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Central IL

Let's just start off by saying my goal is a pumpkin, preferably with a little size, but I'm not trying to head to any weigh offs.

As a newbie I made a terrible mistake; I followed the directions on the seed package and planted two plants on the hill in my 300 sq ft growing patch. Both plants are doing nicely and are at least 10' long and blooming up a storm, but the nonstop rain in Il has been brutal. Now that I see that 300 sqft is small for even one pumpkin vine, should I cut one off and leave the other to take over? Should this be done now or wait and let a fruit set and see which one is doing better?

7/15/2015 11:07:51 PM

Germany

Did you grow their main vines in opposite directions?...If that´s the case, then just let them grow and set fruit on both plants. You should still be able to get a pumpkin on each of them which you can´t lift off the patch in 3 months. Also, if there´s some room (lawn etc.) next to the patch, just let the vines continue to grow there.

7/16/2015 12:26:42 AM

Central IL

I did. Is it okay if their secondaries intermingle? I can let them off towards the lawn on one side of the patch, but the other is up against the neighbors and that wouldn't go over well. I'm so excited to be successfully keeping one vine, let alone 2, alive this year that I hate to screw it up. I grow lots of other fruits, veggies, and flowers, but curcurbits and I seem to be cursed.

7/16/2015 8:10:25 AM

Germany

The two main vines in opposite directions is a good start. The secondaries should be aligned almost perpendicular to the main vine, then you will get the most out of them (efficiently filling the patch space with highly productive leaf surface and without making the plants produce unnecessary salad which would overlap and thus cause the growth of powdery mildew etc.). Use the BigPumpkins site search to find out more about the so-called flag pattern. Something like a modified flag pattern seems to be the best choice for your two plants (keep the secondaries growing for good on your side of the patch and terminate the secondaries on the other side quite early before they disturb the neighbor). Remove all tertiaries.
For those secondaries which maybe already interpenetrate into the other plant, you should be careful to clean your plants without disturbing them too much. Don´t step into the plants, soil compaction and damaged vines aren´t good things. Start from the tips of the main vines and work your way back to the old secondaries. Start to aling the younger secondaries in the correct manner, and then the next and the next etc., and as soon as you encounter secondaries which cannot be moved into a better position (because they are already knitted into a fabric of vines) you have to decide which ones you want to keep and which ones you want to cut off (piece by piece, so that you can remove the cuttings out of the plant without accidentally pulling other vines). Sometimes it also works to align the ends of the secondaries, leaving the initial mess of vines as it is (just removing the tertiaries) and then growing the secondaries for the next couple of feet in a more ordered manner.

7/16/2015 8:28:31 AM

Germany

No idea how long the longest secondaries are right now and no idea how severe the situation of interpenetrating vines is right now. Maybe it´s much better and easier to handle than I thought. You can create a diary and post pictures of your patch, that would definitely be helpful when it comes to giving the best hints for your particular situation.

7/16/2015 8:28:36 AM

Central IL

Thank you! The secondaries are very small at this point so no intermingling. The flag pattern was my plan, so I am appreciative to have amateur instincts confirmed by an expert.

7/16/2015 9:04:06 AM

Germany

How far from your patch (the idealized straight line along which the main vine will run) from the fence to the neighbor´s garden?

7/16/2015 9:18:01 AM

Central IL

One vine is running along the fence line. The other is 10' away. I figured the one along the neighbor I'd have to send all secondaries flag style toward my yard. The other I'd let the secondaries run 10' before I tipped and buried them. The secondaries going the other way can run into my yard.

7/16/2015 10:08:14 AM

Germany

The one which is 10' from the fence...let it grow 8' secondaries towards the fence. In one or two months you will be happy to still have a little access path into the plant, for inspections and spraying.

7/16/2015 2:21:01 PM