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please make it go away....

Hi all,
Sometimes mother nature is such a canine of the feminine variety.  Our high
temps the past few days have struggled to get out of the 60's and most of the
Washington growers are stuck in the 50's.  Jack LaRue reported lows in the
30's at his place in Tenino.  I am definately going to have to call Mrs.
Nature and order a few 80 and sunny days to make this rain go away.
In talking to some of the growers both on the net and on the phone, I have
discovered a fairly common problem with a few plants this year.  Vines seem
to be having a characteristic of growing straight up, and when they do lay
down they crack, twist, or break off all together.  I have a couple theories
on this and would like some input if anyone has any to give.  One is that
temps this year have been down which is causing the runners to be more
ridged, thus not laying down.  Kinda like a wet noodle Vs. dry noodle theory.
 I know the wet/ dry noodle theory applies to many things (some dirty, some
not), but it seems logical.  The terminology probably would not be used be
scientists in a professional setting (unless the scientist is Freud), but hey
this is pumpkin growing. 
My second theory proposed originally by Jack LaRue is that offspring produced
from the #567.5 Mombert plants grown in 1995 have this trait.  For his and my
plants which are doing this, the 567 theory holds, but who knows what is out
there.
Be it wet noodle or 567, it sure is a pain.  Ever try to mound soil over a
runner which is 4 feet in the air?  Not fun, looks like I have giant moles in
my patch.  Giant moles, Hmmmmm, thats another story, should have seen it
though, 8 feet tall at the shoulders.
        Take care all,  Brett  The Pumpkinguru
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