Re: The Doucet Theo...
Diana,
I tend to agree with Mike. A thick walled pumpkin
acts like a big cooler and I would think the inside
temperature would remain almost constant. If your
theory were true- anyone who cut open their pumpkin to
remove seeds in the afternoon on a hot day would hear
"whoosh" of air at the first penetrating cut. I think
people would remember it and comment on it.
Personally I have seen some cut open on hot days and I
haven't noticed anything.
I think that what you mentioned later in your post has
more of an effect. ….the rapid growth of the pumpkin
creates internal stresses in the wall. Like if you
blew up a balloon half way and then painted it (let it
dry) and then blew it up the rest of the way. That-
plus it own weight that it has to support. Ever
notice that most splits are on or near the bottom of
the fruit? Who knows for sure how pumpkins grow
inside? maybe the outer most layer grows faster than
the inner most layer and they would split even if the
temperature remained constant.
Another possible contributor could be thermal
stresses in the wall. If the inside of the pumpkin
stays at a cool constant temperature and the outside
heats up in the sun, the top is warm and the bottom
and inside are cool. Which as you know creates a
stress is there in the wall- not only from inside to
outside but from top to bottom as well.
I think genetics plays a part here… certain pumpkin
grow more evenly and that reduces the stress. Also
certain pumpkin are just stronger because they are
thicker and have a more constant wall thickness as
opposed some that I think have thin spots, almost
always near the blossom end.
Maybe certain trace elements or vitamins in your soil
help to make the walls stronger. ( drink milk and
eat wonder bread- it builds strong bones and teeth)
Add all of these up and you get splits… I think it is
a combination of all of the above with the major
factor being the genetics of the fruit and how it
holds up to rapid growth.
But I never hurts to come up with new ideas and
theories. So I like your thinking.
I continually throw ideas around with other growers….
But I usually don't post them to the group. I keep
thinking that somehow I'll come up with a good one and
have a slight advantage for a year until someone else
finds out of comes up with it themselves….. since
none of them have worked yet I'll share a few:
Put sunscreen on your pumpkin to keep it from maturing
as fast. Are UVA and UVB rays harmful to you pumpkin?
But a good shade takes care of this.
Put Vaseline on your pumpkin to keep it soft and keep
it from maturing fast.
Scratch the whole outer skin -then it would scar up
and weight more than a non-scared skin.
Make some kind of vitamin mixture to feed to your
plant.
Putting an electric blanket on the pumpkin to keep it
warm all the time.
Putting heating cables under the pumpkin to help
reduce the top to bottom thermal stresses.
I don't know if anyone else has though of these or
not… my guess it yes on some and no on other… so I'll
take the credit on all the "no's". :)
Gordon Tanner
Maple Valley WA
..........>>>>>>>>>>>..............<<<<<<<<<<<<.......
I have a theory on a leading cause of sag lines (Dill
Rings), blowouts
and splits in large pumpkins that occur in maturing
fruit mid to late in
the season. These problems usually lead to
catastrophic failure of the
fruit. Since we are now upon the season that these
types of problems
occur, it is a good time to throw my theory on the
table for discussion.
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