Re: pumpkins DIGEST V1 #1325

We are first year growers.  We have the space, good dirt, all the irrigation water we can use, 6 shetland ponies, 2 goats, chickens & now a use for all their manure, etc.  We got seeds from nice people here, good germination, and 2 great LARGE looking plants.  Minor insect problems that are under control - BUT - we can't get a pumpkin to set.  We've had at least 9 starts - biggest got basketball size before getting mushy.  This morning my husband was going to tear out the plants.  He's mad at
them.  Help me save the plants !  Any advice ???

When we had to thin plants to one per hill, I couldn't bear to just trash one of the plants.  So we transplanted it near a fence line hoping the neighbor would water it.  It has one single pathetic vine and a pumpkin that is canteloupe size.  Water doesn't always reach it.  It gets no fertilizer and no bug spray.  Go figure.

The Crillys
Wenatchee, WA



pumpkins DIGEST wrote:

> pumpkins DIGEST         Sunday, July 30 2000         Volume 01 : Number 1325
>
> In this issue:
>
>         Re: Shade
>         Squash Vine Borers
>         Need help from the Pro's
>         end of season estimate
>         Re: end of season estimate
>         Re: Squash Vine Borers
>         Medicine Hat Update - July 29th
>         Pumpkin Update!!!!
>         Re: Pumpkin Update!!!!
>         Re: Need help from the Pro's
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 10:04:50 EDT
> From: Heilmanjon@aol.com
> Subject: Re: Shade
>
> In a message dated 07/28/00 10:13:37 PM Pacific Daylight Time, rick@lsil.com
> writes:
>
> >  Do you guys put shade over
> >  the whole plant or just the pumpkins?
> >
> >  Ric
>
> Just over the pumpkin to keep it from getting a tough skin and then splitting
> as it grows rapidly in August and Sept.
> However I still put shades over the growing tip of the main and inportant
> laterals, especially the day after I bury a section of vine near the tip.
>
> John in mild San Jose
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 08:34:16 -0700
> From: "dmbacon" <dmbacon@uswest.net>
> Subject: Squash Vine Borers
>
> HELP!!!!
>
> I am brand new at this pumpkin planting and I just noticed that I have
> Squash Vine Borers.  So far, I have only been able to capture one of these
> ugly creatures (about 1" long, cream color body and a little black head).
> There about 10 different places on the pumpkin plant that have started to
> show signs that there are more borers, but I have not been able to get them
> out of the vines.  Every morning I find more and more yellow crusty
> substance on these vines. This morning, I noticed that they are starting to
> get at the main stem of the plant!!!!!  But, again I am not able to get any
> of the borers out.
>
> I am hoping that I can get rid of these creatures as I do not want to loose
> my pumpkins that I have growing.  My kids will be crushed, not to mention
> myself.
>
> Please let me know what I should do to get rid of these creatures and the
> preparations that I should follow.  Also, please let me know if there is
> still hope for my pumpkin plant.
>
> Special thanks in advance for your assistance.
>
> Mary
> Tucson, AZ
>
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 11:56:43 EDT
> From: French5204@aol.com
> Subject: Need help from the Pro's
>
> I need a little advice from the knowledgable.Last week temp's were in the low
> 70's and the growth rate slowed to nothing. So I put the fertilizer to it
> earlier this week by using a sprinkler and the miracle grow attachment. Since
> Thursday night I have poured 7 inches of water out of my rain gauge, the
> problem that bothers me is I can see mold forming on some of the leaves. I
> have some leaves in the center of the plant that are beat up bad from the
> storms and look bad. Do I cut off the bad looking leaves or let them be, and
> what do I do about the mold I know that can't be a good thing? It has gone
> from a stand still weight of about 270 when it stopped and in the last couple
> of days has picked up a couple of inches in all measurements and is now about
> 289 by the chart I have. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
>
>    Thank you
>    Dean
>    Davison Mich.
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 15:44:43 EDT
> From: "Jamie Knott" <pepcidac@hotmail.com>
> Subject: end of season estimate
>
> I have a pumpkin that has a circumfrance of 30 inches. It has been 14 since
> I pollinated. Does anyone have an estimate of the weight my pumpkin might be
> at the end of the season.
> Best of luck and thanks a lot, Jamie
> ________________________________________________________________________
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 16:28:12 EDT
> From: COMPUTRESE@aol.com
> Subject: Re: end of season estimate
>
> In a message dated 7/29/00 3:46:23 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> pepcidac@hotmail.com writes:
>
> << I have a pumpkin that has a circumfrance of 30 inches. It has been 14
> since
>  I pollinated. Does anyone have an estimate of the weight my pumpkin might be
>  at the end of the season.
>  Best of luck and thanks a lot, Jamie >>
>
> Jamie:
>
> Impossible to guess at this early stage. Too many outside influences.
>
> Try measuring your pumpkin's growth rate by circumference every other day to
> chart it's progress.  As your pumpkin develops, you will see a definite
> growth pattern. You may see your pumpkin grow several inches in just one day
> as it gets larger. This is the peak growth period, which will slow and
> eventually stop near harvest time.
>
> Good luck.
>
> Barb
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 20:24:36 -0700
> From: "Joshua D. Jackson" <joshj16@juno.com>
> Subject: Re: Squash Vine Borers
>
> Here is a message that I got earlier this year. Hope it helps.
>
> Josh,
> central Ohio
>
> From: Larry Checkon <telcom@csrlink.net>
> To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
> Date: Sun, 02 Jul 2000 12:48:36 -0700
> Subject: Re: SVB thinkings
> Message-ID: <395F9C94.285@csrlink.net>
> Reply-To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
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>
> John and all. Several years ago I did some experimenting with injecting
> Bt into the vines with a syringe. I tested this on acorn squash but now
> use it on the pumpkin vines when a see a hole with sawdust. Mix about a
> teaspoon of Bt into a pint of water. I sometimes add a little Malathion
> also if using only on pumpkins. I inject into the vine at about 12"
> intervals, directly into the hollow center,then repeat in about 3 days.
> This does not harm the plant and will kill the borers. Bt will cause an
> insect to stop eating immediately, but it takes a few days until it is
> dead. Bt is not toxic to humans and is used by the state forestry dept.
> to kill Gypsy moth caterpillars.
>
> Vine borers seem worse than usual here in PA this year.
>
> Larry
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 18:59:34 -0600
> From: Bill & Patty Kournikakis <bkournik@memlane.com>
> Subject: Medicine Hat Update - July 29th
>
> Its been a hot sunny week here and the pumpkin on the Lloyd 935 plant
> has  doubled in size over the past 6 days, going from an estimated 80
> pounds on the 23rd to 163 pounds today. The hot weather will continue
> for at least the next 5 days so I hope I can continue to get this steady
> growth.  The web page has been updated with new photos. Click on the
> link below and look for the July Growers Log.
>
> - --
> Bill Kournikakis
> Medicine Hat, Alberta
> Zone 3
> Best Effort: 553.5 pounds in 1999
> "http://www2.memlane.com/bkournikakis"
>
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 19:12:28 -0400
> From: "Mark Fowler" <mfowler@hsc.edu>
> Subject: Pumpkin Update!!!!
>
> Hey Gang,
> I know this may sound trivial to most of you experienced growers but I just had to give an update. As a first year grower I have learned a tremendous amount about this sport. I have been watching my main pumpkin very closely and am so excited at what I am seeing! It is now about twice the size of a softball and I cannot believe it's growth rate. Since I measured it 24 hours ago it has gained 2 1/2" in size. Over the last for hours it picked up 3/4"!!! I am amazed at how quickly it can happen.
> Is this a good growth rate for a young pumkin or am I getting all worked up about nothing?
>
> Thanks,
> Mark Fowler
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 23:08:40 EDT
> From: Heilmanjon@aol.com
> Subject: Re: Pumpkin Update!!!!
>
> In a message dated 07/29/00 6:19:45 PM Pacific Daylight Time, mfowler@hsc.edu
> writes:
>
> > I am amazed at how quickly it can happen.
> >  Is this a good growth rate for a young pumpkin or am I getting all worked
> up
> > about nothing?
>
> This is absolutely normal, and you are absolutely normal for getting all
> worked up about it. It gets nothing but more like this, i.e., fun, amaze your
> friends, be the envy of all the kids on the block, etc.,  from now on. This
> is Jack and the Beanstalk, only horizontal.
> This is why we do it!
> Except for some people who like to keep data on exotic events and who also
> collect statistics on efficiency of baleen whales in krill straining.
>
> Go for it, dude!
> John in San Jose
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 23:15:38 EDT
> From: DBHASKARAN@aol.com
> Subject: Re: Need help from the Pro's
>
> Dean,
> Last year I lost a lot of leaves to fungus, so this year I started right away
> spraying a
> new thing from Garden's Alive called Soap Shield....I have NOT had a problem
> this year.  I think the bottom line is that a fungicide is needed with the
> amount of watering we do....as we all get those cool weeks that really sets
> this off.
> David Bhaskaran
> Rochester, MN
> 502 Biggest from a 1006 Geer.
> In a message dated 7/29/00 10:59:20 AM Central Daylight Time,
> French5204@aol.com writes:
>
> << I need a little advice from the knowledgable.Last week temp's were in the
> low
>  70's and the growth rate slowed to nothing. So I put the fertilizer to it
>  earlier this week by using a sprinkler and the miracle grow attachment.
> Since
>  Thursday night I have poured 7 inches of water out of my rain gauge, the
>  problem that bothers me is I can see mold forming on some of the leaves. I
>  have some leaves in the center of the plant that are beat up bad from the
>  storms and look bad. Do I cut off the bad looking leaves or let them be, and
>  what do I do about the mold I know that can't be a good thing? It has gone
>  from a stand still weight of about 270 when it stopped and in the last
> couple
>  of days has picked up a couple of inches in all measurements and is now
> about
>  289 by the chart I have. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
>
>
>     Thank you
>     Dean
>     Davison Mich.
>
>  - >>
>
> - ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of pumpkins DIGEST V1 #1325
> *******************************

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