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Lake Elmo, Minnesota

What is the difference between a pumpkin that is set at 8 feet on the main vs 12 feet (for example). Just want to know the rationale.

7/7/2003 5:02:37 PM

Nova Scotia

when you set a pumpkin under 10' it tends to limit your plant size and pumpkin size. due to the fact that under 10' the plant is not able to fully support your pumpkin as it grows and your pumpkin take strenght from your plant and does not get large enough for your pumpkin. personaly i like to set at 12' to 15'.

7/7/2003 5:15:27 PM

Chester Co., PA

Mr. T is right. Most of the energy that feeds the pumpkin comes from behind it. You want a big plant between the stump and the pumpkin to get a large fruit. The plant ahead of the pumpkin is usually stunted with smaller leaves and reduced growth because the pumpkin takes all the juice.

7/7/2003 5:37:01 PM

Should females under 10 feet be pinched off or just left alone?

7/7/2003 10:02:54 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

Some of the above information is not true. 1245 Bailey, 1153 Eaton, and 1092 Burke are just a few that where at 8 feet from the stump out.Also 1109 Skinner was at 9.5 feet out . There are many more big pumpkins at 8 feet out also

7/7/2003 10:20:22 PM

Ontario

10 feet is just a rule of thumb. There are lots of variables to take into account , side vines and when the fruit was set for instance. The pumpkin main vine might be 20 feet when the female flower appeared at 8 feet. If you've got 15 feet side vines , it should be no problem to kick out a large pumpkin. Your just going to use good judgement through experience. You can also pollinate other flowers further down the main as they appear to use for back ups and surge protection for rapid growth. Keep the one that grows at the fastest rate and cross your fingers after you make your final decision as to which pumpkins to cull off. Remember this is a marathon not a sprint and there's lots of time yet so it's not necessary to commit the first fruit you set.

7/7/2003 11:32:33 PM

Edmonton, Canada

One of the reasons people don't keep fruit too close to the stump, is as they get bigger, they can actually begin to rip the plant out of the ground. There needs to be enough vine to be used as slack, so the stump will be uneffected.

7/8/2003 10:53:31 AM

New Brunswick

Hmmm ....do you mean to say that once a female has set that that particular vine quits growing??? The female I pollinated last Friday is not growing. The blossem had several cuck beetles in it so I dusted with Rotenone. THEN I undertook to pollinate it. I suspect the reason it probably did not take is because of the Rotenone?? Then this morning another female came out on a 3 to 4 foot vine. I pollinated it and then read these posts. Now to wait and see....if the vine grows I am ok...if not I pinch it off.

7/8/2003 2:42:35 PM

Walkerton Ont

good advice, last year i broke the main vine at 9 feet and then i used a secondary to 11 feet, I end up polinating a pumpkin that was on a secondary vine and it was only 5 feet out from the stump. It was the first secondary vine on the left side out 5 feet. That pumpkin turned out to be my biggest at 547.5 lbs. I only had about 60 -75 leaves. Plant was 14x11 if that

7/8/2003 10:53:21 PM

New Brunswick

Well...I will just wait and see how things go then. I am anxious to see if that vine will continue to grow with a possibly fertilized pumpkin on it.

7/8/2003 11:43:33 PM

Sequim, WA

You will continue to get vine growth after pollinating a pumpkin on it, although it will be at a slower rate as more energy goes into producing a fruit. Last year I set a pumpkin at about 6' out on a main vine. It grew at the fastest rate I had experienced until a disease started taking out leaves one by one on the main vine. When all the leaves were lost leading up to that fruit, it was done.

7/9/2003 3:11:05 AM