Hello gardeners

So, hello everyone, this is my first time to the GW Forum.  I have been a subscriber to GW Mag for two years and absolutely love it.  I really love my garden although it is very much trial and error with me.  I am about to plant my first (very small) veggie patch although we (South Herts) had a light frost recently so I have started everything off in my conservatory (I don't have a greenhouse).  I am hoping to grow some pumpkins for my grandchildren, how much room will I need?  Happy gardening (when the rains stops). x

Greetings Ronniekav,

I'm new here too and like yourself, love gardening.

I have a well established top end, a sort of established middle bit and a very new work-in-progress at the bottom that makes up 100ft. I inherited green fingers, a blank canvas and an empty bank account, so I have been known to beg, borrow and even swipe cuttings from gardens back in the day to get my garden started. I also brought a million twigs in plastic bags, and boot-fair cuttings some of which still inhabit my garden! And I take so long to place a plant that I can waste tonnes of compost transplanting mistakes

Oh well, I love the adventure

Hi Ronniekav,

Never grown pumpkins myself, but I think they do take up quite a bit of space.What have you started off already, and how big is your veg space going to be? This might be helpful in choosing what variety of pumpkin to grow without swamping other stuff.

Ronniekav if you are in Herts your biggest problem with pumpkins may be water, unless it rains all summer then your problem will be warmth.

Hi Ronniekav, I'm new here too.  Re your pumpkins, I would read the seed packet carefully.  Some pumpkin plants can grow very large - I have grown some that have trailed 10 feet or so from the original plant.  I'm sure you can get more compact varieties.  You can train them up a support but you have to then support the pumpkin fruits as they grow heavy. 

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Pumpkin vines can grow virtually forever left unchecked. After I get a couple of pumpkins on a particular length of vine I nip out the growing tip to let the plant worry about developing the fruit instead of spreading any further.