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Nova Scotia

please help i have a soft spot were a rotting main vine kept rubbing. it's moved now but i have a 3" long by 1/2" wide and 1" deep soft spot. i removed the rot with my finger and packed with sulfer. now i'm going to use a tooth brush to srub it out. clean with water and put a fan to it. when dry i'll add a sestimic liquid fungicide/pesticide to the area. all comments are welcome. P.S. the picking date is next monday

5/16/2003 12:09:37 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

go early!!!

5/16/2003 1:27:08 PM

ipswich, ma usa

Sorry to say but once rot starts in there is not a whole lot you can do.

John (5150)

5/16/2003 2:57:05 PM

derry n.h u.s.a.

Mr.T
You might want to put a tarp over it and keep it as dry as possible,once a pumpkin hits 300lb in my yard i always tarp it to keep rain off and shade it,Just a thought!Best of luck.John

5/16/2003 3:13:01 PM

Montoursville, PA

The horror of all horrors is that the fruit has already progressed to an exhibition only fruit.

5/16/2003 3:26:16 PM

Montoursville, PA

Every grower in the game shares their sorrow when you lose one this close to the weighoff.

5/16/2003 3:29:18 PM

Western NY

unless the rot has gone into the cavity, it's still a good fruit. if you got it scraped out enough to remove most of the fungus, and treated what remains, you should still be ok. the important thing is to keep the wound as dry as possible, and it still should make it to the scales. keep a close eye on it, and if it continues to progress, get it weighed as soon as possible, because what you see may only be the tip of the iceberg.

as long as i'm posting, i gotta say thanks Mr. T. your updates have been an entertaining way to bridge the gap from Boily's pumpkins to the start of our season. i would be interested to hear what your climate is like (i've never been there), in case yours deviates from the chart as drastically as Boily's did.

Good Luck!!

Andy

5/16/2003 3:37:48 PM

Nova Scotia

thanks everyone. especially andy W. you have given me hope.
as far as climate it's a little more moderat than miami florida. doen't get as hot or cold but a little more rain and that's what's killing me. for it's been raining half the time i've been growing. and last week it's been about 120 degrees here. so i've been misting (damned if i do damded if i don't) no more misting now though.
anyway for anyone interested to know the local t.v. and radio stations are chomping at the bit for live interveiws as well the home center (who are renting my pumpkin) are thinking of flying in either howard dill or ray waterman to witness the weigh in along with the local agricultural minister from here.
everyone here is going crazy over this thing and i've hardly told anyone but it seems everyone here knows of it.

5/16/2003 4:18:40 PM

South Hill, Virginia

Scrape out the rot, pack it with a dry fungicide like Captan and put a fan on it 24/7. It would be best to also have it covered with some sort of tarp/shade structure.

5/16/2003 5:34:08 PM

Deer Park WA

Slather it with Captain and hope for the best......
UOW aint so bad if it's a 800 pounder......
Best of luck,

Gads

5/17/2003 3:40:37 AM

Long Island,New York

Turn the fan off if its raining or really really damp....it will only re-moisten the spot........G

5/18/2003 8:43:39 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Good Luck tomorrow !!! Congrats! Chuck

5/18/2003 9:08:23 AM

Amherst, WI

I had the same thing happen to my 673 last year. A soft spot took it down 3 weeks before the weighoff, still gaining 12 pounds per day. We didn't catch it in time, as it went in to the cavity. Hopefully you caught yours in time, that's a bad feeling to lose one like that. Good luck.

5/18/2003 10:27:56 AM

carthage, Mo.

Mr.T what about putting a small airconditioner inside your tent on low. This would keep the fruit from spoling and maybe hold off the rot. Could freeze inside to Ha! just my to cents

5/18/2003 9:21:42 PM

North Ga

Air-conditioned pumpkins, lol, now that IS a hoot! I don't even have air-conditioning!! LOL!!

5/18/2003 11:02:03 PM