Hello!

I was out in my garden doing some weeding when I noticed something strange. First you need to know that l used last Halloweens pumpkins as compost for next years garden. when I went out today, I found this:




I NEVER planted pumpkins in this area of my garden. My question is, is it possible that the seeds from the composted Halloween pumpkins sprouted like this?

Thanks!

Jared

It is always possible that happens whenever you make a compost pile. We've had some pretty nice flowers come up in ours throughout the years. It does look similar to pumpkin. If you want to find out, carefully move them somewhere else and see what comes up. Pumpkins are fun- just remember to turn them over as they develop so they don't get flat on one side.

Yes! And from your photo, they do look like pumpkin plants. This just happened to a friend of mine last summer -- they got HUGE pumpkins from their volunteer pumpkin plants.

The plants may look like pumpkins and may be pumpkins but they may not produce fruit, or if they do, the fruit may not be the same as the original pumpkin. Supermarket pumpkins are often hybrids so there is no telling what you will end up with. Of course, that is half the fun when gardening - never knowing what will grow. Good luck and take lots of photos.

Your compost pile generates a little bit of heat as the stuff in it decomposes, so that will explain how pumpkin seeds can survive the winter. I've had all kinds of squash come up in my compost pile, even when we lived in Utah.