Hi I am new to garden web last year about same time as you were. I also got some pumkin seeds but mine after a lot of growing got hail and wind ruined . Everbody within 5 mile of me had to put on new roofs. I sure would like to get some of those seeds so I can try again. thanks terry

There are several mole and gopher repellents on the market. The active ingredient is castor oil, which gophers apparently hate. I guess I would treat the area where you are going to plant several weeks before planting, just to make sure the gophers move out first, then circle the plants with the castor oil treatment every couple of weeks to keep them away during the growing season. Does the castor oil treatment work? Well, the gophers that are all over my yard have so far stayed out of my vegetable gardens, which I spray with one of these several times a summer. I also plant lots of garlic (which gophers may or may not like, depending on who you talk to) and dafodils (which they are reputed to hate). As the saying goes, can't hoit! Catherine

The pollen from your zuckinni might work maybe, you'll know if it makes past the size of a soccer ball if it works or not. Most of mine die off about the size of a baseball or soccer ball. So that should be a good indicator whenther it works or not. That depends on how close is the fence to your pumpkin? It will affect the size and the growth rate of the roots if the wall is to close to the pumkin or the roots. I water mine twice a day, they need at least 2 gallons of water a week depending on the size of the pumkin. Right now I have a 50 pounder and I water it twice a day. You can if you want massive size. There is a website called pumkinnook.com it will explain alot about massive pumkin growing. I hope this helps you in growing that massive pumpkin

Well, I'm not sure about the sugar water thing but I do want to point out a couple things.. 1) The 3 per hill is partially because there is not a 100% germination rate (only 1 or 2 may germinate). You can always thin the extras if they seem to get too big. The other reason is generally that many pumpkin varieties grow one long primary vine so you could have 3 vines trailing off in different directions. 2) If you're trying to grow the biggest one you can, once they start flowering pinch off all of the pollinated female flowers except for 3 once they start developing. This will focus the plant's energy. You can reduce down the "runt" later to focus it further. 3) It's generally too cold to plant pumpkins outdoors right now in our area (I'm in Everett). You can start the seeds indoors but I wouldn't plant outside for a few more weeks. Our highs are still struggling to make the 50s during the day and pumpkins don't do particularly well until temps are at least in the 60s. Pumpkins are generally very easy to grow once it's warm enough.