Home What's New Message Board
BigPumpkins.com
Select Destination Site Search
 
Matt D. - 2018 Grower Diary Point your RSS aggregator here to subscribe to this Grower Diary.

Show Entries in

Grower Diary Menu
  Back to Previous Page
List Other Grower's Diaries
Submit to Your Own Diary

 
Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 62 Entries.
Saturday, March 31 View Page
I am just starting to mark out where the plant sites will be for this year. Looking at the overall garden, the winter rye established itself consistently and survived a cold winter.
 
Wednesday, April 11 View Page
Seed starting day… Here is my chosen line-up for 2018 North 2326 Holland ’17 (F: 2145.5 McMullen ’15 x 2261.5 Wallace ’16) South 2326 Holland ’17 (F: 2145.5 McMullen ’15 x 2261.5 Wallace ’16) 2269 Paton ’17 (F: 2624.6 Willemijns ’16 x 1949.5 Paton ’16) 1367 VanHoutte ‘16 (F: 2145 McMullen ‘15 x 1585.5 Werner ‘14) 1297.5 Young ’16 (F: 1912 Carter ’15 x 1000.5 Gansert ’11) 642 Dill ’17 (F: 775 Berard x 1998.5 Jutras ‘15)
 
Wednesday, April 18 View Page
Here are the seedlings under my HPS (High Pressure Sodium) grow light. The color looks a little odd, but it allows me not to worry about hardening off and it also prevents the seedlings from getting to leggy. The chosen seedlings will be going in the ground tomorrow.
 
Wednesday, April 18 View Page
Despite the cold night I decided to plant my seedlings today since it did not look like the weather was going to be much warmer in the next few days. I use the mill fabric as weed suppression and it also helps retain some of the heat from my heating cables. At the time of the picture the outside temp is 46.6F and under the blanket with a 100watt reptile ceramic heat lamp the temp is 58.3F.
 
Thursday, April 19 View Page
Looks like all of the plants survive the cold night. Here you can see the middle section of the garden is all prepared and the weed-block is down. I plan to roll out the other 2/3 of the weed-block in the first week of May and prep these areas around the 3rd week of May.
 
Tuesday, May 1 View Page
Overall, it has been a cold start to the season with my soil heating cables and reptile heat lamps working overtime. I will pay for it later, but right now all of the plants are looking good. The Northern and Southern 2/3 of the garden have been mowed (winter rye present) and will be covered with weed-block today.
 
Tuesday, May 1 View Page
North 2326 Holland ’17 (F: 2145.5 McMullen ’15 x 2261.5 Wallace ’16) I know it is still early, but this is probably the patch best at the moment. Plant is aggressive and seems to be developing normally and still has very green and symmetrical cotyledon leaves. I like growing an unproven seed as I like trying to pick a winner before the masses. This may not always work out but, it keeps growing interesting.
 
Tuesday, May 1 View Page
South 2326 Holland ’17 (F: 2145.5 McMullen ’15 x 2261.5 Wallace ’16) In the image there are two plants the one titled above and the 2118* Jutras squash. I had intended on planting the squash for a little green, but the seedling never looked right, so it got pulled. The 2326 Holland went in as a back-up after I noticed things not developing properly with the squash and as you can tell the 2326 looks great. Since both were essentially unproven seeds, I went with the one I had more confidence in producing a better behaved plant. (Sorry Joe;-)
 
Tuesday, May 1 View Page
2269 Paton ’17 (F: 2624.6 Willemijns ’16 x 1949.5 Paton ’16) Some of the leaves on this plant seem to be a little heat sensitive and have developed a curl to them. I am confident this plant will grow out of it but it seems to be the only plant that is demonstrating this oddity. I have had the 100 watt reptile ceramic heat lamp close to the plant due to the cold nights, but for this plant I have moved it away and pointed it away from the plant to reduce the chance of continued leaf curl.
 
Tuesday, May 1 View Page
1367 VanHoutte ‘16 (F: 2145 McMullen ‘15 x 1585.5 Werner ‘14) It seems this plant has wanted to stretch more than others and as a result it has developed a small stem split right at the base of the plant. I know this would panic some growers, but I see it as minimal and a way to help reduce the chance of a foamer (not that I get that many) later in the season. Also, during the off season I was hearing some top growers who were intentionally putting cuts in the main vine close to the crown. While this is something I find hard to do, in this case it happened naturally so I will see how it goes for the season. I grew this plant last year as an unproven seed and it grew a pumpkin bigger than my official 2145 McMullen so it earned a spot in this year’s patch. Also, looking back what it produced for the three growers (including myself) that grew it last year this seed grew all three growers their best pumpkin of 2017, so I think there may be something special with this seed.
 
Tuesday, May 1 View Page
1297.5 Young ’16 (F: 1912 Carter ’15 x 1000.5 Gansert ’11) This has been a very aggressive plant from the start. It is keeping up with some of the more known genetics and I am glad I put the time into trying to find an aggressive and (hopefully) great orange producer. Time will tell if my plan will work out but up to this point I am happy with the selection that I made.
 
Tuesday, May 1 View Page
642 Dill ’17 (F: 775 Berard x 1998.5 Jutras ‘15) At the moment this plant is a little behind the rest, but personally, I would consider this plant to be on track and the others to be ahead of schedule. It is still very early in the season and I have good long term performance from seeds directly from the farm where it all started so I am looking forward to what this plant may produce. In this image you can see the black metal fencing that I am using around my plants to help support the blankets when needed during the cold nights we have been having. This has been working out great and when they are no longer needed they fold and store very easily.
 
Sunday, May 6 View Page
Put out the large weed block so kill off some of the rye before applying nutrients and giving the area a till. Overall, it is still a cold start to the year with many of the trees behind on their blooming time.
 
Tuesday, June 12 View Page
Today is the same calendar day that I measure the size of my plants. This allows for me to compare plant size year to year. Typically, I start my seeds on the same day, but this year I did start a two days later than normal, due to the seasonably cold weather in the early spring. What is interesting is I thought I would have to take this into consideration, but as it turns out my plants are bigger than they have been historically on this day. Hopefully, this is a good sign of things to come this season.
 
Tuesday, June 12 View Page
North 2326 Holland ’17 (F: 2145.5 McMullen ’15 x 2261.5 Wallace ’16) Currently, the third biggest plant I have. While it seems the standard for comparison this time of year is main vine length, I have had plants in the past that grow a great main vine but do not ‘fill-in’, so I developed the idea of Leaf Area Estimation which is basically the area of a triangle. (This works best for the standard Christmas Tree style of pruning.) All you have to do is measure the width of the plant and the length of the main vine. Then it is simply (1/2)*(width of the plant)*(main vine length) = Leaf Area Estimation. Leaf Area Estimation= 250 square feet Main Vine Length= 20 feet
 
Tuesday, June 12 View Page
South 2326 Holland ’17 (F: 2145.5 McMullen ’15 x 2261.5 Wallace ’16) Even though this was a back-up plant to my originally intended squash I am happy with its performance. While it seems the standard for comparison this time of year is main vine length, I have had plants in the past that grow a great main vine but do not ‘fill-in’, so I developed the idea of Leaf Area Estimation which is basically the area of a triangle. (This works best for the standard Christmas Tree style of pruning.) All you have to do is measure the width of the plant and the length of the main vine. Then it is simply (1/2)*(width of the plant)*(main vine length) = Leaf Area Estimation. Leaf Area Estimation= 236 square feet Main Vine Length= 21 feet
 
Tuesday, June 12 View Page
2269 Paton ’17 (F: 2624.6 Willemijns ’16 x 1949.5 Paton ’16) Sadly this plant has been the smallest and slowest to grow all year. While it seems the standard for comparison this time of year is main vine length, I have had plants in the past that grow a great main vine but do not ‘fill-in’, so I developed the idea of Leaf Area Estimation which is basically the area of a triangle. (This works best for the standard Christmas Tree style of pruning.) All you have to do is measure the width of the plant and the length of the main vine. Then it is simply (1/2)*(width of the plant)*(main vine length) = Leaf Area Estimation. Leaf Area Estimation= 138.75 square feet Main Vine Length= 18.5 feet
 
Tuesday, June 12 View Page
1367 VanHoutte ‘16 (F: 2145 McMullen ‘15 x 1585.5 Werner ‘14) I had success with this seed last year, it was a consistent plant but seemed to be average with nothing all that impressive. Now, this year the plant is by far my most aggressive. In fact, I have never had a plant this big on this date before! Now, I have to remember that this is only a plant but I certainly have a lot of leaf area to push any pumpkin I am able to pollinate. While it seems the standard for comparison this time of year is main vine length, I have had plants in the past that grow a great main vine but do not ‘fill-in’, so I developed the idea of Leaf Area Estimation which is basically the area of a triangle. (This works best for the standard Christmas Tree style of pruning.) All you have to do is measure the width of the plant and the length of the main vine. Then it is simply (1/2)*(width of the plant)*(main vine length) = Leaf Area Estimation. Leaf Area Estimation= 337.5 square feet Main Vine Length= 22.5 feet
 
Tuesday, June 12 View Page
1297.5 Young ’16 (F: 1912 Carter ’15 x 1000.5 Gansert ’11) Right now, this plant may have a perfect blend of aggressive growth and great orange color. This is my second biggest plant in the patch and has been in the top-2 all season. I am glad that I gave this plant a shot in my patch this year as up to this point, I could not wish for any better. While it seems the standard for comparison this time of year is main vine length, I have had plants in the past that grow a great main vine but do not ‘fill-in’, so I developed the idea of Leaf Area Estimation which is basically the area of a triangle. (This works best for the standard Christmas Tree style of pruning.) All you have to do is measure the width of the plant and the length of the main vine. Then it is simply (1/2)*(width of the plant)*(main vine length) = Leaf Area Estimation. Leaf Area Estimation= 252 square feet Main Vine Length= 21 feet
 
Tuesday, June 12 View Page
642 Dill ’17 (F: 775 Berard x 1998.5 Jutras ‘15) This plant was a little slow to get going, but this did not last long as it is producing a great plant now. Leaves, vines and everything else about this plant look just as I would hope in any plant. However, this plant has recently had some bad luck during a wind storm, the main vine broke:-( I am going to try and grow a secondary out as a new main, but now the timing of this plant is off schedule. While it seems the standard for comparison this time of year is main vine length, I have had plants in the past that grow a great main vine but do not ‘fill-in’, so I developed the idea of Leaf Area Estimation which is basically the area of a triangle. (This works best for the standard Christmas Tree style of pruning.) All you have to do is measure the width of the plant and the length of the main vine. Then it is simply (1/2)*(width of the plant)*(main vine length) = Leaf Area Estimation. Leaf Area Estimation= 198 square feet Main Vine Length= 18 feet
 
Wednesday, June 27 View Page
2269 Paton ’17 (F: 2624.6 Willemijns ’16 x 1949.5 Paton ’16) Today I decide to pull the 2269 Paton ’17. The plant itself never really got growing like my other plants and it was not filling out properly. Also, the main vine tip burned for some odd reason so I think that this plant was just an odd one. Health of the plant was good and there were no signs of any genetic deformities, it just did not have the timing to match my other plants. I will be planting grass seed in its place.
 
Wednesday, June 27 View Page
642 Dill ’17 (F: 775 Berard x 1998.5 Jutras ‘15) This was a difficult decision, but I have decided to remove my 642 Dill ’17. What made this a hard choice is the plant had nothing wrong with it, the problems were physical and it just seemed to be unlucky. It started with a wind storm that broke the main vine (as you can see the nub in the image) so I retrained a secondary vine in its place. The plant started to recover and things were going well until the retrained secondary vine then split which can be seen in the image just beyond the original main vine break. As a result I did not feel this plant would be in the same pattern as my other plants and made the hard choice to remove it. The other plant behind it in this image is also getting removed so both plant sites will be planted with grass seed this afternoon before some much needed rain.
 
Tuesday, July 3 View Page
North 2326 Holland ’17 (x 1367 VanHoutte) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 31 OTT: 264.5” Est. Weight: 412 pounds This pumpkin has decided to grow off the mill fabric as it seems to want to grow towards the main vine. I have done my best to keep slack in the vine but it looks like I am going to have to pull this pumpkin back onto the ground protection. Not sure why it did this, but I have moved pumpkins bigger than this so it should not be an issue. I did try the double mill fabric system, but this does not work if the pumpkin is not on the mill fabric all the way;-) In the background you can see the area that I cleared a pumpkin plant. The grass seed that I planted did not like the 100F temperatures, but the crab grass and annual weeds sure did. The blossom end continues to sink in but it is not as bad as it was initially looking. I am sure it will continue as the season progresses, but at least at this time, it looks like my early pumpkin position correction prevented what was looking like a deep “birdbath” shape to develop.
 
Wednesday, July 4 View Page
Happy July 4th, 2018 Overall, things are going well in the pumpkin patch with my remaining four plants. I have been able to get some of the earliest pollinations I have ever had without sacrificing plant size or distance out on the main vine. This was especially lucky this year as we have had some at or near record heat which would have made successful pollinations a challenge. However, it seems despite the heat wave the growth on all four plants has slowed considerably. This could be in part due to heat stress, but I am thinking it is probably more related to the fact that I have some aggressively growing pumpkins. If my timing is right where it needs to be, then it will take the plants longer to fill in their ~950sq.ft. growing area which will mean new leaves deeper into the growing season. I prune traditional Christmas tree style because I think this is the most plant efficient layout and if I am able to catch this proper timing things could work out great as the season progresses. I need to keep in-mind that it is still early in the year and a 10sec. hail event could completely change how my patch looks. What is interesting is that even though this is my 18th year growing there is still much to learn, and experiment with.
 
Wednesday, July 4 View Page
North 2326 Holland ’17 (x 1367 VanHoutte) *Anthesis Treated* Pollinated on: June 12th Feet out on the main vine: 17.5 ft. Secondary vines behind pumpkin: 19 Lobes = 4 Lobe symmetry rating (1-10 with 10 being the best) = 9 Day: 22 OTT: 194” Est. Weight: 168 pounds The exact positioning of this pumpkin is on a little bit of an uneven surface, so I am doing the best to keep things level so that I do not run into any issues later in the season. By the current position I think I made the proper adjustments early to be ready for the exponential growth phase. It does seem that this pumpkin has more yellow color than its sibling located behind it. However, the shape of this pumpkin indicates that it will most likely have some form of a sunken blossom end. Personally, this is not a look I care for, but there is nothing I can do.
 
Wednesday, July 4 View Page
South 2326 Holland ’17 (x 1297.5 Young) *Anthesis Treated* Pollinated on: June 14th Feet out on the main vine: 18.5 ft. Secondary vines behind pumpkin: 25 Lobes = 5 Lobe symmetry rating (1-10 with 10 being the best) = 7 Day: 20 OTT: 197.5” Est. Weight: 177 pounds Growing two of the same seed this year has provided a unique comparison. This plant was a back-up to my original plan, but due to its aggressive growth early on it made the final selection. The plant behavior is very similar to its sibling, but the pumpkin has a very different color. The shape is almost a perfect ball and the color at the moment is a faint creamy white. I really like how this pumpkin looks as it has the characteristics of a fruit that can go the distance. Time will tell if this ends up being the case.
 
Wednesday, July 4 View Page
1367 VanHoutte ‘16 (x North 2326 Holland) *Anthesis Treated* Pollinated on: June 12th Feet out on the main vine: 18 ft. Secondary vines behind pumpkin: 21 Lobes = 4 Lobe symmetry rating (1-10 with 10 being the best) = 7 Day: 22 OTT: 215” Est. Weight: 226 pounds Last year, the pumpkin I grew off this plant impressed me with its consistent full season growth so I decided the plant it again. This year I am impressed with the speed of its growth. So, if I am lucky enough to get fast and consistent growth all year, I will be very impressed;-) The shape is unlike last year, for whatever reason this pumpkin has a very long shape. I am not saying this is a bad thing, it just goes to show some of the potential variability seed to seed from the same pumpkin.
 
Wednesday, July 4 View Page
1297.5 Young ’16 (x 642 Dill) *Anthesis Treated* Pollinated on: June 13th Feet out on the main vine: 18.5 ft. Secondary vines behind pumpkin: 19 Lobes = 5 Lobe symmetry rating (1-10 with 10 being the best) = 7 Day: 21 OTT: 197” Est. Weight: 176 pounds This plant has been great and the growing pumpkin looks like it will be a near perfect orange globe. So far, I have liked what I have seen from this plant and pumpkin which I hope continues. Even though I will not get a chance to see what the pollinator plant would have produced I am very happy with the cross and can see the potential for great advancement in the breeding of “big and orange” genetics with this cross. Still a long ways from harvest, but at this point I feel that I have set myself up well with at least what I have had control over.
 
Friday, July 13 View Page
Friday the 13th This is considered to be an unlucky day, so during my patch and pumpkin inspections I expected the worst. However, I am happy to report the only issue I found was a sapping stem on one of the pumpkins which, considering the heat and humidity we have been experiencing, this is to be expected on at least one plant. All of the pumpkins are growing and they are getting close to that critical day 35 which is typically the day that an Anthesis treated pumpkin and a non-treated pumpkin growth will cross. The Anthesis treated pumpkin typically grows slower initially as the fruit spends more time in the cell division stage of growth. However, now that there is potentially more cells, Anthesis will hopefully increases the rate and duration of cell expansion which is seen from day 35 on. This year I do not have any control (untreated) pumpkins so the hope is that each one will have extended growth late into the season. I am happy with the current estimated weights for the pumpkins ages at this point, but harvest time is still a longs ways away…
 
Friday, July 13 View Page
North 2326 Holland ’17 (x 1367 VanHoutte) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 31 OTT: 264.5” Est. Weight: 412 pounds This pumpkin has decided to grow off the mill fabric as it seems to want to grow towards the main vine. I have done my best to keep slack in the vine but it looks like I am going to have to pull this pumpkin back onto the ground protection. Not sure why it did this, but I have moved pumpkins bigger than this so it should not be an issue. I did try the double mill fabric system, but this does not work if the pumpkin is not on the mill fabric all the way;-) In the background you can see the area that I cleared a pumpkin plant. The grass seed that I planted did not like the 100F temperatures, but the crab grass and annual weeds sure did. The blossom end continues to sink in but it is not as bad as it was initially looking. I am sure it will continue as the season progresses, but at least at this time, it looks like my early pumpkin position correction prevented what was looking like a deep “birdbath” shape to develop.
 
Friday, July 13 View Page
South 2326 Holland ’17 (x 1297.5 Young) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 29 OTT: 270” Est. Weight: 438 pounds Overall this pumpkin has the best shape but the blandest of white/pale color. In the background you can see my best looking pumpkin at this point (the 1297.5 Young ’16). However this pumpkin is continuing to show impressive gains while still maintaining a symmetrical shape. This is a great sign that this pumpkin may have a good chance to go the distance. I have noticed that the side vine growth has slowed down to a crawl. This plant has not yet filled its allowed space but there is still time in the season. I will have many vine tips not deadheaded so this may give this plant a source of new growth as the season progresses. However, due to the slow growth I brought out my weed block again from earlier in the year to reduce the area I have to continually go over with my stirrup/loop hoe. This is a very effective tool, especially when using drip irrigation. The challenge this year is the heat which has caused me to run my overhead impact sprinklers more than normal to help with plant cooling, but a drawback of this is the increase in weed pressure. Where the plants have grown the weed pressure is less due to the leaf shading factor, but in the open there is plenty of heat, sun, water and nutrients.
 
Friday, July 13 View Page
1367 VanHoutte ‘16 (x North 2326 Holland) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 31 OTT: 288.5” Est. Weight: 530 pounds Early on this was a long pumpkin and to date, its shape has not changed much. The top seems to be getting a little on the flatter side, but I do not see this as an area of concern. Even with its consistent pumpkin growth the vines on this plant continue to slowly grow and I continue to vine bury where I can. Soon this plant should have its full area taken up and then the plant can focus mainly on pumpkin growth, or at least this is what I am hoping for. I did have to put more sand around the pumpkin to help it shift on the mill fabric as it grows. I have needed to pull this back quit a few times early on, but now it seems like it is in a good spot on the mill fabric.
 
Friday, July 13 View Page
1297.5 Young ’16 (x 642 Dill) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 30 OTT: 246.5” Est. Weight: 336 pounds There is already some orange color developing which makes this pumpkin stand out in the patch already. I did notice some sapping at the stem, but with the hot and humid weather this is to be expected. Even for a 30 day old pumpkin it seems to want to develop ribs and will most likely have a mottled orange color to it. It is still a long way from weigh-offs but there is great potential for both size and color from this pumpkin. The plant looks great and only time will tell how this pumpkin will end up.
 
Sunday, July 15 View Page
South 2326 Holland Moving System The South 2326 Holland needs a little adjustment as it has been growing toward the vine and has reached the point that stem/vine stress is going to be an issue. I like the use of a Come-Along because it allows very small incremental movements. I stay by the pumpkin and check to see how each click moves the pumpkin while someone on the other end advances the pumpkin one click at a time.
 
Sunday, July 15 View Page
South 2326 Holland Wrapped I use a tow strap that is about 4” wide and has a smooth surface to go around the pumpkin. I still include a blanket to reduce the chance of damage to the pumpkin skin. Going slow to take the slack out of the system is important, and then, once tight, the pumpkin tends to move easily especially with the double layer of mill fabric it is on.
 
Sunday, July 15 View Page
South 2326 Holland Distance Moved I checked the vine and stem each small incremental move and things looked good the entire way. The vine still has slack and now the chance for vine/stem stress is greatly reduced. I selected the afternoon of a warm day to help ensure the plant would be as forgiving as possible. In total I probably moved the pumpkin a good 6” (15cm) and I could of gone more, but at this point it was on the mill fabric entirely so no need to move it any more (at least for now).
 
Sunday, July 22 View Page
July 22nd, 2018 In the image the patch looks great, but if you look closely you will see a few brownish leaves. It seems the heat and humidity are catching up with my plants as there is some Fusarium is starting to set in. Each plant has at least some symptoms of Fusarium, but my timing has been good with a fungicide application the day before the first leaves were seen. The progression has been minimal so I just may have caught it early. Personally, I think this is a prime example of being willing to accept a little damage and not getting into an over spray or fungicide application pattern. If you do not follow rotations and spaced applications you can breed resident forms of disease which will create a much worse situation in the future. I am not able to change all of my soil, so I have to carefully manage what I am fortune to have. It is also important to not start applying every fungicide you have access to, once you identify an issue applying best match product(s) is the most effective approach. Also, many of the leaves that are having the issue were initially developed in the cold-frame, and it seems, these leaves tend to be slightly less hardy so this also needs to be taken into consideration. Time will tell if this strategy will work out, but in the past, this mind set has served me well.
 
Sunday, July 22 View Page
North 2326 Holland ’17 (x 1367 VanHoutte) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 40 OTT: 301” Est. Weight: 599 pounds After the move, the pumpkin is looking good and I am much more comfortable with the pumpkins' placement on the mill fabric. The blossom end is in a little bit, but so far it does not look like it is going to cause much concern. The pumpkin is becoming a little more block-like shape and overall is looking good. It may also have some orange color by the season end. If you look in the lower left corner you will see an ultrasonicator as a preventative for potential mice damage as it seems like they get me earlier and earlier each year. This is the only product I have found that will stop mice from feeding once they have found your pumpkin, so these are effective. I am hoping that having it out before the mice realize the pumpkin is food and will prevent any feeding from ever occurring. The other advantage is that it does not require any poisons.
 
Sunday, July 22 View Page
South 2326 Holland ’17 (x 1297.5 Young) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 38 OTT: 310.5” Est. Weight: 653 pounds The shape of this pumpkin has maintained its symmetry at least to this point and overall looks like a pumpkin that has great structural integrity. Unlike its sibling this pumpkin still has that white look to it, but there is not much I can do about that for this year. However, I did pollinate it with my most impressive orange colored pumpkin this year. Overall, growth is steady which I hope continues for a long time. If you look in the lower left corner you will see an ultrasonicator as a preventative for potential mice damage as it seems like they get me earlier and earlier each year. This is the only product I have found that will stop mice from feeding once they have found your pumpkin, so these are effective. I am hoping that having it out before the mice realize the pumpkin is food and will prevent any feeding from ever occurring. The other advantage is that it does not require any poisons.
 
Sunday, July 22 View Page
1367 VanHoutte ‘16 (x North 2326 Holland) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 40 OTT: 334” Est. Weight: 810 pounds This pumpkin continues to grow in length and will be a long pumpkin for sure. The small female flowers that I have removed all had a long shape to it, so this is simply what this plant wants to produce. I do not think this is a negative it just seems very pronounced with this pumpkin. It is always nice to have some variety in the patch. If you look in the lower left corner you will see an ultrasonicator as a preventative for potential mice damage as it seems like they get me earlier and earlier each year. This is the only product I have found that will stop mice from feeding once they have found your pumpkin, so these are effective. I am hoping that having it out before the mice realize the pumpkin is food and will prevent any feeding from ever occurring. The other advantage is that it does not require any poisons.
 
Sunday, July 22 View Page
1297.5 Young ’16 (x 642 Dill) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 39 OTT: 281.5” Est. Weight: 493.5 pounds I really like the orange color on this pumpkin the skin is also very smooth causing it to glow in the sun. There is some mottling starting to develop which should make for a very nice looking pumpkin at harvest. The only downfall is the stem is a continual battle. I have been rotating control options (isopropyl alcohol, bleach and sulfur) and have a fan running on it but the heat and humidity are not helping. The pumpkin is still growing so that is a plus. If you look in the lower left corner you will see an ultrasonicator as a preventative for potential mice damage as it seems like they get me earlier and earlier each year. This is the only product I have found that will stop mice from feeding once they have found your pumpkin, so these are effective. I am hoping that having it out before the mice realize the pumpkin is food and will prevent any feeding from ever occurring. The other advantage is that it does not require any poisons.
 
Wednesday, August 1 View Page
Well the patch is just about filled in which once the pumpkins starting growing, took a lot longer to fill in that last 25% or so of growing space compared to the plant growth pace the plants were on. The under plant weed control is good up to this point as I have been using the old manual pull and remove method. The perimeter is not as well kept as the under leaf but the mainly grass species that I have, allow me to walk on the edges without dealing with bare soil. In addition, this year I am experimenting with a new shading system. This year has been very rainy so I have taken my cold frame design of PVC pipe and basically made it just a little wider (about 5.5ft instead of 5ft) and shorter (7.5ft instead of 9ft.). Then using the same pipe/snap clips I attached the white sheet I normally use directly on the pumpkins, but this way it is elevated over the pumpkin. Now, I have easy access and can make quick visual inspections. It is great to reuse the same materials as earlier in the season and I think it will be effective. This is version 1.0, as the rain is daily and very heavy at times so I am considering attaching a tarp to help shed the water to keep the pumpkin dry. The white sheet may absorb some water, but under normal rain events most water does roll off to the side, but during the heavy downpours some is getting through and on to the pumpkins.
 
Wednesday, August 1 View Page
North 2326 Holland ’17 (x 1367 VanHoutte) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 50 OTT: 327.5” Est. Weight: 765.5 pounds This image displays my new shade structure well. It is good for this pumpkin in particular because it wants to develop a sunken-in blossom end where water could collect. If I can eliminate the water influx, ideally the blossom end should never have water in it to reduce the chance of rotting. Moving this pumpkin was a great idea back on July 15th because it is still well positioned with very little stem stress. What is also interesting is that the main vine has seemed to swell up along with the stem after the move. It could be unrelated, but hopefully, this is a good sign.
 
Wednesday, August 1 View Page
South 2326 Holland ’17 (x 1297.5 Young) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 48 OTT: 341.5” Est. Weight: 864 pounds The shade structure on this pumpkin helps prevent the sheet from sticking to the pumpkin since it is starting to sap quite a bit. I do not think this is a bad thing, and hope that it means this pumpkin will go heavy. It has also maintained the nice symmetrical shape even as it approaches 50 days old.
 
Wednesday, August 1 View Page
1367 VanHoutte ‘16 (x North 2326 Holland) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 50 OTT: 362” Est. Weight: 1023 pounds It is a challenge to get a good picture of this pumpkin. What I can tell you is that it is a very long and low pumpkin that seems to be gaining more orange color each day. Visually, it is not all that impressive because it is not very high, but it seems to keep adding length. This pumpkin adds some variety to the patch and as long as it keeps adding pounds it does not matter where the weight is to me.
 
Wednesday, August 1 View Page
1297.5 Young ’16 (x 642 Dill) *Anthesis Treated* Day: 49 OTT: 303” Est. Weight: 611 pounds The great color on this pumpkin keeps getting better. You will notice that this pumpkin does not have my new designed shade structure and this is because I want to be able to take the sheet off this pumpkin easily so it can get some more sun and keep the color maturation going. This should be a great orange cross assuming there are mature seeds inside.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Morning Patch Inspection Did Not Go As Planned This morning patch inspection before work was far from a regular visual inspection and go on with my planned day. This is the North 2326 Holland ’17 (x 1367 VanHoutte) plant that is in the image. Last night, I got back from another growers beautiful looking patch and did the visual inspection of my own and found nothing out of the ordinary. I was expecting the same in the morning, but found this… (Note: It may be a little difficult to see in this image, but notice the brown margins to the leaves.)
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
This Was Not Here Last Night This shows a close-up of the area of “infection”. Last night this area looked normal and now there is certainly an issue spreading fast (within hours). On a side note this year, I think my weed control has been good;-) Goal is to find the positive somewhere.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Disease Progression With this image I am trying to show the full disease progression. The large leaf closest in the image has the most advanced symptoms and as you work toward the more distant (and younger leaves) you see where the issue is spreading to. The rate of spreading is literally occurring in hours with the leaves first looking normal than some faint yellowing at the margins that will quickly turn to brown necrotic tissue. I was fortunate to get in contact with a head plant pathologist who could take my samples in today for diagnosis. Now, I just have to figure out how to get the samples to the lab today.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Representative Leaf This shows a full leaf that is exhibiting early but consistent symptoms. Often growers will send images of advanced leaf decay which makes it a challenge to pinpoint the original source of infection.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Close-up of the Area of Concern This is the same leaf as before, but focuses more on the area of concern. It is important that this image be in full focus to show the details and texture of the leaf. It is a challenge to see the pictures on the screen in sunlight so take multiple images and try and check them to ensure you have “the” image.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Important Underside Image Growers have gotten better with this, but documenting the underside of the leaf is also very important. Some diseases can be better pinpointed with the addition of an under leaf image. High quality, in focus and good even light is important.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Importance of Focus This shows the base of the leaf petiole and shows no odd coloration. I included this image to show how an out of focus image can make diagnosis a challenge. I wanted to show the underside of the leaf and main petiole, but the main base is in the image and I did not crop it out for this purpose.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Importance of Focus This shows the base of the leaf petiole and shows no odd coloration. I included this image to show how an out of focus image can make diagnosis a challenge. I wanted to show the underside of the leaf and main petiole, but the main base is in the image and I did not crop it out for this purpose.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Do Not Ignore the Weeds After finding my sick looking pumpkin leaves I was continuing my perimeter inspection and found this Ground Ivy ‘Creeping Charlie’ (Glechoma hederacea) showing the same symptoms on the same day in the lawn adjacent to the pumpkin patch. This indicates conditions properly lined up for something to bloom in my area. Even though this is not of the same plant species it is still worth noting and could provide other growers an indication about what disease pressures may be in their local area.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Small Scale Pumpkin Problem This shows a close-up and despite the small leaves of the Ground Ivy ‘Creeping Charlie’ (Glechoma hederacea) it does look very similar to the pumpkin leaves and has been first detected on the exact same day which is an unlikely occurrence purely by chance.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Sample #1 Under the Microscope After bringing samples to the lab and looking at one of the sections in question under the microscope this is what was found… The red arrow is pointing to a main site of bacterial streaming and the red outlines indicate the area where the bacteria that are being released are flowing. The area outside of the red outline has noticeably less “particulate” and that “particulate” is bacteria. The pointed cone structures you see floating are the pumpkin leaf tricomes that have detached. These tricomes are what gives the leaves that fuzzy texture. The Ground Ivy ‘Creeping Charlie’ (Glechoma hederacea) was not the focus of this investigation but it was observed and there was noticeable bacterial streaming coming from the vascular tissue. A positive ID could not be made for this, but it seems there is a strong likelihood that there is also a bacterial infection taking place in this sample as well.
 
Tuesday, August 7 View Page
Sample #2 Under the Microscope It is important to not use one sample as a 100% positive ID so a second sample was taken and observed. Here again you see a lot of bacteria but in the red box there is a border region between two portions of the leaf. This has created a dead-end area that is essential trapping the bacteria and causing them to be more concentrated in this region. The arrow shows the area where the bacterial are likely streaming from. With the microscopic evidence this has been diagnosed as bacterial wilt (Erwinia tracheiphila). Now, fungicides are ineffective (because it is not a fungus) so copper based products are the preferred options for control. However, we are in a heat wave (above 90F for at least 3 consecutive days) so making an application is going to be difficult. There is another contact bactericide that I can use, but it just down poured in my patch so I could not make an application tonight, nor could I remove the plant this evening upon my return from the lab. (So, I decided to update my diary on the same day!) Luckily, I also enjoy plant pathology so each year of pumpkin growing is exciting. Sometimes it is exciting because of the pumpkins and other years because of disease. As I have said in the past, enjoy each day of growing because there are no guarantees about tomorrow.
 
Wednesday, August 8 View Page
I Spy Image 1 So, I should clarify that spraying copper will not do anything for the systemic bacteria that were found as the result of the bacterial wilt. However, what it will help combat is the Angular Leaf Spot that was also diagnosed on my leaves (which is also bacteria). What made this Angular Leaf Spot (ALS) unique is that visually in the field it has a striking similarity to Downy Mildew. Both the Plant Pathologist and I were both in agreement that based on initial visual inspection it looked like the feared Downy Mildew. However, under the microscope revealed high amounts of bacteria and no sporangia (spore producing structures) characteristic of Downy Mildew. ALS can be controlled with a bactericide, as again, fungicides only work on fungi. However, to improve your ability to spot potential problems I am including a bit of a game. Notice my thumb in the image for size comparison and realize this is the level of scouting that I do on my leaves. I want you to look at the image below and see if you can find the following… 4 Powdery Mildew clusters 1 Angular Leaf Spot “hit” that actually looks very much like Downy Mildew I will post an image in about 2 days with each highlighted so you can go back and compare to see if you found them all. Enjoy and be glad that this is not in your patch… or is it?
 
Wednesday, August 8 View Page
I Spy Image 2 Again so you can gain some practice being able to spot not only Powdery Mildew but also Angular Leaf Spot (that in this case looks very much like Downy Mildew) I have included an image for you to find the following… 19 Powdery Mildew clusters 3 Angular Leaf Spot “hit” that actually looks very much like Downy Mildew I will post an image in about 2 days with each highlighted so you can go back and compare to see if you found them all. I will warn you some are small but this is the stage of development to be able to scout and identify so that proper control measures can be taken at the onset of a potential problem. The key to effective control is good scouting and proper identification, so here is your practice…
 
Friday, August 10 View Page
I Spy Image 1 Answers Here are the points of interest highlighted for you. The white circles represent Powdery Mildew and the red diamond is Angular Leaf Spot, even though Downy Mildew would have the same visual appearance. Keep in-mind that these are not the most obvious leaf lesions, but the goal of this exercise is to increase your ability to identify potential problems early. Check back with the original image to make sure you can find them all;-)
 
Friday, August 10 View Page
Here are the points of interest highlighted for you. The white circles represent Powdery Mildew and the red diamond is Angular Leaf Spot, even though Downy Mildew would have the same visual appearance. This image has some more obvious and some less obvious lesions so if you were not able to find them all, hopefully you found most of them and are also able to improve your ability to distinguish Powdery Mildew from Angular Leaf Spot (or what can look very similar to Downy Mildew). Check back with the original image to make sure you can find them all;-)
 

 

Top of Page

Questions or comments? Send mail to Ken AT bigpumpkins.com.
Copyright © 1999-2024 BigPumpkins.com. All rights reserved.