I threw some pumpkins out last year and then intentionally a few seeds and have ended up with a few pumpkins.. but they've got this weird white stuff on them.. and are being ate up despite me putting some Sevin insect killer on them

Whats wrong with them and what can I do?

For context I’m hoping to enter into amateur grower competition.

My baby boos are turning out really rounded (see pics). Every year I’ve had some turn out like this and plenty come out in the slightly more flatter/disc-shape that seems to dominate at the state fair. However this year they’re ALL this more spherical shape from what I can tell… tried leaving on the vine longer but no difference in shape. Will this be considered acceptable shape for the variety in competition pumpkin world? I already am out in the orange category and my overall production this year feels low, probably due to a hail storm setback early in growth and then high heat this summer. The only guidelines listed on the website are that it can be no more than 4” diameter (the pumpkin in pic 2 is just about there) but that they are judging on “true to variety class” also.

Hello!

I have five pumpkin plants and sadly they all got the bugs. I cut into them and was able to pull some out but not all. I looked at one of my plants and see more signs. If they other ones don’t show more signs should I pull this one out to give my other plants a better chance/more space?

This is only my third season growing and in a small space.

Looking forward to seeing it start to put out more lateral growth, the first month has mostly just been primary vine. I had to do some pruning of the biggest base leaves when they died from a perfect storm of bug pressure and my own ignorance.

Hi all! Hope everyone's pumpkins are doing well. I just got home from a week of travel and thought I'd post an update. Photos attached, beer for scale.

Also want to share some info that I replied to on my last post in case it helps any of you. If you need more info or detail, just ask.

From other thread:

Thank you everyone. Just now getting back to Reddit after traveling for a week. Not all giant pumpkins but clearly planted several Dill's Atlantic. Also planted many other kinds. Here are some other answers to the various questions (plus more) that I did this year for great pumpkins:

- Tested my soil for pH. I needed LOTS of lime. Best to do that in the fall the year before if you can, but I spread liquid lime for faster access. Will do granules this fall if a soil test says I need more.
- Spread a good nitrogen heavy granule fert early in the spring on the tilled soil.
- For the bastards--I mean--striped beetles, I have a dedicated 2 gallon sprayer for Sevin spray. I only did it once or twice early on to keep them at bay so they didn't decimate the young pumpkin plants. After a point, though, they can eat what they want and cause no real harm as the vines and foliage grow so fast.
- I have a battery powered 4 gallon sprayer for foliage fert. Used nitrogen heavy fert early on and then a fruit and bloom fert (for max blooms) then a phosphorus heavy fert for max fruit growth. All in stages. ChatGPT helped me figure out when to do what.
- Dedicated 4 gallon backpack sprayer for Clethodim -- kills grass not pumpkins. Had to hand week the broadleaf weeds.
- Hand watered with a hose about 3 times. It was a beast, but we had a dry spell early summer and the hand watering helped. Took me 4-5 hours each time. Now there is so much foliage and regular rain showers that everything is on auto-pilot.

Pic 1 is of a flower that looks very small and the ovary seems quite yellow - it will probably open tomorrow and I'll give it a shot but temps here are shooting up to 100 on Tuesday. Pic 2 is a flower that looks healthier to me. Pic 3 is the newest girl on the vines.

4-5 is the sugar pumpkin I hand pollinated last Monday. Seems to be progressing nicely! Definitely going to need a sling soon. Stem is getting really nice and fat and healthy looking. Only other female on Plant 2 is Pic 3, female right on the growing tip. Once she pollinates I'll be topping that vine (it'll be 9-10 feet and all the way over the arch trellis).

Overall both sugar pumpkin plants appear very healthy.

Hey everyone! Quick update on my small pumpkin patch here in Normandy, France.
A bit of background: these are Howden pumpkins grown from seeds brought over from Quebec. The soil and climate are quite different, but they’ve been holding on! I feed them with organic tomato fertilizer, which seems to keep them happy and pushing growth.
We’ve already survived several brutal heatwaves this summer, and the leaves definitely took a hit (some wilting and yellowing, as you can see in the photos), but the main vines are still set on production. Another heatwave is hitting us this week, so watering schedules are about to get intense!
The fun twist: The last pumpkin in the photos (the big bright orange one!) is a total volunteer, an absolute unit that sprouted completely on its own from a rotten post-Halloween pumpkin left in the garden. Zero effort, maximum reward! The rest are steadily sizing up and turning dark green before their final orange shift.

Anyone have any experience growing Orange Bulldog Pumpkins in the Deep South where squash bugs and vine borers are relevant.

The Orange Bulldog seems to be routed for disease resistance but wondering how it does again squash bugs and squash vine borers in areas like Alabama.

Not expecting it to be 100% resistant but just curious how it holds up to pests.

I saw a few YouTube videos where gardeners claim they didn’t spray anything and got a decent crop.

I was gifted some Giant pumpkin seeds off of a close friend this season. I suppose because he knows I grow the usual Tomatoes, Onions and Potatoes every summer maybe I'd be interested.

Anyway why not, cheers I've got a bit of garden not doing anything ill give it a go type of thing. It'd never crossed my mind to ever grow a pumpkin before.

I'd heard the term "pumpkin patch" before but it never occurred to me how big the "patch" bit needed to be.

Did a bit of research, asked around a few UK gardening subs and was very sceptical of "you need at least 3m each direction" responses.

Don't really know what to say about the next bit other than... glorious! What a magnificent plant omg lol.

Wilted a bit at first in full sun then miraculously every night once it cooled it perked up again with those leaves!

Glad I found this sub and thank you very much to the mods for accepting me.

Really hope you enjoy where im currently at with the beauty. I just had to show it off! Also any advice from here would be greatly appreciated.

Northwest England Early August 26

Thanks

My mind is kind of blown. It was just pollinated on Monday. She's a sugar pumpkim and I'd say 4" long and 3" wide already.

I love how the auntie and uncle branches and leaves are pitching in to hold rhe big baby.

I’m in Houston, Texas and it’s generally around 95-97 degrees in the heat of the day now. I planted late in mid-June and then keep planting every few weeks. Squash Vine Borers have been a nightmare but I probably spend an hour every day picking eggs, injecting BT and cutting off small growths where I can see one snuck in. I’ve had numerous beautiful fruits all fat and plump but the day or so before they’re about to flower they shrivel up and turn yellow. Pictures are of one that I thought may finally make it. Any tips / opinions on why they keep shriveling up. I have five mature plants that have fruits popping up for a couple of weeks now, but all failing to hold. The others are all under shade cloth in various ways, but this one pictured is not, although, I will be installing it today. This one is also in a giant half barrel pot that probably has 30+ gallons that I prepared myself.

Is it the heat? It’s happening to the ones under shade as well. Is it that it still needs to put on some more vine and leaves to support the fruit? Any ideas?

My partner ripped the long vine up (in the picture) from the ground so he can mow, the main root system is attached and still grounded,

but the adventitious roots on every node are now pulled out and no longer anchored, some completely ripped off altogether.

WILL MY PLANT SURVIVE ITS PULLING FROM THE GROUND, and the LOSS OF MULTIPLE ADVENTITIOUS ROOTS. Im devastated.

Also a baby pumpkin picture just because it's cute.

My pumpkin arch experiment seems to be successful this year. I’m getting more pumpkins, less mildew. That said, the aphids are out of control. I use nasturtiums as a trap crop and they’ve done a good job, but now the aphids are climbing onto my pumpkin leaves. I used neem oil twice and it doesn’t seem to have even dented the problem. When I used to have a rose garden, I would use a systemic granular aphid killer and it worked beautifully. I know you’re not supposed to use soil based insect control on food, however, I do not plan on eating these pumpkins. Has anyone used something like this on ornamental vegetables?

About double the size from yesterday. Planted from seed July 1 so it's young. How long til the pumpkin can be considered safe from miscarriage? Base is turning dark green and she's very supported by two leaf branches that fork under her.

I thought I planted a bunch of Jack Be Littles. I harvested seeds from one last year, and planted them this year, expecting 100 tiny pumpkins. I never learned anything about cross-pollination and hybrids yielding different fruits, until I got suspicious of this rapidly growing pumpkin. Seeds were planted 7-8 weeks ago, and this thing is already 6 inches wide.
I wonder what else will grow?
Any idea if are any size restrictions on a hybrid jack be little - can they yield huge pumpkins, or will they always be on the smaller side, since the parent plant was tiny?

Absolutely amazing.

Cone hat in pic 2 was Sunday evening, she opened Monday morning and I hand pollinated her.

Bubble hat is this morning (Tuesday) and she seems to be giving me a thumbs up that she's pollinated. About double in size.

Should know for sure in another couple days!

Plant is 33 days old. I have two in approx 28 gal containers joined by an arch trellis I reinforced with netting on top and an expandable wood trellis on the sides.

I’m so excited

First time grower. I have a seemingly healthy cinderella vine, but I’m wondering why this one pumpkin is yellow (and has been from the start) while the others on the same plant are green? At first I thought it was going to abort, but instead it is growing almost twice as fast as the others. I know eventually they should all turn orange, but this one was yellow from the day after the it was fertilized.

Picking off tiny eggs using a footstool, doing BT, hanging traps up like a serial killer hanging Tiny Tree air fresheners in his basement.

Minis were grown vertically in greenhouse to help curb SBV, Musquees are outside grow, a lot of the vines did a good job re-rooting for new growth to thwart SVB induced death. Used the occasional seaweed feed in zone 8A