RE: When should I stop pollinating?



> I assume their must be a cut off point to pollinating pumpkins.  WHEN?

I would say it depends on your goals, your location and the timing of
previous successful pollinations.

If you are shooting for a mid-October weigh-off then mid July would probably
be your cut off date. If you are trying for seed stock, a personal best, or
Halloween pumpkins then perhaps the first week in August would be an
appropriate date. Your location, and when you get your first killing frost,
will play a major part in the decision making process. Lastly, if you have
but one or two pumpkins set, or even if you have plenty set, and even if it
was mid-August it would be hard to pass up a perfect 6 or 7 lobed female
just to see what might happen. :-)

> I understand sometimes you might want another pumpkin to grow on the
> same vine as a butffer.   ANy comments?

A "buffer" pumpkin is grown to act as a sort of sponge to absorb excess
moisture from a sudden rain fall, or other over-watering, that might cause a
blow-out of your main pumpkin if there was no place else for the water to
go. This is where trying to find a balance between burying vines to create
more roots, and the consequence of these extra roots to take up water and
cause a blow-out, versus how wet or dry you can expect Mother Nature to act
towards your plot becomes more than just a little complex. The correct
answer is the one that works in your area, in your micro-climate, with your
soil and the size of your plant, etc.

While too late for "long story short" I say stop when you have 3-4 good sets
per plant, regardless of dates, and cull to 2-3 fruits depending of their
location on the plant. Even if your late sets don't turn into record holders
you may still have produced seed that might grow you the "big one" in a year
to come. As to trying to second guess Mother Nature, I leave that one to
someone else. As for me, I say bury, bury, bury those vines as I think the
gain is usually greater than the risk.

Mike in Beaverton


---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index