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Location

Message

Date Posted

Delaware

I had some really big pumpkins last year and most of them got black spots on the bottom. All of them went bad. What do i do?

4/24/2002 12:53:35 AM

Cologne / Germany

Did you leave them on the plain soil? This year I´ll put fleece and sand under the pumpkins to protect them from deformation, insects and rot.

4/24/2002 5:26:36 AM

Utah

fleece - interesting...
many people use styrofoam or wood.

4/24/2002 10:02:42 AM

Edmonton, Canada

I use a thick plastic sheet.

4/24/2002 10:13:31 AM

Cologne / Germany

Did use styrofoam last year. I think it´s too hard to prevent deformation. Sometimes it even brakes into pieces when the pumpkin gets too heavy. Fine sand works smooth for the fruit and fleece can stop soil insects but will let the water out.

4/24/2002 10:23:54 AM

Cologne / Germany

Forgot to mention that thick rubber foam works the same way, eg. from a mattress.

4/24/2002 10:29:47 AM

Indiana

The view from here is that you must have something that drains well. What I have found is that I loose about 5-10% of my fruit with styrofoam. We learned that to solve that problem, one of three things could be done. In both my father and I's opinions, plastic, and rubber are poor choices to grow fruit on.

1) Make so the styrofoam can drain aka take a hammer and put a few holes in the styrofoam, and or use pieces so there are joints to drain the water.

2) Use sand as the base

3) Use Paper Mill Screen (this is what I like best)
Hope this helps.
Tom Beachy

4/24/2002 1:12:30 PM

Midway City, California

Paper Mill Screen Where do you get it? Do you still use sand with the Paper Mill Screen? Water = john

4/24/2002 6:27:57 PM

Commack, NY

i use plastic, and have not had a problem whatsoever. if you shade your fruit with a tarp, you dont really need to address the water drainage issue. the tarp keeps everything dry. i use plastic and on top of the plastic, a nice thick layer of sand. very little concavity going on using this method.
scott

4/24/2002 8:10:59 PM

Delaware

thanx for the comments
I am going to try the styrofoam this year and put holes in it. I got some left over styrofoam insulation i am going to try to use i think its called Allmax or something.

4/25/2002 1:13:45 AM

Rexburg, Idaho ([email protected] )

I'm going to try the sand approach this year. I have had significant problems with concavity with styrofoam in the past.

4/25/2002 8:12:59 AM

Amherst, WI

TomMan, You say you lose 5-10% of the fruit on styrofoam. Is this because water pools on the styrofoam and rots the bottom of the pumpkin? Randoooo.

4/25/2002 11:25:26 AM

Indiana

Water,
Paper Mill screen is very difficult to get ahold of, you need to know someone in the paper mill business almost. I believe Shelly Cramer sells it though. It is expensive.

Right on Randoo, we have lost 4 fruit in the last 3 years. For no reason other than rot from what we are almost positive was caused by pooled water under the fruit. We are sure of this because we had a prolonged period of damp weather, and the fruit couldnt dry. The next week, they were bad. Something of note, we use the 3/4 inch blue styrofoam that is used on the outside of houses. I can't remember what it is called, as a brand name. it has a shiny film on one side.
Tom Beachy

4/25/2002 2:56:28 PM

Utah

I don't like the styrofoam because it tends to cup
or bend up at the edges when the pumpkin gets any
weight to it.
this happenes even with holes in it...
but i do know a lot of people use it and it works
for them.
I use two pieces of plywood and sand. with the seam
between the two pieces right in the middle from
stem to blossem end. then neither of the board are
set perfectly flat so that any water not defleced
by the shade structure runs off.

4/25/2002 5:25:10 PM