For lack of a better board to post this on...here it is.
My preschooler came home with a pumpkin seed that had sprouted and was getting quite big in the small plastic cup it was in. So I re potted it in a bigger container. and its growing...and growing....
the problem is, I know how a pumpkin plant grows...long not up. and its snowing out side so it can't go out there. What do I do to this plant to keep it for the winter.
the little one will be heart broken and I cant figure this out.
Can anyone help me? please. :)
-CCL

You could make a little trellis for it or put it in a hanging basket or just train the vine to circle around the pot as it grows. If it gets too long, you can pinch it back. Hope that helps.
Ona Journey

Or what about in a long windowbox type of holder? I'd imagine you could train it to go around some sticks "planted" at the far ends of the box?

moonduck

training it to go around the pot is a good idea, just keep wrapping the vine in a circle. Don't forget that in the absence of bees, you will have to hand pollinate the blossoms it produces. give each blossom a light flick with your finger, or give the vine next to it a sharper rap to knock the pollen from from the male to the female parts of the flower. Good luck with your pumpkin, and when it's ripe, you can teach a lesson in fractions and science as you bake a pie.

night writer

thank you all. a stick or trellis it is.
Don't forget that in the absence of bees, you will have to hand pollinate the blossoms it produces. give each blossom a light flick with your finger, or give the vine next to it a sharper rap to knock the pollen from from the male to the female parts of the flower/quote>
This I did know. My mom grows and indoor calamondon (however you spell that) tree and she is the pollinator. (probably more info then you asked for lol)
She uses a q-tip and dabbs each flower.
thanks again...i hope in a few months well have a pumpkin.
-CCL

the concern I see with a stick or trellis is...would the pumpkin get so large it would fall off before ripe? the weight of the fruit is why, I think, it grows on the ground in the first place. worth considering.

night writer

In square foot gardening we grow pumpkins and other large squash and melons on trellises. The trellis has to be fairly strong, so a stick wouldn't be enough. To support the fruit while it is growing, many people put it inside a pair of old pantyhose and tie the hose to the trellis. This may be a pretty big thing to do in a house, though, pumpkins take up a lot of room!

Sameera

You'll need a fairly sturdy trellis set up for this. As the vines get longer, they of course get thicker. Toward the root end they can be as big around as your thumb.

Just make sure you build the trellis strong enough.

Knit Wit

Prune it agressively until spring arrives, and you can put it in the ground.

Call it a "hair cut" so that nobody gets upset.

Lisascenic
crazed urban gardener

Pinching off shoots as they exceed your pot boundaries is a truly wise idea. This encourages the main vine to strengthen/thicken. Folks who raise giant pumpkins for competition practice this regularly.

I like this idea... cute...

i think the only reason trellises and posts are used to hold up the vines in the "wild" of a garden is to keep them off the ground/mud/crud and healthy. In an indoor environment if the vines are kept with a neat "hair cut" and are trained to go around and around the pot until spring arrives, you shouldnt have a need for keeping the vines "up" off the floor....
all bets are off though if you hear "feeeeed meeee"!! ;-D