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Little-TON - Colorado

In talking with several growerZ here....Like to open the floor for the following thoughtZ......

HEAT ObservationZ - It has been reported here in the hail capitol that pepo pumpkins are 3 weekZ ahead of schedule already turning orange.....and the farmerZ are wondering if the fruitZ will make it till October.

Locally our AG's seem to be shutting down way earlier this year too. Premature cantalouping and color changes, weights tampering off.....much sooner than normal.

I was thinking these hot tempZ iZ what we need to compete with warmer evenings.....but now thinking differently......we got a few weeks left but I wonder if we will have any 1000 pounders hit the scales this year???

With the masses of water these pumpkinZ had to move just to keep alive over the season.....makeZ me wonder if they have quotaZ on the amount of fluid the fruitZ can move over the season....and once that peak has been reached.... or mechanicZ exhausted.......seasonZ over.
The heat has beaten up our plantZ making them more succeptible to viruses, and diseases.....??
ThoughtZ??

8/21/2012 4:40:40 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Q. As the HEAT crankZ up.... DO they tamper down in weight sooner?

8/21/2012 5:30:22 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Q. If you pick it early, and put it in a giant fridge....how many poundZ will it looZe?

8/21/2012 5:32:57 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Q. With those of you who grow in hotter climateZ...Have you observed the same? Lower weightZ higher metaboliZm?

8/21/2012 5:35:02 PM

Maine

my "little" (or normal) pumpkin patch has had bright orange pumpkins since July 25....very humid here, just attributed it to that....the giant is turning orange about 3 weeks early, even though covered.....the little ones are about a month and a half ahead of schedule here....

8/21/2012 5:45:05 PM

Wi

Gary, a plant can apparently only take so many degree days. For example, the field corn here is just about dead. I've never ever seen it turn brown this early. The yields will likely be record level due to plentiful moisture, but in general our field corn is GREEN until mid September...LOL. We are nearly a full month ahead!

I'm not going to be surprised this year if we have pumpkins sitting on the vine idle after D70....and that leaves over a month until weigh-off.

I think most folks generally think of Wisconsin as too cold to grow a whopper. Well the last 2 years it's been too hot...LOL.

8/21/2012 6:10:58 PM

Rain + Heat = losing a pumpkin on my 1495 Stelts that would have easily been over 1700 pounds. And it was my last pumpkin. Thats how my season went.

8/21/2012 6:44:46 PM

Alabama

It's hot down here every year I don't think pumpkin like it over mid 90 which we have every year for months but they don't like the cool nights that comes in the fall I think the biggest problem is to get anything to pollinate and water.

8/21/2012 7:08:38 PM

San Diego

heat beats up plants, plain and simple, shortens life cycle of growth too, decreases daily gains, etc. Shade cloth and misting a must! I usually get 75 to 90 days in my hot climate of pumpkin growth with shade and misting.

8/21/2012 7:34:13 PM

Corryton, TN

Can't answer your questions Wiz. Never had the fortune to grow here under good/milder conditions. No data to compare it to. "Slow growth" (if any) this time of year is normal to me.

8/21/2012 8:35:05 PM

Joliet, IL

Very light on vine burying if you need to mist heavily helps with vine rot problems. After day 20 of pumpkin set i quit hand weedinb and hoeing to avoid disturbing well needed roots. My weeds are mostly tall grasses that do not block sunlight really and I leave them aloneand trim them when getting over canopy once per week before fungicide/insectice combo spray. I feel these weeds help keep soil shaded and help relieve the pressure from heavy misting. By heavy I mean I have black tonado mister heads on 6 foot stakes. It creates a bubble of coolness you can see from the side at lower sun angles. The air is cooled, the plant and vines are cool,most importanty the soil is staying cooler. Any day over 95 they run 6 to 7 hours total a day. Over 98 to 105, I leave on from 8 am to 9pm. I use silver tarps to reflect heat along with white sheet over pumpkin. Shade cloth over mains early and females when they show. I had a 10" fan directed over blossom end expelling hot air under tarp and coling that area and having wind deflect of underside of tarp to owowwhole pumkin cooling it. Those fans stayed on until temps went below 90. Day and night they ran from middle june to aboutb august first. Then used on hot days after. With all that said, I have never had a pumpkin put on more than 57 estimated pounds in september. The always sit for a month and some have gone 20 percent heavy to 13.3 percent light. All part of illinois growing.

8/21/2012 9:55:48 PM

Joliet, IL

Earier pollinations in june helps to get some set before aborting in heat. My target window is usually june 15th to 23rd.......if they are over 10 days old before july 1st they have never aborted on me after that. And night temps in middle june are usually cooler still which increases setting odds. Once the heat arrives and is persistant and night time temps and day time temps are high, it decreases odds of full development. Of females to maturity besides getting them to set with ice and fans. Many didn't get any to set at all here. That sucks. Anything to fool mother nature. Soil temps are critical for the soil food web and microscopic world. With earlier sets you take your chances of them going down and the inevitable loss of some weight before weigh off, but by maximizing higher sun and longer days of sunlight, it is a trade off.....macro economics....same as the weeds....for the little they steal nutrient wise I find it more beneficial to leave them alone and avoid disturbing my root systems at the most critical time of pumpkin growth when the plant ant pumpkin need every root they have to keep the plant and pumpkin growing still at the same time. It ain't easy growing in hot conditions. I couldn't even imagine growing in iowa or southern illinois, kentucky, or any other south central midwest states this year.

8/21/2012 10:26:05 PM

Bowdon, GA

I don't have much experience with pumpkins, but like bell and dave said its hot every summer down here some hotter than others. This is what I have noticed with my melons sounds much like kins. Hotter summers(more sun)= earlier maturing, but heavier to OTT, Cooler summers=long growing periods not as heavy for same size/shape. However I always end up with better melons in the cooler of the seasons. I rarely ever get the 90 day growth they do up north, but if August is cooler than "normal" I ussually get better growth after day 60.

8/21/2012 10:39:56 PM

Muddy Waters

Extremes Gary this is a year of extremes in the weather Hot to cold,flood to drought.The cold temps you guys just had & I see Iowa & others had will send these plants into maturity.My uncle was raised in the UP EH!He claims nature will mature plants out in a shorter time frame.They grow the same gardens we do with a 1 month shorter season.The southern guys now all about the heat disease factor,as do I growing in the Kin cave & melon cave I don't bury vines for the the fear of disease.I also believe they mature faster in the high heat,Melons mature in 60 days in the south ,mine take 80 days outside the caves.The problem with the giant fridge it will suck the water out of your fruit in the defrost cycle.Wrap your kin in a big roll of saran wrap,like they use in warehouse's.about 10 layers thick so shes air tight & you could slow the weight loss down.Otherwise I would bet you loose 10-15% of your weight over 2 weeks in a big walk in cooler.I'm no X-spurt but I pretend to be one on BP.

8/22/2012 6:48:37 AM

Muddy Waters

Oh the water thing,huge amounts of water will leach away all the nutrients & help send a plant in to maturity due to no energy left.If you water heavy dont forget the leaching factor.

8/22/2012 7:01:49 AM

Western NY

What have I learned?

If this is global warming, bring it on! Sucks for you guys in the warmer areas, but this was nearly perfect growing weather here. I could have used a little more rain, but I have a good water supply. Unless, of course, that the heat was what caused my splits, lol.

8/22/2012 8:50:55 AM

Liberal Kansas, USA

Its always hot here in June,July,and August, The pumpkins always do ok till day 30-35, if its over 100 then they loose daily gains every day till it either cools of and they stabilize and sometimes regain growth rate , but usually not , or if it lasts long enough it stops them completely. Doug H.

8/22/2012 9:04:01 AM

Central Minnesota

I went from way to hot to way to cold with very little time in the middle. If these warm summers are going to be the norm I will need to add shade cloth/hail netting to some plants as well as misting. I fried A LOT of new growth this year. In the past, this was a rare thing in MN. I will also try to get my pollinations done before June 28th, those pollinations yielded a ton of seeds and nearly 100% took-Before the real heat sets in. This year I covered my main tips on all plants as well as the pumpkin from the start, this I will continue for sure. I fried a lot of main tips by not covering them in July.

As Chris said, the leaves seem to be only able to handle so many days of heat before they shut down. This is where my shade cloth and misting will come in next year hopefully to get me through the storms and extreme heat we have been having.

8/22/2012 10:02:45 AM

Bowdon, GA

Sounded pretty good Mark LOL, Heat seems to really put the pounds on in the beginning, at day 30 mine are look like record pace but the e-brakes start catching about day 50-60, and even though the early gains are way up there it just can't make up for the extra weeks of growing. I guess on the brightside hot or cold nationwide it makes for good growing somewhere LOL

8/22/2012 6:13:06 PM

Joliet, IL

With heavy misting, there will definately be some leaching. At least with large droplet mister heads you can cool and water slowly. Less leaching affect, bum yes still heavy amounts of moisture will leach the nutrients. This where biochar and or zeoliet help out. Not only do they provide an astronomical amount of surface areas for the microscopic living community, they have the ability to absorb and retain internally the nutrients to actas a resevoir so to speak. This is why nasa uses zeolite in space experiments with growing. Also the porous make up of this matereial allows for lateral movement via wicking effect. If I only overhead with the mister heads, I can trust the soil to wick it back and forth. This is also why zeolite is used to treat hot spots on golf course greens.

8/22/2012 6:20:46 PM

Joliet, IL

That should read but.....bummy me

8/22/2012 6:22:09 PM

Joliet, IL

And andy....so sorry for your heartareak splits this year......but I loved thepic with the empty fifth.........I feel your pain.......we truly are gluttons for punishment....its in our blood

8/22/2012 6:24:00 PM

Onawa,Iowa

Shade Cloth 30% for 2013 or air conditioned high tunnels.

8/23/2012 12:29:06 AM

Onawa,Iowa

Pap said it the best plant em even earlier to avoid the heat & hudmidity during pollination.

8/23/2012 12:35:52 AM