Re: what to do under pumpkin and when............

Bob is exactly right.   The most important is to punch or drill small holes
in whatever you use to drain off that water.   As the pumpkin grows it will
get very heavy and cause pockets or divots in the under protection.  Make
sure you use something that does not stay wet or absorb moisture.   You
will be surprise at what grows under a piece of wood or plastic....yuk!   I
also like to throw down some granular pesticide before I put my under
protection on the ground........this keeps those strange bugs in check.
Bill Sadowski, in Ohio and waiting for his pumpkins to get some size.





Message text written by INTERNET:pumpkins@hort.net
>Tim,

If you have good drainage, no gophers, moles or other type of critters,
plain sand works well for some growers.
Many use styrofoam, plywood or mat material from the Pacific North West.
I would suggest going to Home Depot or some other building supply store and
pick up some sheets of styrofoam around 1" thick. Punch a few small holes
in the center where the pumpkin will be. As the pumpkin gets heavier, it
may cause the styrofoam to form pockets that could hold water. The holes
will
help them drain. You can start with a piece about 2'x2' or so and add
around it as the pumpkin gets larger.
If you get a 600 pounder, you will need a lifting tarp, cargo net or
something similar to slip under the pumpkin and lift it. ( with lots of
help!)

Bob.

Tim Spires wrote:

> Hey-
>
> I was going to but straw?....tell me what to do?  my pumpkins are about a
> little bigger than softballs.........when should i do this?...........hey
> what do you do so when a pumpkin get like 600 lbs it can be moved?....oh
> yeah is it one pumpkin per plant or vine?..vine as in i have 4 vines on
one
> plant....please help me, a poor soul who is addicted...........Tim
>
> >From: Kathie Morgan <fishrap@earthlink.net>
> >Reply-To: pumpkins@hort.net
> >To: pumpkins@hort.net
> >Subject: Beneath the pumpkin
> >Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 07:51:05 -0800
> >
> >Dale,
> >Some use styrofoam, some use plywood, some sand, some nothing.
> >We put a corrugated rubber mat beneath the Stucker this week. Anyone out
> >there object to this?
> >It'll keep the fruit off the ground,
> >allow water to run down into the corrugations and thereby escape,
> >prevent little and large soil critters from boring in.
> >Will this work? Of course, if this fruit grows all season at its present
> >rate, the corrugations may collapse by July 27.
> >Kathie<

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