Re: vine burial

 Thanks so much for all the encouragement- the weather is very much
cooler than usual AND wetter than normal for the NE- I am in the
Southerntier of Western NY and I have not seen such a weather pattern
since the Blizzard of 77! I have hardly had to water the pumpkin at
all because Mother Nature has taken over that job- BUT the one thing I
do know about the area I planted her is that the mound is on an
incline and has the best draining soil on the property. I do bleach
water wash her every AM because the wet season seems to be upon us.
If I did shock my plant, can I expect her to bounce back or is this
something that has damaged it permanately? If I did over fertilize-
what are my options? Will the rain dilute and or leach out the
excessive nutrients or does that depend on the inonic charge of the
given nutrient in excess?  I think I remember the Langmere equation
from environmental chemistry- something about how quick a pollutant/
contaminant will get into ground water based on inonic charge-
something that made my head spin then and still does now that I think
about it.

Bridgette

On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 3:23 PM, Steve Haberman <shaberman@insmgt.com> wrote:
> Growing anything is therapy! It sounds like you are doing the things
> necessary to get a winner. Has your weather changed? I know that I am having
> a terrible time with everything in my garden right now, including the
> pumpkins. Our weather in Northern Indiana is 10 to 15 degrees F below
> average for the last six weeks. I only planted 2 acres of field pumpkins
> this year and they are very behind average. The theory behind pinching the
> main is to direct energy to the fruit. It should not cause plant growth or
> fruit growth to stunt. Hang in there! Glad to see that there are some other
> FREAKS out there. If all else fails try playing music for your girl. I have
> found the Rolling Stones has worked for me in the past.
>
>
> Steve Haberman
> Insurance Management
> 959 E 4th St.
> Marion, IN 45952
> Cell: (574) 551-5601
> Email: shaberman@insmgt.com
> Fax: (765) 664-0761
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pumpkins@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf Of
> Bridgette Antoinette Tojek
> Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 2:15 PM
> To: pumpkins@hort.net
> Subject: Re: vine burial
>
> Here is what happened: I pollinated on July 13th, and once the fruit looked
> to be about beach ball size, I started measuring for estimated weight on a
> daily basis. I had a few days of 3lb growth and the next few days had a 5 lb
> growth and then a few nights experienced 12 lbs for two days. It was worth
> looking forward too every morning! I could visibly see the change- and let
> me tell you the shoulders on this chic are wider than my boys and he is a
> Marine! That day I decided to bury all the secondary vines and the few
> tertiaries. I went and put plant food stakes by each buried vine and I had
> to feed the surrounding companion planted sunflowers and grass with a
> 6-10-10. I also removed all female blossoms and some male blossoms. I guess
> I put her through the wringer! I measured the next two days and there was no
> growth at all. I was so discouraged.  I figured the plant was healing
> herself and diverting energies to the buried vines, maybe growing tap roots.
> Then the leaves started turning yellow- I am guessing I over fed it.
> Three days after I culled blossoms and buried vines, I am starting to have a
> 3 lb daily gain, that has been for the last few nights anyway.
> Its as if I am back at the starting block.
> I also put a smartgrow pad around the base which has a slow releasing feed
> as well as a moisture preservation component but most importantly slug
> repellent.  I have yet to have to use Sevin- the Japanese beetles are not
> too bad and I have not seen the moth that has the SVB in my area yet. I did
> buy a 5% dust and make keen daily observations. I will be ready in case I
> need to dust. Everything that is there are attacking the  12 ft tall
> sunflowers, not the pumpkin. One sunflower is being herbiverized from the
> inside out by the ants but are not touching the pumpkin. I did not remove
> the grass- I figured just as many good things are there as bad. Next year I
> will remove grass but plan to keep the sunflowers as companions.
> So I guess the main point is that the pumpkin was experiencing phenomenal
> growth and I decided to bury the vines, cull the blossoms and now I have
> stunted the growth considerably with only 7 weeks left to weight off.  I was
> so psyched that at day 30, I had a  fruit that exceeded 200 pounds and this
> is my first year growing and now it seems as if I may have just lost my
> chance. My fruit is 8 ft from the base and there is 15 ft more vine past the
> fruit but all my leaves are considerably small for being on a Giant.  I
> think I may not bury the end of it because I do not want to depress the
> growth like I did the first time because if that discouragement creeps back
> in to my life, I may just find myself curled up in the corner in a fetal
> position calling for my grandma! !:
> 1:Is this growth pattern normal?
> 2: Do you think I need to bury the terminus of the primary vine and
> 3: How many hours a week does the average competitive giant pumpkin grower
> spend in therapy?
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 11:51 AM, vince <anaid_tecuod@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I always let the main vine continue to grow until it reaches the end
>> of the patch which is about 30 feet.  Many growers will terminate it
>> at some point.  I think this is probably pretty safe to do at about
>> day 50 or so at which time all vines should be terminated.  I have
>> seen significant pumpkin growth to day 100.  I like to have some newer
>> leaves on the plant to help support that late growth.
>>
>> vince
>>
>> --- Bridgette Antoinette Tojek <honeybempowered@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> My main concern now is the Primary Vine. I removed all female
>>> blossoms, as opposed to the blossom and fruit from the primary vine.
>>> That was how I culled. Every time I removed the blossom that was at
>>> the end, a new one would grow. This put on three more feet because it
>>> happened three times. I was trying to divert all energy to the fruit
>>> but as I culled, each time one more foot of new vegetative growth
>>> appeared with a new female at the end. What do I do with the terminal
>>> end of the primary vine because once again, a new female is emerging.
>>>
>>> On Sun, Aug 17, 2008 at 11:04 PM, vince <anaid_tecuod@yahoo.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> > When terminating a vine or pinching off a teriary, I
>>> usually do
>>> > not bury the ends but leave them to dry in the air to
>>> reduce
>>> > the chance of causing the severed end to rot.  They will
>>> air
>>> > dry in a few days and I've never had a problem.  I usually pinch
>>> > off teriaries when they are very small which leaves a very minor
>>> > injury.  When I terminate larger secondaries, I
>>> > always cut right   at the far edge of a leaf juction so as
>>> not
>>> > to leave a long hollow tube of vine.  The hollow part
>>> narrows
>>> > right at a leaf junction.
>>> >
>>> > I don't believe burying the ends of the vines provides any benefit
>>> > and could cause rot problems.
>>> >
>>> > vince
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > --- Bridgette Antoinette Tojek <honeybempowered@gmail.com>
>>> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> Thanks for that info- I will carefully evaluate what I
>>> have
>>> >> been
>>> >> feeding the plant and try to decide what went wrong. I
>>> also
>>> >> do not
>>> >> know what it means to pinch the vine. Is this simply
>>> bending
>>> >> the end
>>> >> and then burying it? Kind of clamping the end of the vine?
>>> I
>>> >> just
>>> >> worry about leaving an opening/ gap for bacteria and such.
>>> >> But I need
>>> >> to do this as soon as possible but am reluctant to do so without a
>>> >> response from the experts. I am sure it seems simple
>>> enough
>>> >> to most but to me it seems as if I am missing something.
>>> >> Sorry
>>> >> Bridgette
>>> >
>>> >
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> The Angel whispers serentity,and the echo is peace.
>>>
>>>
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>
>
>
> --
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>
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-- 
The Angel whispers serentity,and the echo is peace.

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