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Santa Ynez California

Hi. This is our first year. I have photos posted in our diary of our pumpkins. We have two vines that appear very healthy. First vine only has one female at about 8 feet out. It is growing very fast and only pumpkin on this plant on main vine. my question is this - our other plant is a bit behind this one and has a very nice pumpkin - in photos at about 9 feet out. it is growing fast and looks very healthy. now there is a second one at about 13 feet out that is size of softball at most but very nice looking. it is our first year so i am reluctant to cull healthy big one to make room for small but well placed second pumpkin. We only have two vines and i really want to end up with a couple of pumpkins hahahaha. especially after all mistakes we have made so far. how much difference in size will there be if we cull the big one and let the softball sized pumpkin grow at 13 feet. is it going to be enough difference to risk no pumpkin on this vine. also is there risk to second pumpkin if we cut big one off. will it get too much too fast. Thanks for advice on this. steve

7/31/2008 10:15:35 PM

Kalamazoo, MI (zemmie640@yahoo.com)

I like the nice long stem on the 13' fruit. Please elaborate and give your reasons for wanting to cull the first pumpkin. That will help growers here guide you in the right direction.

If you are hell-bent on culling it then obviously the sooner you do it the sooner your second fruit will begin to grow.

That said I would be careful to make sure the second pollination took before cutting off the first one. Usually people wait until day 10-20 to make sure. We just recently had a pumpkin abort on day 20. You never know. Heat can take a toll on small new fruit and frustrate growers who are trying to pollinate later in the season. If it's super hot try the styrofoam cooler and ice trick to keep it cool during the day...search the site if you need details.

Whenever you cull anything always take a few days to do it - don't just whack it off. Slice through a quarter of the stem per day until it's finally gone. If you were to cut it all off in one day then yes, it could create a surge to the remaining pumpkin and split it.

If you start over now you will lose some growth but if your entire year is warm to the end you could still get some very nice gains. It depends on if you're going for a record or just wanting something bigger than your next door neighbor. I'm assuming you have warm sunny weather year round. Even if your pumpkin is peaking in October when the rest of us are done you'll have warm enough weather during the fall months to support decent growth and fully maximize the fruit's potential lifespan. Your season may run later than most grower's but *shrug* who knows?

Cheers
Kel

7/31/2008 11:00:06 PM

Santa Ynez California

Hi. Thank you. I am not hell bent on culling at all hahaha. i really am afraid to cull so i am glad you posted reply. this helped a lot. the bigger pumpkin is at 9' and i keep hearing to cull anything that is not at least 12' out. you are right. we get hot weather up until late october. our contest is late october. it is our first year but luckily local competition has not been real strong in past years to i am hoping we will place well. we have almost three months left but i like idea of waiting at least a couple more weeks on smaller fruit and leaveing the two on the vine and adding a third to be safe. thank you again for your imput. it was incredibly helpful. i am shading all of them now. laying chicken wire under the vines and building a gopher box of chicken wire too for the root areas has really helped a lot. no gopher problems at all this year. they are around but can't get at the plants or vines or pumpkins. last year they actually burrowed deep into the pumpkins themselves. steve

8/1/2008 12:21:01 AM

Kalamazoo, MI (zemmie640@yahoo.com)

Hi Steve

Glad I could help, please feel free to email anytime with questions.

Most people do plan on culling everything less than 10 - 12' out, but people do pollinate fruit closer to the stump due to season/space issues. The issue for those fruit would be having enough plant to push the growth. Make sure you have enough secondaries to do the job, either before or after the fruit. The plant will pull juice from wherever it needs to.

We do not shade our pumpkins with a shelter, we just throw a white sheet on them. However, if you have really high temps then you might want to have both. A sheet helps keep bugs and critters off the pumpkin. Also I would recommend that you put sand under your pumpkin, that will help deter mice. Lots of people put mothballs around the fruit itself (refer to site for instructions). In your case since you have chicken wire I would also put a layer of something smooth under the sand, like styrofoam insulation board. Then you have chix wire on bottom, board in the middle, and sand directly under the pumpkin. That way the wire won't cut into the fruit.

Now would be the time to start moving your fruit to get it more perpendicular to the vine...maybe a 1/4 inch a day in the heat of the day when the vines are soft. (Not after you just watered). Don't overdo it, and here's the best advice I heard on this site for that...get in, adjust slightly, and get the hell back out. Do NOT go back in and try to tweak it just a little more...you will end up cracking your stem. I can't remember who posted that, but it's true. :) Also make sure your stem doesn't get stressed...as your pumpkin raises up a few roots and secondaries will have to go to allow the main to come up with the pumpkin.

Kel

8/1/2008 11:18:34 AM