Pumpkin patch practices and gourd garden grooming.
#88348
I got this tip from a gardening friend who's into growing everything as organically as possible. Before storing certain types of veg he gives them a wipe down with tea tree oil & water solution to kill mould & bacteria.

So I wondered if it'd work with pumpkin mould, I tried last year and found it did work on the two pumpkins that started to go mouldy on the stem.

Here's what you do;
You need to get some 100% pure tea tree oil, it's very expensive here at around £10 for 40ml! The good news is that you don't use much.
Add two drops in half a pint of water or a single drop in a cup of water if you don't need much (make it stronger if the mould has fully taken). Take a cloth or paper kitchen towel, wet it in the tea tree water solution and simply wipe away the mould on the stem, let some of the solution soak the stem and then soak up any excess water on the pumpkin and if it works the mould won't come back.

Obviously it will all depend on how far gone the "infection" is, if your pumpkin is turning mushy around the base of the stem I doubt that this method will help. They key is to catch it growing as early as possible.

I know loads of people use bleach but I've never had much success with it and I'm really not keen on the smell, tea tree oil smells much better :)

I'd love to know if this works or not for other people, it might have been a fluke that the mould didn't return on my pumpkins last year so a bigger test range would be fantastic :thumbsup: