pumpkins

pumpkin growing through the mangetout peas

sunshine and showers seem to be good for the pumpkins and squash. several now have small fruits set but the halloween pumpkins are doing best.

three sisters planting

the pumpkin in the runner beans is taking over the world - have stopped the end but it's now sending out side shoots. the scarlet emperor beans are doing well - 3 picked so far! - and somewhere underneath the sweetcorn is trying to grow but I think it may be overwhelmed by the other plants

Pumpkins

we've set a variety of pumpkins this year and most are growing really well. the notable exception is the Hundredweight type which is one of the few being grown from purchased seed - the others are mainly seed from pumpkins and squash bought for dinner. some of them,the squashes such as the Red Kabocha, are making bush-like plants with signs of round fruit on them. the pumpkin types are growing madly, trailing along the garden,up peas,beans and their supports.

a big halloween pumpkin growing up the mangetout peas
they tend to have less signs of fruit yet.the one in the runner beans is about 9' long- going up and then along the wires between the bean sticks. the one growing up the mangetout peas wasn't doing well till I put an upturned wire hanging basket over it - I expected it just to grow over and around the basket but it found its way into the peas and shot off into the sky.

2 sisters - pumpkin and corn

have planted the pumpkins and squash with beans, corn and/peas - all are doing equally well. the best plants, though, have come from home grown seed - originally,3 years ago I think, a Halloween pumpkin bought in Norfolk.

cucumbers again

yesterday was a "fruiting" day on the bio-dynamic calendar, so the last cucumbers were planted out. the marketmore cucumbers I was gifted last week can be grown in the greenhouse or outdoors. considering the current weather,and hoping it continues, I have decided to try growing one outside. there was a slight problem with trying to find some space, so it's been planted in a space left by the lettuce pulled for lunch, just in front of the bean row. this area is a bit crowded but, as a curcurbit, cucumbers are the same family as squash and pumpkins so it should be happy as part of the extended three sisters planting.

three sisters planting

"three sisters planting" is a native american practice, whereby beans,sweet corn and squash are grown together - the corn provides support for the beans to climb and the squash trails underneath and helps keep down the weeds. we've adapted this idea slightly for our garden. we usually grow sweet peas along-side the beans to encourage bees and generally grow a catch crop just in front of the row - this year we have lettuce

corn just starting to grow beside the runner beans and sweet peas

scarlet emperor runner beans from home grown seed and emergo(a white flowered type) were set in pots in the greenhouse during April. the pumpkins and squashes, for here and elsewhere in the garden, were started at the same time- these are a variety of types, some packet seed, some seed saved from purchased squashes and some now home grown seed.

pumpkin now about 3' high but starting to trail sideways

3 different types of squash were planted out along with the beans in early May - a crown prince, a red kabocha and a halloween pumpkin. the corn was set directly into the ground soon after - this is a baby corn type, used for stir-fries, not a corn-on-the-cob type. there are also some accidental potato plants which must be growing from peelings in the compost.

runner beans,sweetpeas and red kabocha squash in flower, seen from above

everything seems to be doing well at the moment.the lettuce at the front of the row has grown really well. beans,sweetpeas and the red kabocha squash are flowering. the halloween pumpkin is a larger plant with buds on though no flowers yet. the crown prince squash is the slowest in growth,but whether due to its type or location I'm not sure.