Focus on... Pumpkins

Lucy shows you how to nurture show-stopping fruits

- Lucy Chamberlain

WHETHER you take a knife to these fruits to carve them or eat them, there’s no finer sight on the autumn plot than a healthy crop of pumpkins. It’s no secret that pumpkin plants have a healthy appetite for food and water, but what else do you need to know to get the best from your plants?

Aside from following the growing tips in my checklist opposite, you need to try to keep the growth rate as uninterrupted as possible. Once those fruits set, their potential to swell (especially large-fruited varieties) is gargantuan, and so any check-in moisture or nutrition will set back your chances of growing a record-breaker.

If you find your plants are producing lots of males rather than female flowers (both are needed simultaneously), then ensure your feed is high potash rather than nitrogen-based and cut back any shading foliage.

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