Pumpkin Pollination Time

It is that time of the year.  If you want to grow a pumpkin over 1,000 pounds you should have a fast growing giant pumpkin plant at this time of the year that should be close to being ready to pollinate.  Ideally you want a plant that has a female flower ready to open that is 10 feet or more our from the stump.  What you'll want to do is either cover that flower the nigh before it opens (I like to use a fine mesh bag) or close the flower petals with a rubber band so that he bees can't get inside the flower in the morning before you have a chance to hand pollinate it.  You can tell when a flower is going to open the night before because the petals really yellow up the evening before and become elongated.  After closing up the female flower, cut some male flowers that will be ready to open the next day and put them in water and place them on a window seal in your house.  Early the next morning take the male flowers and take off the petals and rub the stamen around the inside of the female flower to cover it with pollen.  Within a few days you should see that little pumpkin at the bottom of the petals on the female flower growing and ideally, 90 days later, that thing should weigh 1,000+ pounds.