarely stop growing and then start again.

7/11/2014 5:40:50 PM