Re: Wayne, Al Eaton, slings and sand
- To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: Wayne, Al Eaton, slings and sand
- From: C*@aol.com
- Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 17:01:35 EDT
Beth:
It's a great question and one that plagues us all. I think you are smart by
getting this figured out before you set fruit....they grow so darned fast, the
best intentions usually aren't fast enough for the pumpkin growth.....you
don't want to handle the fruit any more than you have to. Remember to use
clean gloves.
I had bags of sand to put under my fruit....as it turned out, I didn't have
the heart to disturb the fruit, and let it grow on the soft bed of compost. It
was flat and whitish on the bottom, but intact. No worse for the wear. I will
definitely use sand next season. It drains well and provides a cushy bed free
of sharp stones and other debris, such as shards of glass.
What I would concern myself the most with is stem stress on the growing fruit.
I had this problem and it was tough to deal with at first. As the fruit starts
gaining weight at warp speed, vine and stem stress can pose a real threat to
your success. Vines are brittle and the pumpkin is very heavy and awkward to
position. Keep tabs on that daily. Be sure your vine is propped up and
positioned to prevent stress on the stem.
If you set the fruit on an area of vine that transitions from the height of
the raised bed to the ground, you will find yourself filling in the area with
dirt and sand as support for the growing pumpkin. Otherwise, the fruit will
snap off the vine under it's own weight. You might be able to use this
position to your advantage. The vine would be in a perfect position to
manipulate, and it is likely that no tap roots would have formed, which anchor
the vine to the ground.
Just think about it, Beth, a pumpkin grown blossom end down, with stem up. I
would imagine gravity would assure a nicely shaped fruit.
Barb
All but done here in FL.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
