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Montoursville, PA

The timing and the excessive rain projected for the area may be dangerous to your growth. Growth spurts for any reason frequently follow dry periods followed by excess rain. All watery fruit will blow up or split trying to grow when the overall growth position is in the last third of the growing season.

First daily measuring is an absolute need. There is no sense doing anyting if you do not keep daily records.

If your growth spurt appears and continues, for more than two days, at a rate significantly greater than your previous week's daily average it may be time to consider "slow down" actions.

8/30/2005 11:31:26 AM

Montoursville, PA

MORE: SLOWING A GROWTH SPURT

First: stop the addition of nitrogen in any form.

Secondly: Circle the patch and cut the ends of all secondarys. They will bleed like the dickens for a couple of days and remove some growth patterns.

Third: If the growth spurt does not slow...remove a third of your secondarys.

Forth and Last Resort: Cut the whole plant off the main and finish with the remaining leaves as the only support.

If any or all, of the above does not slow the growth, step back, set up a lawn chair, in view of the fruit, grab a camera and record the damnest blow out you have ever seen.

No matter what the size of your baby is these actions may be needed within the next four, to six days. The ultimate decision must come, from your daily measuring and known growth happenings, in your patch.

Do not assume your growth is all but finished, at this hour.

8/30/2005 11:41:05 AM

Kentucky

doc thanks for the info as 6in. of rain today after holdin out on the water for a week due to small split sounds like recipe for blowout.i will use this new found knowledge later if i still have a patch when i get there.thanks again.

8/30/2005 1:43:10 PM

No Place Special

How about removing a side vine or two OR cutting the pumpkin 1/3 off the vine... if your convinced it will blow otherwise.

8/30/2005 4:37:13 PM

NEPA roller46@hotmail.com KB3QKV

doc a lot of rain is coming our way. But I am trying to get mine to grow more. Would like a growth spurt, Mine all but stopped growing. I am talking 1 or 2 lb a day now, both plants.

8/30/2005 4:53:30 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

I also heard via the grapevine, that some growers use wetable sulphur powder, mixed and sprayed on the leaves, as a growth inhibitor during peak growth/split periods.

Not sure why sulphur is a growth/split inhibitor and would welcome the answer here.

8/30/2005 6:05:16 PM

Cheyenne, Wyoming

I would love to figure out how to have a growth-spurt problem. I always have exactly the opposite.

8/30/2005 7:12:02 PM

Western NY

this morning i threw a bunch of leaves around my best plant, on top of as many vines as i could. I figure this will act as a sponge, retaining some of the rain we are currently getting. should keep the ground from drying out as fast in the subsequent days of dry weather, too.

8/30/2005 7:32:50 PM