Re: Heavy rains

Another question - does the weather affect your decision to pollinate?  If it is 
suppose to rain on the morning you are pollinating, does that cause problems?  
Do you need to cover both the male and females with cups the night before?

Debbie





________________________________
From: Kathie Morgan <fishrap@att.net>
To: pumpkins@hort.net
Sent: Wed, July 7, 2010 6:37:20 PM
Subject: Re: Heavy rains

I check it after one day. Usually the blossom has closed up by then.

This year for an unknown reason I have to leave them on for two days before the 
blossom closes.

I'll let someone else tackle the rest of your questions.

Kathie


On Jul 7, 2010, at 5:07 AM, Debbie Runkle wrote:

> Kathie, you mentioned that you use Dixie cups over the flower after
> pollination.  How long do you leave the cup on?
> 
> How long before females form on the vine?  I transplanted 5/25/2001 and only
> have two females on the main, one of which just 'hatched'.  I have used 
>15-30-15
> twice, the second time was yesterday.  How long will the secondaries grow 
>before
> they produce females?
> 
> 
> Debbie
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Kathie Morgan <fishrap@att.net>
> To: pumpkins@hort.net
> Sent: Sun, June 27, 2010 1:12:22 PM
> Subject: Re: Heavy rains
> 
> On Jun 27, 2010, at 8:40 AM, Jason Thomas wrote:
> 
>> You can tie the female bloom closed with twine or a twisty tie before it
>> opens. Most growers do that so they can control the source of pollen that
>> goes in.
> 
> Hi Guys!
> 
> Mr Al Eaton told us that he uses Dixie cups to cover his females after
> pollination. We tried it and it's perfect. Just use one hand to gather the
> petals together, then use the other hand to ease the cup down over the 
blossom.
> We use 16-ounce cups.
> 
> Kathie in Santa Rosa
> 
> 
>> That would keep water out to a certain extent too. You could put up
>> a small piece of tarp (like 1sq ft) with some bamboo stakes over the flower,
>> especially after you pollinate. You can cut or tear small holes in the
>> corolla below the stigma or anther in both female and male flowers to help
>> them drain after a rain. I used to do that when I had my plants growing out
>> over the lawn where they would get sprinkled every morning. But only use
>> that method on female flowers if you don't care about stray pollen getting
>> in. How hot is it there? I've found once it gets hot enough (100+)  here
>> flowers wont pollinate even if the flowers are cooled.  However in the 80s
>> and 90s they will pollinate but only if I cool them by putting a small
>> styrofoam cooler upside down over the flower the night before opening with a
>> frozen water bottle inside for cooling. The styrofoam cooler method will
>> also keep the rain out but you only want to use it for a day or two because
>> you don't want to encourage rot.
>> 
>> On Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 3:17 AM, Jeff Potter
>> <maple-leaf@kpe.biglobe.ne.jp>wrote:
>> 
>>> I live in southern Japan, and have been trying to grow pumpkins, ANY SIZE
>>> pumpkins, for several years, with no luck. I didn't really put much effort
>>> into it, just planted and waited, not really knowing what I was doing.
>>> I got the giant pumpkin bug when I received some seeds from the local
>>> champion, a 200 kger.I've done some studying, finally got a copy of Don
>>> Langevin's Giant Pumpkins II, did what I could with the soil in the spring,
>>> planted both in pots and directly, and have got some amazing, big,
>>> healthy-looking plants. I have a lot of male flowers, and several females
>>> not
>>> yet bloomed. I am out at 5:00am every morning just in case. In Don's book,
>>> he
>>> says I will know when the flower is ready to bloom, but I am not so sure.
>>> My
>>> problem is, we have a major rainy season here in Asia, it has rained
>>> heavily
>>> for 2 straight days, with a forecast for more, until Thursday. My question
>>> is,
>>> how can I protect my ladies, will the heavy rain have an effect on them
>>> even
>>> if they do not open, and if they do, can I pollinate them in the rain.
>>> 
>>> Thanks, first time poster,
>>> 
>>> Jeff
>>> 
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