| Author |
Message |
    
Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 - 07:14 pm EST : |   |
Dear fellow growers. I have just planted a variety of pumpkins in my dorm room. I have always loved growing things and thought it would be cool to grow pumpkins indoors... my setup is as follows. I have 6 6' pots each with one seed. (I will repot obviously as they grow)I have one ballast over them right now. It is a shop light with flouro's I have on a 16/8 timer. I have increased the temperature in my room to 80 degrees since I have read that they love warm weather. It sucks to sleep in that hot of a room but I have gotten used to it. I used regular potting soil I will fertilize after they have sprouted and taken firm root. I intend to use the flouro until they are ready to go into the bloom phase after that Ive got a 1000 watt HPS so that they get plenty of good light. My question is: Can I sustain these plants in pots. I have done some reading and most sources say to allow about 150 feet around each mound. I obviously don't have this but I can put them in some giant pots. My plan is to let 6 go until flowering so I can discern the males from the females then pollinate with a fine paint brush. then kill all of them but the most promising female plant. What I need to know is: Is this whole thing even feasible? or am I going to need more space in order to do this indoors. Any comments will be greatly appreciated I have no problem if it will be challenging I just need to know if its possible. Thanks,
Bond
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Maggiepie
| | Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 - 07:31 pm EST : | |
Still laughing here!!
Maggiepie
- New Brunswick,
Zone "4b"
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Loretta
 Supporting Member
| | Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 - 10:18 pm EST : | |
Never say never. Did you at least get one of the smaller varieties? I think you will have to try it and let us know if it's possible. How are you going to train the vines? There is a tomato forum, forgot the name, where someone grew the plants with the pot tipped on it's side. Each day or so, they turned the pot a little so the stems grew in a spiral, keeping the plant compact.
Otherwise you might try these folks at the Growing Under Lights forum at GW.
Loretta
- NJ,
Zone "6"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 - 11:07 pm EST : | |
I did not choose a small veriety unfortunately. I think that the problems that are going to occur are going to be space and soil. I chose a large veriety but I think that I can do this still with proper nutrient advice. I think what I will do since they need so much soil is : my first closet is 4X4 so I will section off the entrance to the closet and place tarping over the floor then I will fill the closet up to the top of the boards with soil. In terms of space this is my plan: If the vine is growing horizontally along the floor then I am positive there will be huge issues with space. My intention however it to try to train them vertically by attaching rope around the main stock then letting them grow down via gravity then up then down. When they flower I will be able to determine sex, I will polinate then kill off the ones I am not using. I also recognize that light will be a large issue since it is a summer plant I will put my 1000 watt Hps in the ceiling to provide ample light source. Once I am down to one plant I will let that one have rule over the floor so it can fruit. Nature is an interesting creature, plants seem to be programmed to survive so Im incredibly excited to see where this will go. I would love to hear ideas on this and get a project and watch it grow!!!!
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Heirloomgardens
Supporting Member
My Garden Journal
My Garden
| | Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 - 04:14 am EST : | |
I think you need to do a little more studying before your plants start to take off. For instance, pumpkin plants have male and female flowers on the SAME plant.
Here are some sites that might help you.
Basic pumpkin info:
http://www.uga.edu/vegetable/pumpkin.html
Growing clones inside:
http://www.pumpkinnook.com/howto/clone2.htm
Someone else who wanted to do the same thing as you do:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/gourds/msg0823061927930.html
Heirloomgardens
- Massachusetts,
Zone "5b"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 - 02:28 pm EST : | |
you are absolutely correct heirloomgardens I let the idea get ahead of me here, I guess I just got too excited... Ill spend the day educating myself and get back with some ideas that are at the least well informed thank you so much for the links.
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
|
Heirloomgardens
Supporting Member
My Garden Journal
My Garden
| | Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 - 03:18 pm EST : | |
If you haven't already started growing your pumpkin plants, you might look into hydroponic gardening. Try Googling "+hydroponic +pumpkins". There are a few interesting links there that might be helpful. Also Google "+hydroponic +squash". People are more apt to be trying that, and pumpkins are squash.
Heirloomgardens
- Massachusetts,
Zone "5b"
|
Loretta
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 - 05:15 pm EST : | |
Well, although the GW link says full sun, I've had pumpkin relatives grow and fruit in less. What they were exactly, I can't say. They were part of the Purina squirrel chow mix. They were orange and some kind of winter squash but not pumpkins.
The vines are huge and root along the ground but once you have some flowers take fruit, you could probably trim the vine back beyond that point and let the plant put its energy into forming the fruit. DJ is right about a vine having both male and female flowers. By memory - which isn't good - the first flowers are usually male and won't fruit but you would have to verify that. Hydroponics is a good idea. Filling the closet with dirt sounds like potential disaster. Maybe a tote with a water wick might work out better, something like an earth box. Here is a link to a homemade earthbox by Josh Mandel.
For me, this would be a lot of work for pumpkins but what the heck.
Loretta
- NJ,
Zone "6"
|
Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 - 05:39 pm EST : | |
After doing a bit of reading I have several questions. 1. Soil, In my reading about the man who cultivated clones indoors over the winter he mentioned that using quality soil is a must. I have used Miracle Gro Moisture Control potting soil. Is this sufficient? Its content is N= .21 Phos=.07 sol potash=.14. I watered them when I first planted them 5 days ago and they do not appear to need more water the soil is still dark. In another two days I think I will water using Oxygen Plus or hormex in the water. Any suggestions on a good solution to produce healthy root structure? As for the soil I have not figured out this problem yet. The root systems on these things are incredibly vast, they have a tap root that grows 6' ! into the ground and side roots that can move 15 to 20 'in diameter. Any suggestions? My room is 13 X 9 1/2 feet... I was thinking of using the pot to pot rooting method he describes that is acheived by burying the vine once it has grown 3-5 inches into the adjacent pot. If that makes the plant root then I can extend a single plant back and forth like a snake in a series of adjacent pots. Does this sound plausible? Again thanks for all the help guys. As soon as these babes start sprouting I will start a photo journal so we can discuss possible problems and strategies. THANKS!!!!
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Loretta
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 - 08:05 pm EST : | |
Can you get your hands on some compost? There are several varieties available but I would smell it first. Otherwise I'd stick with miracle gro or similar. Also, Neptune's Harvest is a decent product.
OK. Are you going to have any space for yourself in your dorm room?????
How about this. Get some netting or lattice to act as a trellis and mount it on the wall. Metal netting would probably be strong enough. Are you allowed to screw into the walls there? Don't hit any pipes or wires. Or for a temporary fix, duct tape can do wonders. Leave some space between the wall and the trellis. Get some garbage cans and fill it with Miracle Gro dirt or similar, some compost and maybe some perlite and vermiculite to give it some texture. Maybe you need lime too, I'm not sure. Also, some kind of commercial fertilizer. Should be for indoor use. You could drill a couple of holes at the bottom of the cans for drainage. Then you need something to catch the excess water under it.
If you want to run the vine sideways, you could put more cans for it to root. Then just train it on the trellis. Whether or not you have enough light, you would have to go to the link I gave you above. Heck, if the vine gets that big, you could string the ceiling and really turn your room into a jungle. Just don't let any pumpkins fall on your head!
You could always grow something else if the pumpkins don't work. Anyway, it will make a good conversation piece.
Or you could save some money, go to the store next fall and buy some pumpkins.
Loretta
- NJ,
Zone "6"
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Heirloomgardens
Supporting Member
My Garden Journal
My Garden
| | Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008 - 07:16 am EST : | |
That is correct.
I always go organic. With chemical ferts, which is what almost all Miracle Gro products are, you have to watch that you don't overfertilize. You should invest in some soil-testing supplies and a soil moisture meter so that you can better document your process for future attempts in case things go wrong. You don't want to make the same mistakes twice and without the proper tools, you'll really have no way of knowing what is going on inside those pots and won't know where things went wrong. And if things go right, then you'll know why and can share it with others.
Heirloomgardens
- Massachusetts,
Zone "5b"
|
Loretta
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008 - 09:30 am EST : | |
Make sure you photograph your progress.
I agree with the organic but if I had to sleep in the room, I'd be using Miracle Gro way before dehydrated cow manure or Milorganite. Even Neptune's Harvest will smell like a fish tank. Never smelt worm castings though. And leaf mold would have a lot of life in it. I haven't seen it here for sale in bags though someone must sell it. You might want some yellow sticky traps for the fungus gnats that you will probably get. Or a product containing Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israaelenses - BTI like that found in Mosquito dunks. You would have to make a soak from these. You can google that.
Right. There are organic products. Stick with products with lower numbers. Miracle Gro could easily burn and kill seedlings. In general, I use a liquid Schultz product at half strength which is 10-10-10 (becomes 5-5-5). A dose once a week and not a soaking. I am overcautious on this. There are many products for vegetables and you can see what the N-P-K numbers are on those. Again, only use products approved for indoor use as you will be breathing this all in.
Have you been to Disney's "Living with the Land" exhibit in Epcot? Google Micky pumpkins or disney pumpkins. They grow them in greenhouses though using hydroponics. If you search pictures of "Living with the Land", you'll see how they train their plants to control them.
Now, do you have to be out of your dorm come May?
Loretta
- NJ,
Zone "6"
|
Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Monday, January 21, 2008 - 12:54 am EST : | |
I do not have to be out of my dorm in may because I think that this year holds in store the promise of summer school! But, some questions about hydroponics... I have a tiny bit of experience with using hydroponic grow systems and as memory serves me you have to change the water.... I have no problem putting together a hydro system but the question is how will I be able to know when to add chemicals and when to change the water. I think that since they are already in soil I may stick with that. Taking the plants out as they are rooting and moving to hydroponic could be incredibly stessful for the plants. I think I may use trashcans as was previously suggested and use the method of side by side potting used in this article.http://www.pumpkinnook.com/howto/clone2.htm I know that this guy is cloning but I think it may work in this situation. To make sure I have things clear what is happening is that as the vine grows 3-5 inches into the next pot its tip is submerged in 1-1 1/2 inches of soil and sprouts new roots then continuse to grow I think that this will remedy my dirt issue to some extent because I can always add another trashcan! I honestly dont care if I have to crawl around in my room to get to the bathroom as long as my plant is healthy. As far as soil is concerned I still need to get a handle on what I am going to do. I live in High Point NC and there are not very many grow stores around I think the closest one is about half an hour away. Ive been to home depot and wallymart but their winter selection of anything is attrocious. Ill get back on the soil and will post some pictures of my living space so the ideas can start aflowin! As usual thanks so much for all your help I couldnt have gotten this far without you all!!!
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Loretta
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Monday, January 21, 2008 - 02:00 pm EST : | |
Good luck!
Loretta
- NJ,
Zone "6"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 12:57 pm EST : | |
Pictures!!!! FINALLY! I went to bed last night able to see a little bit of green on each of the plants then woke up this morning and 2/6 were totally sprouted! I went to wally mart the other day and picked up 1. a moisture meter 2. a timer 3.temp gauge I thought about picking up some rooting hormone but it said that it was for clones and gave no directions on how much to use with water. Today I'm making a trip to the hydro store to see if I cant find some good rooting hormone. The last picture is what I intend to do when they get to a larger size. I was going to move them from the 40 watt I have them under now to the 1000 watt that I have but upon further research realized that that will cause something called photo-bleaching so I'm thinking of buying several 250s and kind of wean them into the bigger lights. Is this a good idea? and do any of you have a favorite rooting agent? hope alls well with you all let me know if you have any further ideas regarding the setup and whatnot. As always thanks for the help,
Bond
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
|
Loretta
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 02:44 pm EST : | |
Great pics! PB, I don't think you need a rooting agent. If you just pin the vine at some point to the soil, it will root itself. Also, you want fluorescents 2" from the seedlings.
Have you gone over to the Garden Web forum "Growing under Lights" yet? That is where the light techies hang. They can tell you all about foot candles and solve mathematical light equations for you if you need it!
Even got a moisture meter, huh?
Loretta
- NJ,
Zone "6"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Sunday, January 27, 2008 - 11:20 pm EST : | |
Unbelievable growth here. I dont think Ive ever seen anything grow as fast as this (granted I have not seen much) but, in three days they went from 2 inches at the most to 6 inches across. As you can see the new set of leaves are getting ready to come in. As much as it pains me, and it truly does, I'm thinking of chopping the number of them down to 3. Some of them are lagging behind or were damaged when they came out of the seed. Should I wait and see? or should I concentrate the good ones right under the light and get rid of the other ones. I talked to the light guys and they said that I should use a metal halide conversion lamp and keep it at least 2000 foot candles away which even having read the definition I have no idea how to calculate that... Anyway hope alls growin well with you all, If you have any suggestions please let me know, thanks,
Bond
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
|
Heirloomgardens
Supporting Member
My Garden Journal
My Garden
| | Posted on Monday, January 28, 2008 - 08:10 am EST : | |
I wouldn't worry too much about damage to the cotyledons, but slow-to-emerge might be something you want to weed out. You might want to wait until the second set of true leaves appears before you make that decision, though. You just never know how plants will react to artificial light, and something slow to emerge might really take off after emerging. Just be sure to keep track of which plant does what so that you weed out the right ones. LOL.
Heirloomgardens
- Massachusetts,
Zone "5b"
|
Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 08:42 pm EST : | |
So progress has been pretty good in the past few days, but the winners and the losers continue to grow farther and farther apart. 2 of the plants are not doing well 2 of them are doing about medium and 2 of them are doing incredibly well. They have been using more water in the past few days. I know you said heirloom gardens to wait until the second set of true leaves has come out but the smaller ones just are not keeping up. The big ones on the other hand have started to compete for space and I have been adjusting them to make sure each one gets equal amounts of light. I think I may chop the stragglers which are also the ones slow to emerge. I will then put the big ones right under the light so they don't have to compete. I noticed the other day that when I left the heat on the entire day they seemed to really flourish so Im planning on being gone more often seeing as they really love it. Im also looking into getting a humidifier because the humidity in here really stinks at around 16-19 percent most of the time. Questions: When should I re-pot? When should I start to fertilize? I think that when I re-pot I will choose the two best looking ones to put into the tupperware containers. A funny story: The Resident assistant came up to me the other day all serious and told me that we had to talk. He said: look man I don't want you to get thrown out of school I like you so I didn't report it but you need to get those pot plants out of your room right now... All I could do was laugh... ahhh anyways I hope you all are having a wonderful week, any suggestions would be fantastic!
Bond 
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
|
Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Monday, February 04, 2008 - 12:17 am EST : | |
WHEW! wow ok so the plants are getting visibly slower and are aching for a replant. I think I know which one I am going to plant into the big container. Today I went to the home depot and purchased everything I think I will need for growing one bad mama jamma pumpkin plant. I purchased:
1. A giant Rubbermade container with the dimensions of 42.5 inches long X 21.5 inches wide by 18.6 inches tall
2. 2 giant bags of Miracle gro Organic choice garden soil for in ground vegetables flowers and herbs it contains peat moss compost and natural ferts its NPK is .1, .5, .1,
3. 1 giant bag of sphagnum peat moss the directions are- rototill spread 2" across the bed surface or dig into top six inches.
4. 2 bags of "Moo-nure" N=.2 P=.2 K=.2
Ferts
1. Organic choice blood meal 12-0-0. one cup every 20square feet or 1 table spoon every square foot. 12% insoluble nitrogen. I thought this would help promote the vegging stage
2. Organic choice all purpose organic plant food 7-1-2 feeds up to 2 months sprinkle dry plant food directly on the soil around your outdoor garden plants lightly work into 1-3 inches of soil and then water thoroughly to start the feeding process.
3. for the bloom phase I purchased Colorburst flowering plant food 15-30-15 beaded form slow release. Directions: 1 1/2 tbsp per square foot work evenly into the top 4-6 inches of soil.
Ive tried to cover all of my bases in terms of vegetative flowering and general upkeeping with the ferts I followed you alls advice a picked up some manure as well. I do need advice on how and how much to use here, I could just wing it and add as I go but I'm pretty new to this and I only get one shot to get it right. How and in what quantities should I make my soil??? No pressure on you all I know that this is a tough problem and one that is hard to compare with other types of problems you have run across but even some general guidelines would be great. My plan as I previously mentioned is to make several of these rubbermade containers in rows in order to give them the dirt that they need. I will be building the cage for them as soon as possible which I will diagram then take pictures of so you can get a better idea of how I am going to go about this. AS ALLWAYS thank you all so much for the help I would be nowhere without your advice and support, yours,
Bond
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
|
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