Re: Planting Early
In a message dated 4/13/01 9:29:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
ebby222@yahoo.com writes:
<< Should I be using misters in the summer? Is there anything that can be
done to keep a fruit from rotting or slow down the rotting? >>
Michael:
In NM, your humidity level in the summer is low, so misters might work nicely
on hot days to cool the ambient temps in your patch. Keeping the plant's heat
stress down is always a good thing.
Fungus causes rot in the pumpkin patch. Fungal spores are in the air, and
when they settle on your plant's leaves and grow, you frequently see them in
the form of tell tale grayish spots: powdery mildew. This usually happens
toward the end of the season in late Aug or September. There are other forms
of fungus, but powdery mildew is by far the most common.
Other ways to avoid rot are to be careful when handling or measuring your
fruit. Nicks, jabs and accidental bruising can cause rot. You don't even have
to break the fruit's skin to have a fungal problem, as even handling the
small fruit with bare hands can deposit fungal spores that can bring a fruit
down. I wear gloves when handling young fruit to lessen the likelihood of
accidents.
Keep your eye on stem splits, especially when these splits threaten to open
the fruit through to the seed cavity. Special care is needed to paste these
cracks at times to avoid losing fruit.
Your best defense against [owdery mildew is fungicide spray. It is important
to spray well (drench leaf tops and under sides, including stems and soil
surface). Nick, cuts, and such can be dusted with dry fungicide powder, such
as Bravo or Captan. Daconil is a liquid, a good choice for overall garden
spraying and it's available at Wal-Mart.
Sounds like you need reference copies of Don Langevin's books How to Grow
Atlantic Giant Pumpkins, Vol 1 and 2. Check your local library or e-mail Don
direct at annedawn@aol.com
Barb
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