Pumpkin plants, but no pumpkins.

How on earth do you get pumpkins? Planted mine near courgettes as thought that the pollination would be the same with bees etc. Have courgettes but no signs of any pumpkins at all. This is the first time I have tried growing them so hopefully someone can help with tips in case I decide to try again next year?

I presume they did flower? I always pollinate mine myself. Look into the flowers and you'll soon tell which is the male and which is the female. Pick the male flower and rub the pollen onto the pollen of the female flower. I have found in the past that cross-pollinating with courgettes doesn't produce a very good pumpkin.

Yes they flowered but that's it. I think they must have all been the same sex. The courgettes are planted about 2 metres away and they are doing good, just not the pumpkin. Will try again next year and study up on pollinating in the meantime.

to pollinate use a cotton bud i am trying this next season

This is false, cross pollination, if it occurs, between zuchs and pumpkins will not affect your fruit. It is possible it will affect any seeds in that fruit so if you plant the seeds you may get something different. Most plants are sterile to pollen from other different plants but unsure if zuchs and pumpkins will cross pollinate.

Absolutely. Zucc and courgette will readily cross pollinate with cucurbits - particularly squash & pumpkin. but as you say - Only a problem if you save the seeds and plant them. Then the product of those seeds goes stumpy and bushy like a zucchini plant and doesn't travel like a vine, and what fruit you do get is a horrible cross. I've had zucc cross with both pumpkin and with kamo kamo (hue). Now (because I save and use the seed) my zucc are always at the other end of the property from the pumpkin.

OP: As mentioned by others, most likely hand pollination is required. You can learn the difference between male and female flowers if you don't know already and how to hand pollenate from many web sites. There are a couple of methods.

Hand pollination does require you to get out there most mornings and do the rounds to check for male and female flowers. Don't leave it too late in the morning as 1) the flowers close late morning and 2) the pollen is more viable and the female stigma is more receptive to pollination at flower opening and within the next couple of hours.

When you know the diff between male and female flowers and you are eagerly waiting for them to appear so you can hand pollenate them, you will notice that for the first couple of weeks of flowering there are only male flowers. This is normal. Just wait a week or two, then the females will start to come on.

Sorry folks - I should have made it clear that "in my experience" the cross-pollination didn't produce a very good pumpkin. I always blamed the cross-pollination, anyway, but obviously I was wrong. Thanks for the info.