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Amherst, WI

I lost a 778 pound pumpkin (uow) in mid August to a blossum end split. It was growing 24 pounds a day at the time. Now, when someone grows 1300-1400 lb pumpkins, they must have 35-40 pound days, right? How do they keep them from splitting during that period of enormous growth? Is it just luck, or is there something being fed to the plant to help prevent splits?

9/18/2003 10:28:54 PM

Whidbey Island

I don't know, but I'll be watching for some replies.....lost mine at 600.

9/18/2003 11:33:15 PM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

I didn't read before about what I am saying now, but I am thinking one reason for splits could be the difference between day and night temperatures. I guess that during cold nights pumpkin surface has to tend to shrink more than inner flesh and that could help the splits to appear. Did you notice that splits use to being seen by first time early in the mornings?
Internal crack lines are always under a split. Why they appear? Genetics, feed consistency, pesticides interference... Maybe during warm days that follows cold nights, skin grow and expand faster than flesh.
Any fertilizer or other stuff that increases pumpkin skin elasticity could help to prevent this growers Atila.
In other fruits vapor guard (antitranspirant) is used to prevent splits.

Carlos

9/18/2003 11:41:24 PM

Appalachian Mtns.

I've noticed copious amounts of chelated calcium will assist in reversing new, or soon to be, small blossom end splits and leakage.
No proof, just gut instinct observations....

9/18/2003 11:52:05 PM

Puyallup, WA

I've sprayed calcium over the entire plant...I've placed calcium drenched sheets and towels over the pumpkins....Guess what....they still split!!!! :>(

Carlos might be onto something. Our night temperatures go down to mid 50's nearly every night in July and August. East Coast night temps are in the mid to upper 60's. Temperature range differences may be a factor. Perhaps that might explain Geneva Emmons splits this year....hummm, we did average 5° above average daytime temps during July and August. In 2001, she had four over 1K. This year, everything split going passed 700#....just like many of mine!! She has changed nothing in 2003....soil prep the same. Go figure!!??

9/19/2003 12:54:33 AM

Southern Sweden

As you can see at my growingdiare, september 11, I always use a indicatorclock, so I exactly can see the pumpkins growingspeed and also wich day it stop growing. So Carlos observation that a split use to being seen by first time in the morning is correct, beacuse the growingspeed of a pumpkin is higher in the night and during the day. The last two – three weeks a pumpkin only growing during the night and nothing during the day. At the end, the growingspeed and the growingtimes, will be smaller and smaller and then one day the indicatorclock stop move any more. Now, I can be sure that the pumpkin has stoped growing. When a pumpkin has stoped growing, it always lose in weight, day by day, it doesn’t matter if you cut it of or let it stay on the vine.

9/19/2003 5:58:10 AM

Southern Sweden

a little misstake, it should be; ..."than" during the day.

9/19/2003 7:50:49 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

Thanks to the scales I think alot of posts about leaving them on dead leaf vines may be answered. Seems to me if the pumpkin is losing weight in either location on or off that the pumpkin should be moved to a more favorable storage area. THat's if I'm reading this post correctly...

9/19/2003 7:57:44 AM

Nova Scotia

i never thought of night verse day temps being a factor along with the excellerated growth at night. sounds logical to me. but i do know that shape (genetics) along with consistant water and fertilizers are surely a factor as well. i watered and fertilized mine daily as well removed faster growers due to the fact of little mishape which would have latter become a large dill ring or indentation.

9/19/2003 9:17:55 AM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

Maybe pumpkin walls have similar behaviour than vines. As you know, is safer to reposition a vine in the afternoon than early in the morning; the more turgid the tissues are, the more suitable to crack, vines and -why not?- pumpkin walls.
Here an anti-transpirant product called Vapor Gard (made in Pennsylvania) is used in split tendence fruits, like some apples varieties. I am going to use it in my 950.4 in order to prevent dehidratation when cooler storage. Maybe it deserve to be tested along the growth period to detect if it could be a help in our war against splits.

Carlos

9/19/2003 11:12:42 AM

Puyallup, WA

Gustavsson.....Thank you for the idea of using a micrometer
to measure pumpkin growth. I have several, so I will use them next year.

9/19/2003 12:54:55 PM