RE: More Info
I don't know about the entire plant being determinate. I seem to get a
surge of vine growth and fruit set after I harvest my (semi-)big ones in
October. I have had several more small pumpkins to harvest by Halloween
after taking off the big guys. Factors of disease and weather have always
intervened before I ever felt I was seeing the true genetic limits of plant
growth.
Conversely, I definitely agree that most pumpkin fruit seem to have a very
"determinate" growth curve, with a very flat "top end." One of my pumpkins
in 1998 demonstrated a nearly linear growth curve for much of its growth
cycle, then even this one "topped out," and stopped growing. It'd be nice
to see whether that topping out effect could be bred out of pumpkin fruit
growth curves. Has anybody looked at growth curves from the standpoint of
seed selection and cross breeding?
Regards,
Chris Wilbers
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Springfield, MO (Greene Co.) / Zone 6
Growing pumpkins since 1996
Personal best so far: 481 lbs. (1998)
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n*@sofnet.com
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pumpkins@mallorn.com [o*@mallorn.com]On
Behalf Of Heilmanjon@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2000 11:06 PM
To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
Subject: Re: More Info
Gary,
< But it
sounds like most people around here plant much later than that, like late
April or early May. Do you know the reason for this? Or did I just get some
bad information from the Farm Bureau?>
The main reason for planting around May 1 is that pumpkins are a determinate
plant. That means that they have definite number of days of growth, and they
they stop. So if you plant on May first, it just so happens that your plant,
given the plus and minus of all natural phenomenon, will be ready for
harvesting on October 1, very close to the day of the weighoffs. And this
date is also close to Halloween so you can show off to the neighbors or
thrill the local kids. If you want fresh pumpkins on Halloween, plant near
the end of May. There is just no good reason for planting early unless you
have a fair or contest in September or August.
People in Florida and the south have to plant early because the weather gets
so hot. Their season is over by the end of July.
May 1 is the date. Trust us.
John
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