Indoor Pumpkins?

Dear fellow growers. I have just planted a variety of pumpkins in my dorm room. I have always loved growing things and thought it would be cool to grow pumpkins indoors... my setup is as follows. I have 6 6' pots each with one seed. (I will repot obviously as they grow)I have one ballast over them right now. It is a shop light with flouro's I have on a 16/8 timer. I have increased the temperature in my room to 80 degrees since I have read that they love warm weather. It sucks to sleep in that hot of a room but I have gotten used to it. I used regular potting soil I will fertilize after they have sprouted and taken firm root. I intend to use the flouro until they are ready to go into the bloom phase after that Ive got a 1000 watt HPS so that they get plenty of good light. My question is: Can I sustain these plants in pots. I have done some reading and most sources say to allow about 150 feet around each mound. I obviously don't have this but I can put them in some giant pots. My plan is to let 6 go until flowering so I can discern the males from the females then pollinate with a fine paint brush. then kill all of them but the most promising female plant. What I need to know is: Is this whole thing even feasible? or am I going to need more space in order to do this indoors. Any comments will be greatly appreciated I have no problem if it will be challenging I just need to know if its possible. Thanks,
Bond

It will be a challenge. Hopefuly you chose a small vine mini-pumpkin. Nothing is impossible, but you are pushing the envelope.

I did not, I actually picked the giant brand... is it so hard to do because they need so much soil space? Ive done a lot of looking for people who have done this but have not as of yet found any. What sounds good about my plan and what sounds bad what is correct and what is wrong? Im really new to all of this and would kill for a big ol post to set me straight. Thanks!!!and Happy Growing!

To produce pumpkins those vines will have to run between 15 and 20 feet in lenght. They also have huge leaves. Way back when I spent time in a dorm, there was not room for the vines. The other thing about a pot is that the roots like to roam out with the vines. If I were trying to grow something in the dorm rooms I am familiar with, it would be a small plant like a window sill type tomato. You may be able to grow a stunted vine ( Bonsai Pumpkin) but a pumpkin is improbable.

Im not trying to sound like a moron or anything. Im just really trying to make this work possibly... My room is of decent size and I live by myself. I was thinking that if I hung the 1000 watt in the center of the room then distribute the vine vertically in an up down motion it would allow for the leaves to get an even distribution of light as for the roots problem, I have a rather large closet. My idea is this... To solve the root problem I could turn my closets closet one is 4X4 the other is 2X4 into the places that I repot the pumpkins into pure dirt as opposed to pots I could fill the closets 2 feet high with dirt that way they will have much more room to move around in I will do this by sectioning off the entrance with planks two feet high then putting thick tarping into the floor of the bin created so the water does'nt leak through the floor. This is something Im going to DO. If I fail then I fail but Im really going to try to get this done. I will follow with dimensions to my room. Lets see if we can work out a plan and it will be a fun experience for the both of us farmerdill. It could be a challenge for you as a knowledgeable grower and me as a new grower. Im so pumped. As of now Im still germinating, any tips? Thanks so much for your help already,
Bond

don't use garden dirt, you need a good 'potting' soil.
if water does leak you could get into deep doo doo with the college.
care to do some research and fgure out what kind of footcandles you'll get as compared to a plant outside in full sun?

This is a very old thread, wondering how it went? I just started an indoor pumpkin plant in a tent, just to see if it could be done. It's actually working out and I grew on the sides of the tent. Tent is a 4x4x6.5 so each wall of the tent works out to about 26 sq ft of vertical grow area the vines can run on and I try to keep the middle area clear to the bottom so the light can penetrate. I used Dill's Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seeds. However having trouble with pollinating now, females not taking. Plenty of females and males. Wondering if it's a light timing issue, ph, nutrients, disease but I'm not sure. The plants look pretty healthy, only issues I see are a bit of burning where plants come close to the light and a few aphids. I put plenty of pollen into the female, I've tried leaving the male organ inside, tried using two different males on one female.. One started to bulge like crazy but then became all squishy and I thought it was going to die to I took it off idiotically to see what was happening inside. It looked like it was developing but another squishy one fell off the week before so again. No idea... My drainage is non-existent however, maybe not enough Oxygen in soil maybe too much stagnant water in the soil at the very bottom. The container is about 227L and I water roughly once a week, check water levels using one of those soil probs that tells you if it's dry/wet. Normally becomes dry/moist near end of the week so it seems to be taking it up/evaporating. I use around 40L of water per week with general hydroponics liquid nutrient for growing.

PH is at 7.5, so maybe thats it. Anyone have suggestions on what is the most common issue related to a pumpkin fruit not growing that I should try/check first?

Oh yeah, light it 600w Metal Halide. Maybe I need to switch to a HPS with more red light or something to promote fruiting?

Why not plant the pumpkins outside?

you can probably find something about' 'pollinated fruit failing to develop on squash'- I've had the problem, and I think I remember that it could be calcium deficiency, similar to blossom end rot in tomatoes.

behillman: I live in a tiny apartment, no where to plant anything. This was more of an just for fun thing. :)

Thanks Sallyg will check that out