Re: Yesterday

Most people do put the fruit on several inch thick layer of dry sand. There
is a grower in San Diego (gourdzilla I think?) that uses a raised bed for
the entire plant. You can see his diary on bigpumpkins.com.

On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 10:02 AM, Charley Bay <charleyb123@gmail.com> wrote:

> Out of curiosity, does anyone think that growing
> the pumpkin in a "raised" dry bed would help
> against rot?
>
> For example, if the plant were well watered, but
> the pumpkin *itself* were sitting on a raised, dry
> sand bed, maybe with minimum nearby foliage
> to keep the local humidity down, would it help
> keep the pumpkin from rotting?
>
> I've read about covering the pumpkin against
> direct sunlight, and other things to keep the
> shell from getting "hard" and splitting, but
> maybe a little airflow or *some* sunlight on the
> pumpkin itself periodically (like a few hours a
> week) would help?
>
> I've not grown a big one, but I'd *like* to ...
>
> My current plan is to hire Ooompa Loompas
> to sing, dance, and hold the pumpkin off
> the ground while it grows (which should also
> help to create a pumpkin with perfect
> symmetry).
>
> --charley
>
> On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 10:32 AM,  <rstokes@wi.rr.com> wrote:
> > Hello Steve,
> >
> > Actually, I have done some of those things having grown up on a farm.
>  The worst is when my father made me hold the pig still while he castrated
> it.  Still gives me the willies.
> >
> > I still have one other pumpkin that is very big, hopefully it will be
> okay and I have some in the 400-500 lb range that are very nice in shape and
> color.  So not all is lost.  As I was cutting up the pumpkin I accidently
> nicked myself in the arm, so between the blood and sweat it looked like I
> had chopped off my arm.  It was all just a very gross experience and I am
> glad it is not on youtube or somewhere else.  Stillborn calf, yeah that
> would be a tough one.
> >
> > Russ Stokes
> >
> > Thanks for your words of encouragement.
> > ---- Steve Haberman <shaberman@insmgt.com> wrote:
> >> Sorry Russ! I have been there every year the last 10. I just had a 500
> >> pounder come off the vine but she isn't rotten. Cleaning those things up
> is
> >> a terrible chore.
> >> We do have some pretty bad chores around here that rival stinky pumpkins
> >> though. Have you ever banded a steer calf? How about dehorning a cow? I
> >> remember as a boy, removing a stillborn calf from its' mother.....in 2
> >> pieces.
> >> Do you have any fruits left? I hope you get a giant some day!
> >>
> >> Steve Haberman
> >>
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: owner-pumpkins@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On
> Behalf Of
> >> Russ Stokes
> >> Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 6:37 AM
> >> To: pumpkins@hort.net
> >> Subject: Yesterday
> >>
> >> Yesterday I had the task of cutting up my 800 lb pumpkin that went soft.
>  It
> >> was more rotten than I thought and it was one big mess.  I had to cut it
> up
> >> little by little in order to haul one piece at a time to throw in the
> back
> >> of
> >> my pick-up truck.  Hot sweaty work.  There is nothing quite like the
> smell
> >> of
> >> a pumpkin when it goes bad.  Mosquito's were attacking me while I did
> this
> >> chore.  I think I spent an hour in hell.  It made me appreciate the
> growers
> >> that manage to grow a "Big One".  Not sure what I did wrong, but I hope
> to
> >> figure it out.  Because hauling off rotten pumpkins is the worst job in
> the
> >> world!
> >>
> >> I hope no one has to experience this.
> >>
> >> Russ Stokes
> >>
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