Re: Adventures in culling, don't try this at home!
- Subject: Re: Adventures in culling, don't try this at home!
- From: A* D*
- Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 16:48:57 -0000
- List-Archive: <http://www.hort.net/lists/pumpkins/> (Web Archive)
Chris,
Pour me a long island, I dropped my pruning knife directly into the top of
my 600 reynolds fruit! LOL, actually the damage was slight but if you could
have seen the look on my face with the knife sticking in the pumpkin!
Amy
----- Original Message -----
From: Michalec, Chris <cmicha@chmc.org>
To: 'Pumpkins' <pumpkins@mallorn.com>
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2001 7:22 PM
Subject: Adventures in culling, don't try this at home!
> Saturday I took some measurements in the patch and had some decisions to
> make. Four pumpkins remained on my 723 Bobier plant and one of them had
to
> go. I grew it in a Christmas tree shape with the main vine running west
to
> east. Two pumpkins were nearly back to back on north side secondaries,
one
> on a south side secondary and one on the main. The NW pumpkin was growing
> at the slowest rate and the NE pumpkin was a 6 lobe that was selfed. The
NW
> pumpkin had to go. It was 150" OTT and should have weighed less than 100
> lbs. I cut it from the vine and lifted it and it felt pretty heavy. I
knew
> I would be trampling vines, breaking leaves and threatening the integrity
of
> my spine if I carried it in front of my ample belly so with a mighty heave
I
> hoisted onto and then over my shoulder where it dropped directly onto the
NE
> pumpkin. The amazing this about it was all I could do was laugh. No
> cursing, no crying, just a weird giddy uncontrollable laughter. Vines
were
> crushed, leaves were broken, a promising pumpkin was thoroughly riddled
with
> deep cracks and all I could do was laugh like a loon. Once I settled down
I
> decided to cut these two into two pieces each and make a few trips
carrying
> the chunks to the compost pile. No sense in risking my back or any other
> pumpkins in this endeavor. They were very solid at this size with no
> discernable cavity. I would say they weighed a good deal more than the
> charted weight for that size but I didn't get them onto a scale.
> I should see some better weight gains on the two remaining fruit I hope.
> I will be more careful if
> I decide to cull another one of the three remaining on the 871 Richart
> plant. I'll chunk it up in the patch and move it in pieces. I hate to do
> that where the other pumpkins can witness it, but it's better than
smashing
> them with their siblings. Long Island iced tea's helped ease the pain
when
> I got home. I'm sure there's another lesson to be learned here and if
> someone figures it out let me know what it is.
>
> Chris Michalec
> Covington, WA
>
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