From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

I have two 660 ft2 patches (20 x 33). I want to maximize the number of nodes on my plant so I have two maximize the vine length. Here was the pattern I thought of: https://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=358088

4/13/2026 10:37:08 AM

Grittyville, WA

You'll want a path through the vines to access the pumpkin. Or a path under the vines, if you want to try something new you could raise them up (tie them up higher) wherever they might be blocking fans etc. This raised vine thing has not been tried much but I think it's the sort of thing that could give a 10% boost if done well.

[Last edit: 04/13/26 2:37:10 PM]

4/13/2026 2:36:48 PM

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

How come there won’t be any buried nodes that way

4/14/2026 3:26:55 PM

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

Here is the vine pattern revised: www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=358207

4/15/2026 6:31:57 AM

Germany

This is a pretty high density of vines, I doubt that it would make too much sense in that particular fashion. Just try to avoid the zones with sharp angles in the vines and, for the remaining vine pattern, assume that there will be a leaf on every node (like 4 leaves per 1 m of vine), and with a zig-zag-pattern of the leaves (they will find their way on alternating sides of the vine in order to use the area available for good productivity of their leaf surface) you will need a spacing of at least 40 - 50 cm between the vines, and the longer the vines grow, the wider the leaves will grow and the wider the spacing needs to be. Pics like these (https://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=263024) will give you a good impression of leaf size, leaf pattern and vine spacing required.

[Last edit: 04/15/26 7:06:03 AM]

4/15/2026 7:02:27 AM

Grittyville, WA

You do want rooted nodes, but it wont necessarily be a bad thing to have an unburied portion of plant near the pumpkin. Roots cost sugars and at some point it may be ok to get greedy and have an area of the plant (a vine or two) where 100% of the sugars produced are sent into the pumpkin. (In theory...) In practice, more roots is often a good thing. It's almost certain that one or the other (roots or sugars, aka the xylem or the phloem) is the limiting factor. I should think about this some more.

[Last edit: 04/15/26 1:31:01 PM]

4/15/2026 10:16:36 AM

Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Quebec, Canada

Yes, the vines may be too much it will really depend where my secondaries come out which I can’t control I hav3 seen plants with 6 inches between nodes and plants with 18 between. I probably drew too many vines but in it it was not meant to be exact as I can not control exactly where the fruit is set or where secondaries c9me out but it was a general plan. The focus points was meant more for like the 18’ secondaries near the fruit or the deadheaded main vine or the two secondaries with tertiaries coming of it.

4/15/2026 11:07:47 AM