From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Hello all,

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the females on my plants aborting. Some are shriveling up before they mature, others are maturing, looking like they will open, then dont.

I cut back on the fertilizer as suggested, and have kept up my watering schedule. The plants are still growing well.

With temps in the 90s and 100s is heat makiing them abort? Should I put up some kind of shade? I keep the plants misted when I am home, but they still suffer from a bit of heat stress. I was starting to think that it may be a soil problem, but I have 4 pumpkins that have set and are doing very well.

Some of the vines have reached out to the shade provided by a large oak tree for part of the day(about 15 feet) and some females are maturing there. Maybe that will tell me if the shade will help.

Anyhting else I can do?

Thanks!

The plants having the biggest broblems are Prizewinner Hybrids and Big Max, but it is also effecting the Jack o Lanters. Luminas seem unaffected, they just cant get their act together and have males and females open on the same day.

7/18/2003 1:21:26 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

put a chair as shade over one of the promising little ones and see if it helps...even before pollenation day..90 degree heat in direct sun for an hour or two will raise that little ping pong ball's internals to frying temp will shrivel up and stop right there. good luck

7/18/2003 1:57:00 PM

Farmington, Utah

Our temps here have been over the century mark for most of July. I cover my prospect pumpkins With a bed sheet cut in 1/4(twin size sheets).They are inexpensive at wal-mart. This way, what little water i can put on the sheets during the day acts as a swamp cooler. It also provides a little shade for the fruit. Leave the sheet on til you know they have set and you are going to put a permanent shade cover over it. Use white sheets because colored sheets absorbe the heat and make it a hot box underneath. Make sure that the sheet doesn't lie on the pumpkin either.

7/18/2003 5:02:59 PM

Sounds like a great idea Kenny. How do you suspend the sheet over the plant?

I can see heat contributing to the small females, but I am still dumbfounded by Prixewinners developing and not opening.

7/19/2003 12:28:25 AM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

I use white sheets on the fruits too, and the shade cloth structures over their area as well.
My neighbour has a AGP plant and he doesn't provide it any kind of shade. As a result of it he got dozens of aborts and no fruit so far.

Don

7/19/2003 1:11:44 AM

porterville, calif.

I have used white sheets the same way Kenny and it works great. I have my sheets about 3 ft above the pumpkin...Greg

7/19/2003 1:49:02 AM