RE: Females on side vines


You are correct in saying that you should only have one pumpkin per primary
vine.  You may have 1 to 3 primary vines, all of them originating within the
first 18 inches of the base of the plant.  All other side shoots are
"secondary" vines, and you should keep no pumpkins on them.  Some growers
say that you should only keep one pumpkin on the whole plant, but many have
had several huge pumpkins from the same plant.

Regarding which pumpkin to keep on each primary vine, you should keep notes
on growth rates for each pumpkin from the day it is pollinated.  The pumpkin
with the fastest growth rate is the one you should keep.  This is not always
the first pumpkin on the vine; you will be tempted to keep the first pumpkin
because it will appear bigger than the rest.  However, it may not be the
fastest growing.

The conventional wisdom is to pinch off pumpkins that are less than 10 feet
from the base of the plant.  If you have a jillion females appearing, then
you should consider choosing those that are at least this far away from the
base.

Frank Peregrine
Madison, WI

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pumpkins@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf Of
WSMPEACE@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2004 4:20 PM
To: pumpkins@hort.net
Subject: Females on side vines

Novice in Ky. Now that I have female flowers opening, I seem to have them 
everywhere. At what point should I eliminate females on the secondary vines?
Have 
read to pick only one pumpkin per vine to grow to maturity, any advice on
how 
to decide which one to keep would be appreciated. How close together on the 
main vine should I pollinate females now. I have flowers coming every 8 to
12 
inches. All info greatly appreciated!!!


                                   PEACE

                                              Wayne

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