I have planted pumpkins 2 years in a row and neither have done anything but bloom.?

Question

they are planted next to my zuccini's and they are growing 6 inches long and 3-4 inches wide. any reasons why my pumpkins won't produce?

Answer 1

It's most likely poor pollination affecting fruit set. Excessive heat can delay the setting of fruit on the vine, but since your zucchini isn't affected, then there's something else getting in the way of the pumpkin's pollination. Maybe you watered the pumpkins differently or, since too much nitrogen can delay fruit set, maybe you applied the fertilizer differently? Since the action of insects can help in the pollination, how you applied insecticide can make a difference, too.

Male flowers are short lived. They will open up before dawn and will close completely by mid-morning. The male flowers possess both pollen and nectar, the female flowers only nectar. If the plants are watered from overhead early in the day, that may prevent all further pollination for that day. Everything gets washed off of the short-lived male flowers. Replacement flowers do not open then until the following morning.

So if you watered in the morning, your plants didn't have the optimum opportunity to pollinate. Having a lot of rain early in the day doesn't help pollination either, & bees are not active when it rains.

You can pollinate by hand .Take the male flower and gently rub its pollen onto the stigma sections in the center of the female flower. Pollination will be more successful if several male flowers are used to pollinate one female flower.

This site on pumpkin pollination is great:
http://www.pumpkinnook.com/howto/pollen.htm
Good luck! Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Every one is right with the pollinate idea, But let me give details.
1. find a male flower. Look inside it looks like a boy.
2. find a female flower, look inside, it is kind of an innie, like a girl.
3. take a paint brush and take the pollen from the male flower over to the female flower and insert it, YOU KNOW, where it belongs. Maybe in your area there are NO natural pollinates for the pumpkin plants, so you need to play match maker.
This year, too late, to see anything but small fruit that will never reach maturity, but hold out hope for next year my friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

Well, the flowers need to be pollinated by bees or you to produce pumpkins. Next time try to hand pollinate them.

Answer 4

My friend pollenates the flowers by rubbing the centers together. I'm not sure if there is a male and female flower, but it worked for her.