They do it at night!

I'd like to bring in a little info to this disscussion about night growing,
and perhaps help out your doghouse project.   The fruit tend to put on a lot
of weight at night due to water relations.   Cell expansion is driven
largely by turgor pressure inside the cell which is caused by water.   You
can think of a plant cell as a balloon you are blowing up.   The turgor
pressure pushes the cell outward and it "grows".   You've all seen plants
get limp and a little wilty in the afternoon compared to how stiff and rigid
they are in the morning.   During the day when the sun is out the plants
need to open their stomates for air exchange for photosynthesis and thus
their evapotranspiration rate is high and the roots can hardly keep up.   At
night the sun is out of course, temps drop, RH is usually higher, and the
roots are able to catch up and increase the turgor in the cells and cause
the "night-growth"

john barlow wrote:

> Fellow Pumpkineers;
>
> I'm looking towards the upcoming season with enthusiam.  Currently I'm
> planning the construction of a cold weather frame.  After the plant gets
> to go out on its own I plan to convert the frame into a shelter for the
> chosen pumkin.  Since my preliminary plans have me building a doghouse
> style frame I'm looking forward for "Duke" to feel at home in it.
>
> The subject of this letter deals with a theory I conceptualized. My
> theory involves the growing pumpkin.  From what I've gathered the
> pumpkin needs protection from drying out, shade, hail safety, vandalism,
> rodents, etc..  My doghouse will provide that but I've come across a
> thought that could also be employed with this structure.
>
> The pumpkin is said to grow the most at night and that watering at night
> is most readily taken up by the pumpkin at this time.  Why ? Why? Why?
>
> The Barlow Theory :
>
> The make-up of the pumpkin tissue/flesh has a high percentage of water.
> Water cools and warms slower than soil.  When the temperature starts to
> drop at night it does so at a faster rate than the pumpkin.  This
> enhances somehow the uptake of water and nutrients from the soil.  Thus
> it grows faster at night.
>
> To capitalize on this concept if one were to maintain the warmth of the
> pumpkin after the sun goes down longer it would extend this uptake of
> water and nutrients for a longer period of time, thus faster, larger,
> and more consistent growth. Another idea would be to use cool water in
> the evening versus warm water. Another idea would be to warm the pumpkin
> on cool/cold days (end of Sept.?).
>
> Thus, I'm thinking of insulating my doghouse very well to control the
> temperature somewhat.
>
> Comments? Experiences?
>
> John "Cornhusk" Barlow
>
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