Re: Culling

Barb:
       Was just reading your post and realized that according to your measurments, I am really behind,
my best ten day this year is 14", are your measurments accurate and what can I expect in Oct. ?   Bill

At 07:43 PM 7/19/00 -0400, you wrote:
>In a message dated 7/19/00 6:57:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
>dewig1@excite.com writes:
>
><< Hello all,
>   I need some advice on culling and have a few questions;What is the idea
> location for fruit on secondaries,I know you want the stem perpendicular to
> the vine,but is there anything else to consider? At what size should I be
> making my decisions? Is a nice round one better to keep,or keep the football
> shaped one? Most of mine were pollinated between July 8 and 15,some just
> about basketball size. Just having a hard time deciding which to cut
> off,what are some of the thing you all take into consideration when culling?
> Thanks for any response.
>
> Dewight Blanton
><<
>
>Dewight:
>
>Here's the guideline I used. It certainly simplifies things.
>
>First off, you are right to examine the fruit, vine and stem for cracks,
>fungus, bruising, vine/stem breakage and splits. The stem should be long and
>the fruit's position should be close to 45 degree angle from the vine, with a
>clear space for uncrowded growth. Cracks and splits in the stem or vine can
>mean poor overall growth. Be sure the stem and vine are grossly intact, if
>possible.
>
>Pollinate your females as their flowers open, keeping track of the parentage.
>Then, for each fruit, keep a record of the circumference measurements on all
>fruits 10 days after EACH pollination. 20 inches circ. at 10 days is good
>growth.
>
>Measure each fruit again at 20 days from pollination. 60 inches at 20 days is
>also good growth. This can keep you hopping if you have many plants with lots
>of fruits! It's worth it in the long run, as the info is invaluable. This is
>the only way to determine which fruit is making the best growth progress.
>
>You and Mother Nature will have culled many fruits by this point. You will
>have to decide in the next week or two which ones to cull if you have more
>than one fruit on the plant. Also, you will now have a better look at shape,
>growth rate, position on vine, stem and vine integrity, etc. before making
>your final choices. Your fruits will be larger at this point, and the longer
>you deliberate, the harder it gets to make the cuts. 
>
>This is one of those times where grower luck plays a large role in the
>outcome of the season. Statistics show that most of the prizewinning fruits
>in this hobby have been grown on the main vine. Does this mean you should
>automatically cull side vine fruits? NO. Of course not. You just have to
>weigh all of the facts before making your decisions.
>
>Hope this helps.
>
>Barb Kincaid
>Orlando, FL
>Just back from the Adirondacks
>
>
>
>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>Pumpkin-growing FAQ: http://www.mallorn.com/lists/pumpkins/search.cgi
>To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
>message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
>
Thanks,
Bill Van Iderstine
Personal Best 862
--------------------------------------------------------------------- Pumpkin-growing FAQ: http://www.mallorn.com/lists/pumpkins/search.cgi To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index