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ipswich, ma usa

How many people out there cut off every other secondary? Does this practice help produce larger pumpkins? I'm trying to decide if I want to try this practice this year or not. What's the pro's and cons.

Thanks

John (5150)

12/4/2002 9:19:08 AM

Kentucky - USA

I don't think they are any cons cutting off every other secondary as long as you cut them off when they are really small. It boosts more power to the secondaries that you leave on and gives more room to keep them manicured and soil covered if you bury the vines.

Tim

12/4/2002 11:12:45 AM

Caceres, Spain

Hey John, this is a thinking wich don't let sleep me at all. I am always around this technic. I tried this fall in the same plant, a small one planted in Auguest, only 200 sqft, right side cut every other secondary, left side let them all grow. Bigger leaves, more room, more comfortable to work and easy to acccess the right side, no doubt. But I wonder if in our hot summer, to shade a little bit more the soil won't be better, and another think worry me is the wind. I am going to set windbreak all around the patch, but it will cross anyway, and that big leaves, won't they be more exposed and easy to broke down?
I would like to read about other people experiences.
Don

12/4/2002 12:18:56 PM

syracuse, ny

there is a website called Henry's Hole--i think the guy's name is really Henry Holman----go there sometime, and check out the sections entitled "Henry's Rules On...."
one of them i think is rules on pruning a plant--there are several testimonials from people like John Hunt, and i think Chris Andersen, about exactly the every-other-secondary topic...
After thoroughly reading and printing the stuff out,
GET BACK TO BP.COM! i don't wanna get in trouble for sending anyone to another site, but i don't think that site
is interactive like this one---but check it out!!! 'pal

12/4/2002 5:26:38 PM

Herndon, VA

My 2002 plants had just about every other secondary removed. My goal was for easier access to the plant for pesticide spraying & fertilizing. I tried to keep the vines about 12" apart, so in some cases not EVERY other secondary was removed, but most of them. I was happy with the results and will do the same in 2003. In 2001 I did not do this and had a very difficult time keeping tertiaries and insects under control because I could not access the plant very well.

12/4/2002 10:55:06 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Would love to know what Ken and John D did...did you notice the early pics the Xmas tree was perfect looking...I think they had to do what Bruiser did to keep it thet way...I think in small patches control of the plant is next to impossible if not done early...I tried to bury one vine a foot below the next vine a little more work and results were inconclusive with fusaria problem and late clean up...couldn't really tell if the deep vine did much after buried that deep...the tips always kept growing but they might of thought it was getting cloned and not sending anything back to the main vine.

12/5/2002 9:54:06 AM

ipswich, ma usa

If you have a small patch I wonder if the benefit of cutting every other one is greater than leaving them on. More leaves might equal more energy to fruit. It must be a fine line depending on how big your patch is. I only have 450 square feet. It may benefit me more to leave them all one to get more energy than cutting them off. Here awaits my dilema. I have seen 1000 plus patches that cut off every other one and it seems to work great, just don't know if I will benefit with such a small patch.

12/5/2002 11:02:23 AM

Connecticut, USA

I did not cut every other secondary this year. I cut some of them if I felt it was too crowded. I made sure the secondaries were at 90 degree angles to the main. I cut off all tertiary vines from the secondaries. I am glad I didn't cut them because I lost lots of leaves due to the extreme heat, so I needed all I could get. I also lost both main vines to the heat. Each plant was approximately 900 to 1000 square feet.

12/5/2002 3:39:18 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Tough call 5150...If the plant is accessible easily i would go with as many secondaries as possible if it starts getting to congested maybe nip some short...you'll know more as the season progresses!! Grow em Big!!! Chuck

12/5/2002 7:38:22 PM

Caceres, Spain

What Ken has said can be applied to such a warm country as mine is, I think, if you don't control well the misting in just one bad hot day, you can get many burnt leaves, and pray for the runners you had cut before.
Ken, how high was that heat you talked about?

12/6/2002 1:06:36 AM

Connecticut

I've always had a hard time pruning anything.To walk up and chop of a perfectly healthy part of a tree or plant has always seemed crazy to me. I have been doing it the last few years with my fruit trees with good results. This is my first year with pumpkins and I have to know the proper way to prune the plant.Do you only prune to allow for better access to the plant?leave as much as possible to feed the fruit? Does there come a time that a socondary becomes too long to prune?AlsoHow close to the main do you cut and what if anything do you put on the cut to keep out infection? One more thing do most of you growers Cut off all tertiary vines or is that a decision to make based on your individual plant? Thanks for the input Dennis

12/6/2002 10:39:35 PM