Re: Pale Giant Pumpkin
- Subject: Re: Pale Giant Pumpkin
- From: &* I* <r*@rochester.rr.com>
- Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 09:05:57 -0400
From: "Steve Minor" <minok@surfglobal.net>
I have a giant pumpkin about 4 feet(and getting bigger) across which I am
hoping will make it to a local Vermont weigh-off in October. I have kept
it
well shaded, and it is almost white. Do I worry about the color, or do I
just
grow it big? This my first big giant.
The giants can be any shade at maturity, from white to peachy orange to deep
orange or green; it's the genetics. Yours will likely be a pale peachy
color when mature, rather than deep orange, that's all, you're not doing
anything wrong. Some darken up a lot when mature, some not so much and stay
pale. For shade, I make a lean-to on the south side of the plant. I use
those 4-5' long oak tree stakes as poles- the are sold to keep saplings
straight. You can get them at a large hardware store. I take 4 stakes and
a staple gun and tack a blue or green plastic tarp to it. Sometimes on top
of that I'll staple an old white sheet to reflect more of the sunlight. I
put 2 short poles towards the south, and 2 taller poles near the north, and
make it wide enough to accomodate the large fruit as it will grow, and wrap
the tarp around the sides of the lean-to to provide shade even as the sun
swings around in the sky- it covers 3 sides of the fruit. I keep the low
end of the lean-to off the ground about 6-8" to allow for airflow. Sounds
like you've got a real nice fruit going, good luck!
-Rick I.
http://home.rochester.rr.com/srinz/rickspkins.html
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